Christmas Eve with Family

Marcus' Mom came into town on Friday night for Christmas weekend. We had a yummy dinner at a local cafe and then drove around and looked at some Christmas lights.

Saturday morning, my Dad and Jacque came over to celebrate Christmas with lunch! They brought pizza and I made salad and dessert. It was super casual and easy! 

Abby recruited Jacque into playing chalk with her!

She also played her favorite game- hide and seek with Granpa and Jacque!

And, had a lot of fun doing everything but smiling for a picture with them!

She was all smiles in her new 6' tall cardboard castle they bought her. She loves to open and shut the doors and windows inside the castle.

We tried hard to get a smiling photo with Mimi, too. Abby wasn't the problem, this time around :) Mimi was so nice to get Abby a Pluto doll to complete the Mickey Mouse set!

Carol and our family went to Christmas Eve service at a nearby church. We didn't attend our church this time, but picked one with an earlier time slot to accommodate our plans for the day. It was the neatest production of the story of Jesus' birth. They used modern songs, language, and storytelling to make it all so relatable. We were also proud of Abby who dropped off without much struggle. Very cool... there was break dancing to Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Unexpected!

 

After church, we came home and had dinner and then exchanged gifts. We do our gifts to each other (and this time with Mimi) on Christmas Eve. We then do stockings and Santa on Christmas morning. I was most excited to open Abby's choices from Dollar Tree.

She gave Marcus- a large blue crayon, razors, a blue Gatorade, Dora stickers, and a large brush typically used for cleaning your back. She thinks it is a really big toothbrush!

I received a Christmas container, Peace sign headband, fuzzy scrunchies, blue marbles, and little black plastic balls used to fill a vase. Oh, and a birthday card to a son and his wife. Hilarious!

We laid out ginger spice and chocolate chip cookies along with almond milk for Santa.

We also left out food for the reindeer! Abby was given a small baggie of oats to feed the reindeer with at church. She was very clear to us they would need food!

After a long and busy day, Abby went to sleep pretty quickly! We had fun laying out her gifts from Santa and filling the stockings before going to bed early ourselves!

Under the Tree

I took way too many pictures this year and don't want to sort and edit them today, but I did want to blog. So, I'll share some of our favorite gifts from Christmas weekend. It isn't the most important part of the weekend, but it is the easiest pictures to grab today!

Marcus is never sure what to buy me, so I always give him a detailed email full of links with the gifts that I would love. It makes his life easier and I get things I want/need. I make sure the list has more options than he needs so that I am still surprised on Christmas morning. This year, my big gift was the mason jar drink dispenser from Pottery Barn. I have wanted this for at least a year and didn't need it, so I never bought it. So excited to have it! I also got Toms and some fun stuff for the kitchen.

I think this was Marcus' favorite... a remote control helicopter like you see at the mall kiosks. He had mentioned one would be fun last Spring and I was glad I remembered come gift time. He also got some gray Converse and much needed clothes!

Christmas with Abby was interesting. She wasn't very excited about having presents, opening them, or the gifts inside. She got some needed items and some fun and exciting things, but none of it really made her "squeal". We stopped opening presents on Christmas Eve because she just didn't care. We hoped it would be better the next morning, but she pretty much wanted to play with what she had.

Here are a few of her favorites.... cardboard castle! I had never seen this, but it has been on FB all weekend with other kids. My Dad and Jacque got this for her. She has fun coming back to color it throughout the day.

Abby has had the most fun playing with her race cards and track. I bought this months ago at a craft fair and am so glad I did. The cars just go on batteries and the track is plastic and assembles easily. We have tried multiple configurations and love watching the cars chase each other!

Abby's "big" gift was actually given to us just a few weeks ago and we hid it in the garage until Christmas morning. She got a battery powered Barbie Jeep with it's own CD player. She was so excited to sit in it and told everyone who called that she got a new car for Christmas, but she got off it in 2 minutes, said it was scary, and hasn't gone back outside? I think she'll warm up to it and drive all over the place before long.

Finally, she has taken to these little vintage dolls since she opened them. She first called them martians? Weirdo! Once we convinced her they were baby dolls, she needed them to have names. Since they are vintage, we named them after 3 sisters of Abby's great grandmother whom she is named after. 

Meet Mary, Mabel and Maxine...

Hope you got all you were wishing for, too!

Merry Christmas

We hope your day is filled with JOY!

The Nutcracker

Abby and I saw The Nutcracker with Ballet Austin on Friday afternoon. Our friend from church Alexis was performaing as an angel, so we were excited to see her. I bought us the least expensive seats in case we left early and hoping that the people around us would not be as concerned with a 3 year old talking and moving around.

 We had lunch with Marcus ahead of time and changed into our ballet clothes. I knew we would not be able to take many picture at The Long Center. Abby did as well as I had expected. She wanted to sit, then stand, then sit, etc. She has had a hard time remembering to whisper. We left at intermission after having been there about an hour. I didn't think it would get any better and she thought it was over anyway!

 I love this picture- somehow she aged 3 years in this one! 

My little bitty girl as we left the ballet. The Long Center is beautiful!

 I am certain we will go back in a few years and hopefully, see the whole thing!

Merry Christmas Eve! We are busy with family today, church service tonight, and presents this evening! 

Happy Birthday Cohen

Happy 7th Birthday Cohen!

We love you and wish you the best day and 7th year!

Responsibility Chart

I saw another blogger with a child about Abby's age implement a responsibility chart and wanted to see if Abby would take to it as well as her son did. I didn't want to invest a lot of money so I thought about what we work with her on the most and made a simple Excel spreadsheet for her. I bought cheap smiling face stickers at Mardel and 4 treats from the dollar spot at Target. Pardon the extra Sunday column- I guess I did it a little too fast!

I introduced the chart when she did one of the responsibilities. I gave her a sticker for her hand and told her about her responsibilities and placed the second sticker on her chart. We started on Friday, Mom used it over the weekend and then yesterday morning, something magical happened. I was doing her laundry and she came running into the laundry room and told me to stop. She said, " I want to help you so that I can get a sticker". Heaven to a Mom's ears!

 

She loves to count her stickers and last night we discussed she was only 1 sticker away from a treat. She could get her treat first thing in the morning if she stayed in bed until "Raider" turns green. Raider is her alarm clock that turns green at the time we set, 7 AM. She ran into my room at 7:02 to announce Raider was green and she earned a treat! She selected a small orange slinky and all morning has told me "thank you for my treat". I love that she is old enough for this type of concept and we can work on her responsibilities with a goal in mind each week.

Way to go Abby- we are so proud of you!

Latte and Lights

We love looking at lights this time of year! After an easy dinner of leftovers, we put on our jammies, grabbed a couple of blankets and hopped in the car to see lights!

No light seeing adventure is complete without a little stop at Starbucks! I discovered their Gingerbread Lattes this season and love them! I'll be sad when they are gone.

We drove through a nicer neighborhood in our area and they had some great displays. They also had trucks pulling kids on flat beds in the neighborhood. That sounded so cool to Marcus and so cold to me!

Abby was in the backseat and had the iPhone with her. She made us stop so that she could take a picture of one of the houses with the phone. Marcus and I just laughed- there is no way we were snapping pictures at age 3!

Weekend Getaway

Marcus and I spent the past weekend in Houston and had the most fun! We had planned the trip after our friend Cristina offered us her Houston Texans tickets for Sunday's game. She has the best seats- I've never watched a game from the 50 yard line! Although not in Denver, I did get to see a Texan "Tebow" before the game- ha! The pre-game was lots of fun- great music and the players were all dancing. We love Jacoby Jones of the Texans- he is a fabulous dancer!
The Texans lost the game... boo! We were in a funny position because of Fantasy Football. Marcus was secretly cheering for the Carolina Panthers running back and I didn't want to see Arian Foster score, Houston's RB. We laughed as we cheered and boo'd with the crowd while smiling.

We stayed in Houston Saturday and Sunday night since I had a gift certificate for a hotel near the stadium. We ate way too much food including this yummy Apple Streusel Walnut Cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory. Being without Abby for the weekend, we ate lots of desserts with nuts :)

We stayed at the Galleria Mall and they had this 3 story tree in the ice rink! The mall was crazy packed since it was the last weekend before Christmas. There were stanchions creating lines to zig zag through the stores in order to pay. Madness- thank goodness we had free valet parking and could go back to our room when the crowds became too much.

Almost every store was offering 40% off! Great deals to be had for sure. Marcus almost bought this Star Wars Storm Trooper hat. We recently discovered youth hats fit his head- we've always known they fit his personality :)

My Mom stayed at our house with Abby for the weekend- they wore jammies all day, played, sewed, and watched TV. A perfect weekend for them, too!

Happy Birthday Kiersten

We celebrated our friend Kiersten's 4th birthday earlier this month. She is Rapunzel/Tangled crazy so it was the perfect theme for her party! She was in costume all day and most days will only answer to Rapunzel. Funny girl!

She had a great party with the best food (Round Rock doughnuts, Rudy's breakfast tacos, and Chick-fil-A nuggets) and lots of fun activities. Abby had fun and when we were leaving told my friend Tabriah (Kiersten's Mom), we'll come back another day. ha!

Date Night and New Boots

Friday night Marcus and I went to a Christmas party for some work friends of his. It was wonderful to get dressed up and meet new people. I even tried a yummy Chocolate Martini. It was like a milkshake in a fancy glass!I was also excited to go out because I finally own cute tall boots and got to wear them! I have searched for a long time for boots that look cute and fit over my legs comfortably. I don't have wide calves, but just below my calf is abnormally big. You can also see my new dark hair in these pictures! My hairdresser moved away and my roots were getting pretty bad, so I bought a box, said a little prayer and brushed it on. I think I like it- it is really close to my natural color so very low maintenance!

Marcus and I are off to Houston this weekend for a little shopping, lots of sleeping in, and to see the Houston Texans game!

Baby Face- Christmas Dance Recital

Abby Lu had her first dance recital this morning and this picture pretty much sums it up! I am so glad our studio does a small and informal recital before the big one that costs money. Needless to say, we will not be participating in the more formal recital in the Spring.

They do the dance twice- to warm the kids up and to give the parents plenty of opportunity for photos and video. The video of Abby during the first dance is uploaded here. She melts as the song goes on- from standing to frowning to sitting to laying on the ground. It was comical to all of us watching. At the end when everyone claps, she loudly proclaims, "but I didn't dance?" as if the clapping were for her and she didn't deserve them.

The second time around she went from frowning to looking around to actually dancing. I always give her a thumbs up from the watching area when she does well and today she gave her teacher a thumbs up once she began dancing.

It is perplexing as she loves to dance, sings the song and shows us the moves all week long and then freezes. I didn't expect her to dance- I just laughed it off this morning. I tried to set the expectations pretty low for my Mom and Marcus who were in the crowd!

Abby really loves Ms. Bree and Ms. Sarah her teachers. They are getting to know her and pushing her more each time. We did see the 2 year old class and it confirmed- Abby is too old for that class. They looked like babies in diapers!

Our friends Natalie and Michael were there to cheer Abby and our other friends on and we had a celebratory lunch afterward!

Parenting is humbling, an adventure, and definitely makes me laugh. Oh Abby Lu!

Rainbow Piggies

I painted Abby's toes this week and let her pick the colors. She is pretty obsessed with identifying colors with an object. So, she wanted her toes the colors of each of the Yo Gabba Gabba characters- we didn't have green for Brobee, so we subbed purple for backpack from Dora.

I found a new way to keep her still while her toes dry :)

I Love My New Board

Marcus and I built Abby a giant chalkboard and to say she loves it is an understatement. She spends at least an hour a day writing on it and will say the whole time, "I love my new board". Her favorite things to draw... the letter A, the number 11 (my favorite), and smiley faces in the colors of each of her Yo Gabba Gabba characters. She draws them all with both her left and right hand!

We plan to learn letters on this very board!

Tis The Season, Right?

I find it funny that Joy and Peace are words associated with Christmas. I know they should be, but my next 2 weeks are anything but peaceful. I am beginning to wonder how I would fit in a full time job. I am not complaining, but I am busy this month. Here is a look at my social calendar (see I can't complain, it is all fun stuff!).

Friday - Sunday I am in Lubbock doing contract work. I get to see an old friend, shop in a few of my favorite little stores, and work. Sunday I fly home at 11 AM. I have a party to attend at 4 PM that requires that I bring silent auction items. Of course, I want them to be homemade. So, I have a set of coasters drying and a growth chart in the staining process. Must finish tomorrow. I will leave that party and head to my Fantasy Football party with fresh cornbread and a pound cake. Must make those on Sunday when I get home and before the first party.

Monday morning I have a brunch meeting and am bringing Cinnamon French Toast bake and gifts for those there. Need to get those made tomorrow. Monday evening, dinner with friends from church. The hostess doesn't want me to bring anything, but I feel like I should. I may take her up on her offer!

I am spening all day Tuesday baking goodies for some of Marcus' clients. I volunteered and am thrilled to do it. But, it will take most of the day! I have the boxes, bags and tags all completed. Labels are designed, printed and attached!

Tuesday night I have a party from 5:30 to 7. Hooray for bringing nothing to it! Wednesday is Abby's dance recital (small and informal), but we are having a luncheon afterward. Must bake cookies. Luckily, the gifts for her friends and teachers are done already. Wednesday night, dinner with the other dance Moms. Nothing to bring- thank goodness.

Thursday is Abby's Christmas program at school and party afterward. Bringing food (I will sign up for plates and napkins if I can!) and her friends gifts and teacher gifts are done. My 12 days of Christmas blog series going on right now made me do everything early!

Friday I have lunch with friends and we are doing an ornament exchange. I really need to find some ornaments- maybe this weekend while in Lubbock? Finally, on Saturday, Marcus and I leave for Houston for 2 days to attend a Houston Texans game and spend the weekend together. I'll have to remind him what I look like!

It is all fun stuff, right? It is just a lot of stuff! To help make things better, my Mom is coming in on Tuesday and staying until next week. She is here for Abby's recital and program and to save my sanity. Thank goodness!

Tell me, are your pre-holidays this bad, too?

Big Girl Bed

We are officially a big girl in our very own twin sized bed!

I'll post more room pictures on the Birdie blog soon.

She is sleeping okay in her new bed. Naptime is tough- we've used videos on the iPhone to help her stay calm and fall asleep. Nighttime has been fine- she is tired at the end of the day and falls asleep. Her bed looks a little lumpy- we have foam wedges on each side that help to keep her in the bed in case she tries to sleep wonky. They were in her toddler bed as well.

Yo Gabba Gabba 2011

Yo Gabba Gabba came back to town this past weekend and we really debated not going, but when the tickets came up on a group coupon site, we bought them! This time only Marcus and Abby went and of course, they had a great time!

We recapped the show in detail last year and this year it was very similar. Abby wanted to wear her DJ Lance hat and glasses and drew a lot of attention!

I love that my sweet girl knows the power of a good accessory!

Breakfast with Santa

Abby and I had breakfast with Santa at the local YMCA Saturday morning. It was a great deal- no more mall pictures for me! Abby was not thrilled to see Santa or have her picture taken. She did manage to tell him she wanted "presents" for Christmas. I love the innocence of that!

She liked Mrs. Claus much better! She was in the breakfast room taking pictures with everyone as well.

For "breakfast", we had gingerbread cookies and warm chocolate milk. The room was decorated so cute with snowflakes, balloons, and festive paper goods.

Along with caroling, we had a craft- foam Santa ornaments. Our Santa has earrings :)

As we left, we received a 5x7 color photo of our picture with Santa. The official one is just as pitiful as the one I captured. Classic!

Me and My Daddy

My Daddy and I had a special date night this week. Mommy had a meeting, so we went to our favorite Starbucks for a party and then we played at chip-a-lay (Chick-fil-A). It was noisy and there were lots of boys on the playground, so I just sat and watched with my Daddy! I can do the big slide now, but I don't like to if there are other kids around.

My Daddy is also teaching my tae-kwon-do. I love the Yo Gabba Gabba episode where the girl shows her talent of breaking a board so I asked Daddy to show me how to hi-ya and kick.

We keep practicing. I am good at hitting my hand down on the other hand and kicking my leg.

I am one lucky girl with a really cool Daddy.

Tonight a Baby, Tomorrow a Big Girl

This is Abby's last night in her crib/toddler bed. Tomorrow, she will sleep in a twin bed like a real big girl. I have been prepping her for a solid week- she freaks out when I take her sheets off her bed so I am a little concerned. She has also told me every time I've told her she is getting a new bed that she already has a bed.

I am hoping the excitement of her new bedding (which I bought a year ago!) and her new rug, nightstand, and room arrangement will excite her and make her forget about her crib.

I also think having more room should excite her. She sleeps with three animals and three extra blankets. I think she would sleep with 10 if I let her.

Pictures of her new room coming soon!