Does anyone care about Christmas?

Clearly, I haven't been blogging.  I've been sewing instead.  Part of me doesn't want to blog anymore, and I find myself feeling angry and annoyed when I read other peoples' blogs.  But the other part of me wants to continue to document and share our lives with you (whoever you are). 

So, does anyone want to hear about Christmas?  Maybe I'll just recap the entire month of December since most of it had a hint (or huge splash) of the Christmas spirit. 

First, at the beginning of December, Claire's first tooth popped through!  She was just over 8 months old.  Getting a photo of it wasn't easy, but if you click on the image below and look closely you can make out the blur of a tiny chip of her new/first tooth.

Also on December 5th, we bundled up and drove to Pine Valley Farm - for the third year in a row - where we cut down our Christmas Tree.  It was brutally windy so we bundled up and got hot cocoa before taking the tractor ride down to the trees.  Turns out, taking an open-top cup of a hot sticky beverage on a bumpy tractor ride is not the smartest idea in the world, especially not while "wearing" a baby.  Attempting to drink said beverage is even stupider.  Anyway, we get to the trees and walked about....oh I don't know....10 yards(?) and I spotted the most perfect little tree.  Wanting to prolong the experience of picking our annual Christmas tree as a family, I knew we should walk a bit further.  You'd think the trees nearest the tractor drop-off spot would be the rejects nobody else wanted - I figured there'd be much better trees a few rows back.  It didn't take long for us to turn back to get the most perfect little tree from before - it was just too cold!  Of course it wasn't easy to re-find my perfect little tree....and in all honesty I have no idea if we ended up getting the same tree that initially sparked my interest.  Either way, I loved it, Kevin loved it, it was ours.  Kevin sawed it down and we were on our way. 

Trent just loved the tractor ride, regardless of what the expression on his face says

thats our tree, behind us

TIMMMBERRRRRRR

On December 10th Kevin had the genius idea to make a gingerbread house!  I was pretty unenthused about the idea for some reason....those kits just looked like such a scam to me and I didn't have the time to make homemade construction material.  I had made gingerbread houses as a kid, and I specifically remember having fun doing it, but for some reason I couldn't get into the idea.  Kevin was really into it though, so I didn't bring him down with my negativity and scrooge-ness.  Instead, I went along with it.  I even suggested we go to my place of employment to purchase a kit because I knew we had plenty in stock.  Not surprisingly, it was so much fun!!!  Also, not surprisingly, Trent wanted to eat the house more than he wanted to construct anything.  He was an absolute mess by the end of it, but our crazy little house was so cute.  It's definitely something we will do every year!

December 13th - my dear sweet Claire.  I still had my crappy camera so her face is as white and bright as a light bulb.  Frustrating.

Isn't she just the cutest little thing in that outfit???  That smile, those eyes, those cheeks, that lack of hair!

In early December we also turned Trent's crib into a toddler bed!  Big step!

December 17th, kid party!  Our ever-growing group of friends decided to have a little holiday party.  We all dressed the kids in something festive (and yes, a red t-shirt qualifies as festive), we ate pizza, and we talked about doing holiday-themed crafts.  (4 photos by joy or alicia)

December 18th, the conclusion of Itty Bitty Sports :-(  All the kids got a t-shirt for participating in the program and they took a group photo at the end.  I think I'll sign him up for the next session.

Even though there were probably a hundred kids in this program, only 6 attended the very last 2:00 class.

December 19th, I read on the internet someplace about a horse-and-carriage ride in Kennett Square, PA, so we trekked up there figuring it would be cute and Trent would get a kick out of seeing the horses.  I took several photos, but my batteries were too dead to register more than 1.  HUGE BUMMER.  The horses were gorgeous and the carriages were so adorable and cozy.  There were only 2 carriages and ours was the larger of the two, holding 4.  It was a very cute day-time ride around the area.  While the ride itself wasn't very lengthy and we weren't in the area to do/see anything else, I'd say it was well worth the commute.  

Christmas Eve.  It started with a trip to see Grandmom.  We were all given very night PJ's so that we wouldn't look like slobs in photos the next morning.  Trent also received How the Grinch Stole Christmas and a Grinch stuffed animal.  Adorable.  Then came Mass.  Then mommom & grandpas house, where my dad did his usual dress-like-santa-and-give-out-gifts thing - something they've done since before I was even born.  Of course it's more fun now that children are involved again and not just grown adults, but really it's not as creepy as it might sound.  It's usually alot of fun because it's so silly. 

this is Trent pointing at my dad saying "grandpa".  He wasn't fooled by the beard and hat

she liked the beard

Once the kids were sleeping Kevin gave me my Christmas present from him and his parents - a new camera!!!!  And not just any camera - an amazingly wonderful camera that I cherish (and I'm not just saying that because they are probably reading this)

Christmas Day began with homemade breakfast and gift opening.  Claire got a mattress (which we  gave her weeks ahead of time) and a penguin toy that she is terrified of.  Trent got Mr. Potato Head, a remote control car, some dinosaurs and a dinosaur book. 

 Stockings:  well, i made felt ornaments for Trent Claire and Kevin.  Trent also got a personalized canteen thing.  Maggie got a bone.  Kevin surprised us all with tickets to see Toy Story on Ice!



Once we showered and dress we headed to mommom and grandpa's house again.  There the presents seemed endless.  We literally ran out of space in our vehicle and had to return to their house later to get the rest of our gifts.  I had made Claire's Christmas outfit but she spit up all over it before I had a chance to take any pictures :-(

After a couple hours with my family we met Kevin's family at our house to exchange, then we all headed up to PA to visit with extended family.  All in all it was a great day spent with family!

December 28th - snow.  Trent got a shovel for Christmas, so he was out helping Kevin.

December 31st, Toy Story on Ice.  Kevin strategically planned for us to go see Disney on Ice on a day where he could join us!  We all had a really great time.  The show was wonderful!  It's definitely ANOTHER event I could see becoming a yearly tradition for our family.

 

 

she was tired

Christmas crafts included: