Christmas Eve: Hanging Out

Towards the end of the Christmas party I decided to take Hannah upstairs to chill out for a bit.  It was getting really warm downstairs with the dancing and then tearing into Christmas presents, and Hannah was being passed from person to person, and was getting pretty warm.  I had already taken off her tights and shoes, so I took her upstairs, took her sweater off and let her enjoy some time with some of her favorite things, her toes.

This also gave me a chance to get a few pictures of my little sweetie in her Christmas dress, though this first picture looks unsettlingly like a Sears Portrait picture, with her in front of a tree backdrop, don't you think?

But then a dog and some furniture entered the picture, which alleviated the Sears-ness of the series.

The red head in the photos below is Chelsea, if you don't recognize her with her new do.  She instructed me, "Take pictures of me and Hannah, so I can use them for my screensaver."  So I did.

She then took charge of the camera, attempting to get a decent shot of Hannah and I.

As we sat upstairs chilling out, the party downstairs started to break up and more people joined us in the living room, where we all sat and chatted for a while.

Jayce hugged his cousins good bye,

and then moved in to shoot uncle Justin Matrix-style.  I'm not really sure why.

Then he started going a little bit crazy, since he hadn't had a nap, had tons of excitement, and was a few hours past his normal bedtime.  So we let him partake in one of his favorite "keep him in one place" activities-play Angry Birds on someone's phone.  This time it was Aunt Chelsea's phone.

We headed out just after 10 to attempt some rest in preparation for the next morning's present extravaganza.  We managed a little bit at least.

 

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Christmas Eve Party

I was delighted to be able to make it to the Christmas Eve party this year.  It's been 2 years and it's always so fun.

Chris likes to say that it's like the family in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  It's not, but I like that comparison.  Though on this night, it looks a little bit like that.

The collection of uncles usually do something ridiculous to the "new guys," fiances, new boyfriends, new husbands, etc.  (I can't remember what Chris had to do, but it wasn't too bad.)  This year, they made the guys participate in a polka dance-off.  There were 2 new guys (and 1 non-new guy) who were paired up with a few of the aunts, and the aunts had to teach the new guys how to polka, which is basically just a skip around the room.  After a little performance for the crowd, they were judged by a panel of a few of the senior family members So You Think You Can Dance-style, and the winning pair won a free polka cd so that they could practice at home. They made the aunts wear these little old lady costumes as well.  :)

(I feel like I should say that this is all lighthearted and in really good fun.  There is kind of a "what are they up to this year" sort of mentality to it, but they're very mild.  It sounds a little crazy as I'm typing it up, and I promise it's not.  Or at least not that crazy.)

This was the first year that Chelsea's boyfriend attended, so he and mom had to polka together.  They did a pretty good job.

The older kids sat on the stairs to watch the action.

I didn't get nearly as many pictures as I wanted to, or of everyone at the party because I kept having to duck out with Hannah, who was overwhelmed to say the least.  We had just come from a Christmas Eve service at church where we were swarmed with people who wanted to see us and her, and the same thing happened at the party.  It was just a lot more commotion and excitement than she is used to and she kept bursting into tears.  Poor little thing.

Jayce, however, had no problems.  He found his cousins, and though they hadn't seen each other in over a year, he jumped right in to playing with them and their stuff.  Despite how much he doesn't like Santa, when posed with the option of sitting on his lap or not getting his present, he went over and hugged Santa.  The boy has his priorities.

Hannah was pretty mellow with Santa.  She checked him out and was fine with him.  It was a better response than she had given a few of her uncles.

The party went too quickly, each of us going up to get our presents, pose for photos, open presents, pose in groups, etc.  It was a busy night with a lot of visiting, noise, and holiday cheer crammed into just a few hours.

Overall it was a great Christmas Eve, as always.

 

 

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Favorite

I haven't posted anything on I Heart Faces for a while, but I saw that their theme for the week is the best face photo, and this one immediately popped into my mind.

This was our first day home with Hannah from the hospital, she was three days old.

This was not a staged picture. I was sitting in the glider, bawling because Hannah wouldn't wake up to eat despite all of my best efforts, so I had called Chris in to try to wake her up. He brought her over by the window hoping that the brightness might bring her out of her snooze, but no such luck. Despite my tears I couldn't get over how beautiful the soft light was and the expression on his face. I grabbed my camera, took only a few pictures, and was in love with this one.

It looks like someone else was in love too.

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Preschool Christmas Program

Jayce had his preschool Christmas program just before we left town for Akron.

It was pretty standard as far as 3 and 4 year old programs go. Only 4 songs, (or was it 5?) It was over in 15 minutes.

Jayce was in the front row, third from the right. He stood next to his two best buddies in his class, Beren and Eli. We kept laughing at these three, they looked very ornery together.

The kids were all a little shy and unsure looking when they first came out. It was in the gym at their school, and the whole school (K-8) came in for the performance, in addition to the parents and family members, so I'm sure they were a little intimidated. Luckily we were all in the front row, so Jayce saw us, gave a little wave, and yelled "Hi Mom!!"

They did a great job. I love when little kids sing and it sounds more like they're all just shouting together, not singing. It cracks me up.

Jayce wouldn't tell us much about the program ahead of time, or sing us the songs, but periodically while he was playing he would start singing "up on the rooftop reindeer pause..." so I figured that would make it into the mix. It did.

Luckily the program was filled with plenty of dancing and motions, which was what I was hoping for.

I got some video with Chris' phone of the performance when I wasn't scooting around the gym trying to get a better angle for my pictures, much to Chris' embarrassment. The video is dreadful, but it's a little clip of the performance. Enjoy.

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2011 Highlights

Now that we have addressed the things I'll be doing in the new year, I think a 2011 year in review is in order as well.

Here are a few of my highlights, in chronological(ish) order.

1.) The Potty Training Miracle.

A year ago I dove headfirst into a fabulous potty training plan. A week later I retreated, broken in defeat. 5 months later, in the midst of bed rest craziness, Jayce decided to train himself, and did just that. Then he backslid, (except for #2, which thankfully is still in the potty every time). Almost a year later, we are back and forth on a weekly basis, some "dry all day" days, and some "didn't even try" days.

But this has been a good exercise for us in just letting some things go. We can't control everything, we can't make him do it right, despite trying seemingly everything. We've gone from the days and weeks of being stressed and concerned about it, to just being patient and remembering that at some point it will click and he'll get it. But I'm still grateful for that miraculous week where Jayce decided he was done with diapers, and that he kept that up for the first few months of Hannah's life.

2.) It's a Girl.

I had been convinced that Hannah was going to be a boy and was so excited about it. I love my little boy and wanted another. But finding out that it was a girl brought a fresh excitement to a pregnancy that thus far had been difficult for me. I started dreaming about her, bonding with her in a way I hadn't before, thinking about her nursery, and smiling about shopping on the other side of the kids department.

3.)The Allergist.

Poor Jayce was so sick for months and those weeks were absolutely horrible. It is such a helpless feeling to leave the doctor's office a few times a week, armed with new medications that "hopefully" will work, only to watch him start to get better for a day or so, then quickly go back in the other direction. It turned out that he didn't have allergies, but the course of medications that the doctor put him on (an inhaler and a nose spray) helped him to get better and stay better. I've never been so relieved.

4.) Bed rest.

Bed rest seems like a nice peaceful relaxing thing, but it's not. It leaves you feeling very helpless, and if you like to do things yourself, constantly having to rely on others is stressful.

That said, I was so relieved when the doctor told me that I needed to be on bed rest, because I knew that I wouldn't be able to make myself take it easy. I tried, but caring all day for a 3 year old demands a certain amount of energy, in addition to the fact that I rarely choose to rest over choosing to accomplish something. (I still can't just sit down with a book or watch tv when the kids sleep.) Pregnancy also has that strange way of masking how you feel until it's too late. As in, I didn't have a sense when I was doing something that I was pushing myself too hard, until later on when I was feeling horrible and it took a few days to recover. I'm so glad that the rest allowed me to avoid any premature labor or major complications with my pregnancy.

5.) Coming Home.

My week in the hospital at 35 weeks was so hard. I hated being away from Jayce, I hated having to leave him with a sitter for Chris to stay overnight with me, I hated constantly being woken up by the nurses in addition to my bladder, I hated the bed/food/tv, etc. I was glad that it allowed the doctor to keep an eye on Hannah and make sure that she was okay, but I watched the clock constantly, waiting for the doctor to come around and hopefully tell me that I'd be able to go home that day.

The day I came home was bliss. The house was trashed and I didn't care. Jayce sat and watched cartoons and I sat and stared at him with a silly grin on my face. I napped on my own couch and slept at night in my own bed, next to my husband, with my boy upstairs in his room. Happiness.

6.) Etsy.

I started Etsy in May of 2010 thinking I just wanted to try it out. I could only handle a certain amount of extra work, since I was home with Jayce, pregnant, and Lemon Tree demanded so much time each week. But in the back of my mind I thought it would be cool to sell something every week.

I was pretty close to my goal when I got put on bed rest. I got an order and it required a bit of extra fuss on Chris who was already doing everything for all of us, so I offered to close it until after Hannah was born. He told me not to worry and to keep it open. I got a few requests for custom items, (one of them rather large that would have been good for me financially,) but I turned them down because I didn't want any extra things to do while on bed rest. I told myself that if I didn't make it, I could say "Well, I would have had enough sales, but I turned several down..."

But by my 1 year Etsy anniversary, I had 53 sales. 53 sales in 52 weeks.

I also had items from my shop on the front page 5 times, and was in the Storque Spotlight. This may not have been a lot for some people, but for me, I was thrilled.

7.) Sweet Hannah Arrives.

There is nothing like giving birth, nothing like those first few days of getting to know your tiny baby, nothing l like skin to skin naps, nothing like those tiny fragile yawns, nothing like making your "only" a brother. There is nothing like my sweet girl.

8.) Florida.

After a year with a lot of stress, a lot of worry, a lot of stress, a lot of sickness, a lot of stress, and 9 months of not leaving town, I couldn't have needed Florida more.

The first day we were there Jayce and I headed over to the beach to make sandcastles. It was perfect: warm, not hot, with a gentle breeze, white sand, warm water, not crowded. We parked ourselves on the edge of the water and started digging, both quietly working at our task. I looked down at one point and realized that I was just grabbing sand and letting it run through my fingers, and with every fistful of sand I could feel my stress slowly draining away. We're all ok. Jayce is healthy. My pregnancy was safe. Hannah is healthy and growing. Chris is okay. I'm not on bed rest. Hannah doesn't have colic. I breathed in the salty air and relaxed into a vacation that I have never needed more.

9.) Chris Excels.

We found out in one month that Chris had won 2 different research awards. Then in the fall, within 2 weeks of one another, 2 of his books were released. This is all before he is 32, and in addition to his work, since he is not a writer but a professor. His textbook has been aggressively promoted by the publisher and he periodically updates me on how it is selling on Amazon. Proud isn't a strong enough word.

10.) Christmas in Akron.

We travelled to Akron for Christmas, and though it was a long drive, and sometimes a stressful trip, I just loved it. We got to take part in our extended family Christmas Eve party, a tradition that has been running for decades. There is nothing like bringing your children into a tradition that you were a part of as a child, and that your mom was a part of as a child. I haven't seen most of those people in 2 years, and I loved introducing them to Hannah, watching Jayce play with his cousins, watching mom proudly tote Hannah around, watching Chris laugh at the new "hazing" that the uncles were putting the new boyfriends or fiances through. It was perfect.

Linking to E Tells Tales, Capturing Motherhood, What I Like Wednesdays, & the Wiegands.

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New Year Miscellany

Happy New Year!!

I love the start of January. I love the clean slate nature of it, it almost seems like a fresh To-Do list. Not in a bad way, like "these are the things you need to do and are bogging you down," but like "here is a fresh start for whatever you want." Fun, right? Here are a few miscellaneous "new year" things that are on my mind right now.

1.) Jayce received this fun marble racing game for Christmas, a toy that he has been thanking God for long before he owned it. (Seriously, each night when we ask if there is anything he'd like to thank God for he says "the marble racing game at Lauren's house." ) I know that these next few months the play dates and errand running will slow down drastically as he and his friends all fight off cold season, so it is a goal of mine to set up a fun and interactive playing area to use instead, and this will be a part of it.

2.) I have monthly pictures of Hannah that I haven't really showed off because I need to finish editing them. Some months are done and some aren't. It is my goal to have them all finished before her first birthday, so I have 6 months to catch up and stay caught up, since I obviously add new ones each month.

3.) As of this week, Lemon Tree Creations is on a bit of a break. I'm not sure how long of a break at this point, or if we will resume it at all in the same form. I announced it to our readers this morning on this post. I can't lie, I'm sad about it. But it was time. I'll have to go more into that in another post. :)

4.) Little Hannah is still resisting solid foods in every form, in addition to bottles and formula. Sigh. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them!

I had forgotten how quickly you go through bibs once you begin attempting baby food a few times per day, so I took a cue from Tiffany and decided to make up a few bibs for Hannah. Tiffany was right, they are totally addictive!! I grabbed a piece of fabric that I love, a white towel that I never use and a bib for a template, and 10 minutes later I had the cutest bib I've ever seen. So I made another, and another and cut material for another. I'm thinking that these will cheer me up just a little as Hannah continues to buck away from and spit out any food that makes its way into her mouth.

5.) I have been going through my pictures from Christmas and have been surprised by how poor of a job I did of getting those "the picture" moments. You know, Grandma with both grandkids, all of the siblings together, pictures of myself in any form, etc. However, there is no way that I was missing a picture of Hannah taking a bath in the sink! What is it that is so darn cute about a naked baby splashing in the sink?! I don't know exactly what it is, but I'm loving it.

I'm linking to Miscellaneous Monday and Life Made Lovely.

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