Tis the Season

There are so many things GOOD things to do in December. Fun traditions, activities and social events. But, even the good things can be a bit overwhelming. I read somewhere that if a certain activity or tradition is going to make you crazy (or yell at your kids/husband), drop the guilt and don’t do it. I’ve tried to make that my motto during the Christmas season :) Even though our kids are little, it’s such a busy time of the year. Our key to making it fun is to keep it simple! 

We continued our tradition of cutting down a live tree. We ventured out with my family to the tree farm and everyone came home with a winner. 

 
It was a beautiful winter morning to be outside. Clara liked learning how to make/throw snowballs with her new uncle Dan. 

Luke was an adorable outdoorsman. 

Decorating the tree was an adventure with the two kiddos. Luke LOVED the lights and Clara didn’t want him to touch anything! Clara liked putting the ornaments on the tree and added lots of beautiful Clara-made treasures throughout the month from daycare, preschool and grandma crafts. 

Clara also got to decorate a gingerbread train with her grandma one Saturday morning. She enjoyed snacking while she worked and admired the finished product in our window all month long. She also loved decorating Christmas cookies. These were both perfect Grandma activities. Grandmas have more patience. 

We are slowly adding to our Christmas story collection. We tried to grab the kids and read a story or two in the evenings by the tree. “Clifford’s Christmas” may have been the favorite this year, but I’m hoping that a little of the baby Jesus stuck!

One of the joys of having little kids is adorable footed Christmas jammies. I think they are going to be 12 and I’ll still be trying to get them in a pair. Our daycare provider started a brilliant tradition of “warm winter Wednesdays”, which just means we didn’t have to get the kids dressed in the morning and they rocked their jammies all day long.

On the last day of preschool before break, parents were invited for a little sing-along and craft day. It was really fun to see Clara at school, and she enjoyed showing us around. Her teachers always tell us how cheerful she is, which is about what we’d expect.

Throughout the month, the adults found time to enjoy some social events and office Christmas parties. We’re thankful for a fun-filled Christmas season. Holidays are great because they encourage us to get out of our everyday routine and do some special things as a family!

Nine Month Little Man

This guy is nine months old!

And he is on the move! He gets around with his super fast army crawl. A few days before he turned nine months, he started sitting himself up off of his belly. He’s also looking to climb more every day, and is so proud every time he stands up. He can't be left for long to play by himself because he tends to find the one thing in the room he's not supposed to touch or climb. He's already more interested in opening cupboards and touching light sockets than Clara was a twice his age. Welcome to boys right?

We're so thankful for Luke's happy personality. He is starting to have some strong opinions and display frustration when we take something away or he can't reach something. He works pretty hard to wiggle out of our arms when there is something he wants. But, he is still all smiles most of the day. He's reached that age where he is SO excited when he sees one of us! When dad gets home from work, he insists that the first thing Brad does is pick him up. He looks so happy to be back with his daddy. He's also started to clap along if he hears music or someone claps for him. So sweet!

He’s really good about going with the flow, and rarely cries. He did great at Amy’s wedding, sleeping well in the hotel and being a happy guy even with all the people around and the strange schedule.  

He is still nursing, but starting to eating more table food every week. His favorite food in the whole world is yogurt melts. We think he’d keep eating them for hours if we let him. He also likes ground beef, noodles, eggs and most baby pureed foods we give him.

We know Clara has spoiled us, but he seems like such an early riser! We usually hear from him around 6 in the morning. But, he’s happy in his crib for awhile before he starts whining for breakfast. That's right - he's no longer sleeping in his swing! His actual transition to his crib wasn't that bad. We’d sure like it if he’d sleep in a bit, but can’t complain when he is sleeping decently at night and for naps. 

His favorite toys include magazines to tear up, empty waterbottles, our little people barn and animals and the tunnel in the basement. Clara can get him giggling like a maniac when she surprises him at the end of the tunnel. Is there any better sound than your kids entertaining each other? He likes to drag a toy in there and just hang out for awhile. Clara does not exactly appreciate Luke's interest in all of "her" things, but Luke is still a pretty good sport about sharing. We often find him sitting back while Clara plays and then moving in to grab whatever she drops. He's pretty patient about waiting for the right time to strike! :)

We love you Mr. Baby Luke!

The Wedding

Dan and Amy are married! And we survived! What a whirlwind of a weekend. So much fun, but I'm pretty sure we didn't stop moving for three days. We left Friday morning to head to Des Monies. Luke's an all-star traveler right now, so he slept. Clara got to do her favorite thing in the whole world: watch the IPad. It's shocking the amount of stuff that was crammed in our van for two nights away with two littles.

We met Amy and the wedding crew for lunch. While the kids took afternoon naps, the ladies headed out to get our nails done. After a quick change of clothes, we had rehearsal and a beautiful dinner at Centro Friday night. Clara got to stay up late at the dinner with me - she loved every minute. There were new things to explore and my Aunt Barb provided lots of entertainment. She literally did not stop moving. I think Amy's friends that don't have kids yet were a little scared off! She finally crashed in the car on the way to the hotel when she told us she wanted to go to sleep so much that she didn't want to change into her jammies, that she'd sleep in her tights :)

The couple - aren't they cute??

This is when we got concerned Clara was getting too comfortable :)

Saturday morning I headed to Amy's house to get ready. Clara was a lucky girl and got to join us mid-morning. She added some energy and loved getting to hang out with the girls. 

So excited to be a flower girl

Amy was a beautiful bride!

The kids took naps Saturday afternoon while Brad and I left for photos with the wedding party. They met us at the church in time for Luke to walk down the aisle with my mom. Clara was super excited to be a flower girl for weeks (we practiced). But, until about 10 seconds before it was her time to walk down the aisle she was hiding in a corner away from the group with that toddler look of "You can't MAKE me do anything" on her face. At the last minute, she walked up and said "I go", like she'd made up her mind to cooperate. She marched down the aisle quickly, dumped all her flowers at my feet at the front of the church, spiked her basket to the ground and then dove into my dad's arms once he'd given Amy away. 

The ceremony was wonderful and the kids both did great while we were at the front of the church. 

Clara also had a blast at the reception. She moved between all the adults every 2 minutes sampling everything on our plates (mostly cake and cake balls), enjoyed the photo booth and loved the glow sticks at the dance. Luke was a trooper and stayed up way past his bedtime. 

Looking pretty sleepy here...

We were able to leave the kids in the hotel room with Steph after they went to sleep and spend the rest of the evening catching up with friends and family, interluding with my dad and enjoying a few adult beverages.

After a late night, Luke's wake up call came a little early Sunday morning. Brad was gracious enough to take him on a long walk after I fed him, so the girls all got to sleep in. He was as happy as can be in the hotel:

Clara got her first hotel pool swim in, we got to see Amy & Dan one more time and we had lunch at Jethros before we hit the road happy and a little tired!

Overall, the kids did great and we were very thankful for their go with the flow personalities. A special thanks to Steph for traveling with us - you made the whole weekend possible!  Congrats to Amy & Dan, and thanks for including all of us in your big day!