Christmas Eve

Wow... it is here... CHRISTMAS! I can't believe how fast the time flew. It was just yesterday we were planning Thanksgiving dinner... or wait... we were raking leaves. Now, there is a ton of snow and Yep... it's here, the Happiest time of the year... or at least we hope so. There is always tension especially with a toddler, cookies, presents and limited naps. But, today was a good day and if the rest of the weekend could go as well as today I will be happy.

First we woke up and made some yummy sausage and eggs for breakfast. Then Hadley and I made Christmas Wreath cookies! This was Grandma Bernice's famous cookie, so it was fun to think of her while we made them.


Hadley enjoyed the red hots, her job was to put them on the cookies.


The cookies turned out! And, they were yummy too. Then Auntie Michelle, Danny, Cody and Eme came to celebrate Christmas with us. They arrived around 11:30. We ate spaghetti, breadsticks and a salad. Then we had cookies. After we ate we relaxed and opened presents. Hadley got a bunch of great items. She got some Melissa and Doug food ... both cutting fruits and regular veggies. She also got new pots and pans for her kitchen. She loved her baby accessories and even tried them out on herself. She got a new froggie towel and socks too! Robert and I also got some nice gifts. We were are very happy!


Michelle and the crew left around 3pm.


Hadley went down for a nap and she didn't fall asleep right away. Daddy heard her crying a little so he went and laid down with her. She was asleep in no time after that. We got ready for church at 5pm. Hadley woke up on her own but was a bit crabby which added some tension. One of my favorite things to do is going to church on Christmas Eve... so I wasn't going to let a little girl who was being fussy spoil that. I managed to get her dressed in her cute cream sweater dress with red snowman tights and away we went. We even made it there before church started. Grandpa and Grandma joined us. After church we went to Aunt Laurie's house for a lite dinner and Neveah and Hadley played. They also opened gifts from each other. And, both girls got a doll from Becky and Mark.


Then we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house to open up gifts. It was about 8pm ... right on schedule. Hadley got some finger paints and similar items from Nevaeh. She was thrilled. We made Nevaeh a Shutterfly book and everyone liked it. At Grandpa and Grandma's... Hadley was happy to run and play. She had a huge stack of presents and got some great gifts. Mommy got a new jacket and Daddy got snowshoes. We also got some meat from Chad and Andrew gave Robert a new fishing pole and I got a Swifer Wetjet and the movie Eat Pray Love.
Now on to Hadley...
She got dress up items from Chad
A screen tent from Andrew
A piggie calendar from Andrew and Chad
From Grandpa and Grandma...
A laptop, princess tent, clothes, dora toothbrush, a knitted sweater by Aunt Judy, a new tricycle, Memory game, PJ's and I am sure I am forgetting something. But once she got the tent... all she wanted to do was sit in there and play with her laptop. Only two and already retreating from the family with her electronics!


We finished opening presents and did stockings. Hadley was a great little girl and enjoyed exploring her new gifts. We cleaned up and got ready to go. It was a little hard to get Hadley to leave her tent behind... but we reminded her she would have it to play with tomorrow. We did take a family photo in the tent.


It was nice to have Chad back in the mix too. We were all together for Christmas! It was a great night and Hadley even went to bed fairly easy when we got home. She was out at 10:30pm. A little late but not bad.


Well it is officially Christmas! So Merry Christmas and hopefully tomorrow goes well with a full day of activities.

Meeting Santa

Hadley making her wishes for all her new toys last weekend!
At Macy's in Minneapolis.

Happy Birthday to you!

Hadley is Two!

Big Girl Bed

Today we got the new quilt for Hadley's Big Girl Bed. It was a birthday present.

Yesterday we bought a twin mattress and put it on the floor with her new sheets. It stayed in the center of her room and she slept in her crib. She played on her bed and was excited.

Tonight Robert moved it to the corner and took out the reading chair. That chair is now in our room awaiting the arrival of the crib and a few other furniture pieces from Hadley's room for the new baby.
Then Robert put her new quilt on the bed. Hadley thought it was much cooler tonight. Plus, we had to read books in her bed because we didn't have the chair like usual. So new change to our routine.
I was a little scared that this might give us some hiccups... and I am sure it will but tonight so far so good. We read books in the bed and I asked her where she wanted to sleep. She said she wanted the Big Girl Bed. So I said ok and gave her the usual blankets, baby and monkey. I tucked her in and told her I would be back to check on her. I turned Violet on and out I went. It has been almost ten minutes so I will go check on her and she if she is still in bed.

Today after nap we played with Nevaeh at her house. We haven't been there forever! It was nice for Hadley to go play with N's big toys and it helps me see what she really wants. I think she also knows that Nevaeh sleeps in a Big Girl Bed too!

Hadley has also had five poop diapers today. All are soupy type and I am hoping this isn't another bug. She has eaten well and has been pretty upbeat! I am sure she is okay, I know she hasn't gotten into anything weird but changes like this always make me worried.

Baby update... Little Pea is kicking a lot and it seems like my belly is getting bigger but then it gets smaller so I don't know if the baby is just moving around and that is why I change. I am 24 weeks and going on 25 in a two days. So I am officially 6 months 1 week along!

Life update... I also have our Christmas cards ready to order from Shutterfly but I need to finish Nevaeh's photo book before ordering. I am almost done... I started it last night and have just four pages to tweak. It is so much easier to do a book for someone else. I have Hadley's book to finish too! I have that half done. I have a goal to get her's done too and ordered with this order if possible so I can have it shipped free! Next weekend we are going to Minneapolis for the Holidazzle Parade and to see Santaland at Macys. I hope we have okay weather and a nice easy going day. It will help to leave early and allow extra time for everything. I really want Hadley to see Santa so I am hoping if we get there a few hours earlier then the parade the lines won't be soo long! I am putting it out into cyberspace for my wish to be granted!

Bed update... I just went up and checked on her. She is still in her bed. She is sucking her thumb. I think she is asleep but I didn't go in. I will go in later. I fear her falling out but it is a short fall considering it is just a mattress on the floor. But, I think I will put some pillows down to hopefully help break the fall if she does! I can't believe my little baby is sleeping in a twin bed. Wow... this is so surreal. I feel very similar as I did when I had to put her to bed in her crib for the first time. She was five months old and I cried. I didn't want my baby sleeping in another room. It only took a few days and I was over it but this time it feels like another big milestone! I will try not to cry but it just means she is getting older and bigger and that only means that someday she won't need me and I dread that day!

Update on bed... Hadley slept that first night in her bed until 2 am. Then she cried a little and came into bed with us. The next two nights she chose to sleep in her crib. She is still waking up in the middle of the night because of the habit that formed while she was sick. Last night she slept in her Big Girl bed again. She woke up at 4am and came into our room, not crying, blanket in hand ready to crawl in...