December always manages to be a crazy month. Here are a few of our latest adventures:
1) One afternoon we got out Abbey's art easel and the girls had a ball:
2) It was cousin Gigi's 1st birthday on December 8th, so Andi and Abbey joined me in going to Bethany's house for the big bash. The party was a "French" themed party, complete with Eiffel tower silhouettes on the party favors, invitations, you name it. Notice Gigi's "french" hat. Even the food was fancy and french. So cute. Leave it to my in-laws to throw a killer bash like that. No detail is too small!
3) On a Saturday before Christmas, we took the girls to the Farmington Community Center for their annual Santa celebration. This was the second year we went, so it's becoming a tradition. The girls got their picture taken on Santa's lap and they were able to do some fun Christmas crafting. It was a fun, free activity. Love my town.
4) Michael's brother, Daniel, has a darling girl named Maelee who also had a December birthday. I took Ava with me to that party, as you can see from the following picture. Maelee is now officially three years old. Every time I see that girl I just want to eat her! So adorable.
5) Here was a cute moment I had to capture on camera:
6) One of my new favorite places to go is Gardner Village. Especially at Christmas time. My mom and I have found a restaurant there we like, so we got to do some window shopping at the same time. Here's Andi in front of a rug I saw there that I liked:
7) Lately, one of the girls' favorite things to do is to get their stuffed animals in a baby stroller and push them around. Here's Andi taking care of her "baby:"
8) On December 17, Andi had her music performance at the Community Center. She's been in a music class the past few months with her cousins, Chase and Chloe. She's loved it, and that love was evident in her performance. She sang so well and did the actions like a champ. I was so proud of my girl. I have really enjoyed being able to watch the girls perform, whether it's dance or music or giving talks. It's a joy seeing them in action and observing the wonderful things they are learning.
This music show in particular was a performance by Andi that I won't be forgetting.
9) On the same night of Andi's performance, we came home and made gingerbread houses. Eric was the one who headed it up, and he did a splendid job! He's often so good with that kind of stuff.
10) This month, Harry discovered a stuffed monkey that we had sitting in our toy closet. It's become his new companion, as you can see. He loves cuddling with it. :)
11) One of the most memorable parts of this holiday season was the song, "All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" because it was one of the songs Andi performed for her music class. We practiced singing that song as a family so many times that I think it became the symbol of our 2012 Christmas. On top of that, week or so before Andi's performance, we had the tv on one night and they had a "Michael Buble Christmas Special" on. It just so happens that he performed "All I Want for Christmas"--our FAVORITE song--with Elmo on his show that night. LUCKILY, I found the performance on YouTube the next day and Andi watched it over and over and over. So I figured I couldn't talk about our December without including a clip of Michael Buble's performance:
12) Ava loves watching Signing Time in the morning while I'm getting ready. It's always fun watching her get into it.
13) Before the holidays came, Eric and I decided to establish a better system for attending all of our four different family parties. We want to see all of our family during the Christmas season, but if we wait until the week of Christas to do it all, it can get a little too crazy. So one solution was to start hosting some parties the weeks before Christmas.
It was sure nice being able to have the Allen/Schmitz family over for a Christmas bash. I know it was out of their normal Christmas celebrations to come over, but I was glad we had a moment to spend together during the holidays. I've especially appreciated their support with the Klein family and their desire to be a part of the girls' lives. It means a lot to me. I need to feel connected.
I'm also grateful for a husband that, in spite of it all, is willing to help me host such parties and is a good sport about keeping our in-laws a part of our lives. It's not always easy, I know.
You can tell from the following pictures that Andi had a good time. She made a point of spending time with her cute baby cousins and it was good to see.
14) Michael's brother, Daniel, made Eric a cribbage playing board, which was super nice and supportive.
15) Dude...Maybe no one else appreciates this picture, but I love it. Sometimes when I'm taking a shower I'll shut my bedroom door so no one bothers me, including Harry. In such situations, Harry has resorted to putting his paws under the door while he waits...I'm pretty sure it's just to make me feel bad. :)
16) Again, stuffed animals were a hit this month, as you can see:
17) Eric playing cribbage with the Allens.
18) Two days before Christmas, my parents had us over for a good Sunday dinner. Afterwards, Lori got out her chimes and the kids got to help "play" Christmas songs. Pretty cute.
19) The Luke family cousin gift exchange:
20) Christmas morning, 2012. We didn't get a whole lot of pictures that morning, but here they were at the beginning of the morning's presents. They each got some new books, Andi got a bunk bed for her dolls, Abbey got a Lite Brite and a Kindle, and Ava got some toy cars and other toys.
21) Here Abbey is with her new floor puzzle:
22) Just one day after Christmas, Eric was back to work and we went back to the usual routine. Some of that routine includes Harry trying to get everyone's breakfast off the table. If you look closely, you can see that the bowl is just hanging off the table, ready to fall. The work of a food thief, name of Harry the Dog! :
23) This is at Eric's work--at one of his job sites. Gives you an idea of the things he does when he's not in the office.
24) The week after Christmas we took advantage of all the great snow we've been getting and we went sledding. One day we went up Trapper's Loop by Snowbasin and enjoyed the hills there. On other sledding days, we've gone to a hill just a few blocks away from our house. The girls love it and Eric turns into a little kid again. They love it, and so does Harry! He's a great snow dog.
25) New Year's Eve landed on a Monday night this year, so we took the opportunity to have a family home evening on goals. Eric printed off these papers for each of us and we all made goals for the upcoming year.
This is what Abbey wrote on hers: "get Betr at Swiming...get betr at reading...try noo ryds [at Lagoon]...try noo food."
For Andi's, we wrote: "Learn to play soccer, learn to ice skate, get better at swimming, work on being nice to Ava, learn how to write my letters, and be happy when I get dressed in the morning."
Eric helped Ava on her sheet, and they wrote, "Work on not crying and using big girl words instead. Eat vegetables. Only color on paper. Don't pee bed. Become better swimmer."
Eric and I decided to make a goal of working on reading our scriptures more together. I had another big long list of my own, but I'm a list person, so that's a given, I guess.
It was a good ending to a year full of goods, bads, and lots of adjustments.
26) Here they are on New Year's Eve, playing with their tablets. Andi's playing with our iPad and Abbey's enjoying her new Kindle.
28) We got Abbey involved in her school's Christmas choir, so on one evening in December, there was a performance for the parents to attend. Eric, I, the girls, my parents, and my sister Lori, along with her boys, came to see Abbey sing. It was a wonderful thing to be there together and support Abbey. She did a great job. I was proud of her for doing it even though she was just about the youngest participant. Here are some pictures of the event: (She's in the front row, in a hot pink shirt...)
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So that about covers the last month of 2012. It was a wonderful holiday season and it made me feel closer to my family and closer to my Savior, which to me, is the whole point of the season. So grateful for all of those I love and cherish who make my life worthwhile.
