Christmas Time

Well, it is 3 days past Christmas and I'm finally recovering from all the love, smiles, hugs, and yummy food I got spoiled with over the holidays.

Here's how our Christmas went down:

after rocking out on Friday night ;), Scott, Ev and I stayed in a hotel in St. Joe. We woke up on Christmas Eve and had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel with friends (um, well, about as leisurely as you can with a toddler. Basically this means we laughed and enjoyed company while chasing Everleigh down between bites of food.). Then I took Ev for a swim in the hotel pool, which she loved for about 5 minutes, then she just wanted to get out and run around the outside of the pool scaring me half to death.

Later that afternoon, we shared a Christmas ham with Scott's mom, sister, daughter Tory, and 3 year old niece Remi. Everleigh was in hog heaven running around with Remi and trying to open everyone else's presents. She scored some sweet gifts and we all enjoyed some laughs. Then, we headed back to Kansas City to go to MY parent's Christmas shindig. We ate some more, laughed some more, let Everleigh chase around some more, and helped her open presents.

While Ev was much more hip to Christmas this year, she still didn't quite get it, and eventually I think she felt like we were putting her to work opening gifts. She did, however, enjoy the toys!

When we got home Christmas Eve night, we got Ev to sleep, then set about opening up all her toys--a task which required a pair of scissors, a good set of fingernails, some sharp teeth, and lots of patience. How about the way the wrap up kids toys these days? Sheesh! 400 twist ties, 37 rubber bands, 3 curse words, and a pile of cardboard later, her gifts were opened. We decided rather than wrapping them in paper, which she would then not want to open and we would have to open for her, we opted for placing the gift under the tree out of the packaging so she could dive right in. Also, because by then we were feeling extremely lazy.

And wouldn't you know that Christmas morning, Everleigh snuck downstairs at 6AM and without a peep, grabbed a gift (a little panda purse), walked into our room carrying it, and tapped me on the shoulder? When I looked up she was carrying the purse and had a smile on her face the size of Texas. Adorable.

So we did the present thing and watched her play, then I cooked up a special Christmas meal just for us--turkey breast, potatoes, stuffing, canned cranberries (the best), fresh green beans, corn, and hot biscuits. It was a hit with Scotti :)

The rest of the day we were as lazy as you can be with a toddler. We stayed in PJ's and watched Christmas specials on TV. Everleigh enjoyed the old and new versions of the Grinch, and then we all sacked out about 8:30PM. Honestly, it was one of the best Christmas's I've ever had. So much love!

I hope yours was great too!

Moving the Week Before Christmas--a Love Story

Note: I wrote this post last week, then in my rush forgot to post it. Boo to me. Since then we have moved and we LOVE our new little house!

We officially have 3 days left until we get keys to our new place, and the big move happens over the weekend. We are so excited about moving into our little house and getting all snuggled in right before Christmas. This means we've pushed back decorating or doing lots of Christmas traditions until we're settled, but it should make for a super fun week leading up to Christmas!

We plan to move some things before we get the truck, like our clothes and dishes and Ev's toys. I just realized yesterday in packing up our 3 bookshelves, that it took TEN boxes just to load up books and bookshelf items (framed pictures and other things on the bookshelf). Crazy. We cannot wait to get to the new place and begin decorating and coming up with new ideas. It will put a real creative bug into our cold winter months, and I couldn't be more thrilled. When we first heard that our rent was going to almost double if we stayed at our current home, we freaked out a little bit. We like it there and it serves us well. But in prepping for this move, we are getting excited about the ways our new home will be different. Everleigh has started noticing houses in her books and saying "Dora's house", "Boot's house" etc. Last night I asked her if she was excited about moving to our new house and she looked at me, nodded her head and said "playroom". She knows!

In thinking about Christmas and the things we want to do at the new house (Scott is so excited he wants to put up lights on the house even though they will only be up for a week), I've been remembering Christmas traditions from my childhood and considering what traditions we want to carry over or invent for our family.

As a kid, I always remember my mom baking sugar cookies and letting us help decorate, weathering the cold to chop down our own Christmas tree, playing Christmas records on the giant record console in our hallway that we were usually not allowed to touch, singing hymns and Christmas songs, sitting by the stone fireplace and watching my dad crack chestnuts and walnuts so we could have a taste, helping decorate the tree and having our own special ornaments, doing the advent calendar, listening to my dad read us Twas the Night Before Christmas and the Biblical Christmas story on Christmas Eve. Then there were Christmas church services and driving around to see the houses with all the lights, caroling with church groups and adopting an "angel tree" family to buy gifts for, helping my parents wrap the gifts they bought for each other in a funny kid-way (too much tape and lots of odd shapes). It was magical. You know what I barely remember? What gifts I got. Because it really didn't matter that much. It was about how it felt. And it felt beautiful.

I hope I can give that same gift to Everleigh, and plan to start this year in our new house--even if we have moving boxes piled up next to the tree.

Winter Wonderland

For those of you who aren't from the good old Midwest, you need to be informed that we rock all 4 seasons out hard. In a way, it's neat to get the full experience of Spring, Summer, and Fall, but I rarely ever get excited about Missouri winters.

This week kicks off the start of weather that, according to the weather man "feels like it's in the teens". If you're  a metric system person, that just basically means it's freezing and you should not go outside.

Times like these I like to picture laying on the sand and listening to the waves roll in while the sun kisses my shoulders and Everleigh builds sandcastles with Scott. Maybe someday. For now, we are gearing up for what we hope will be a mild winter.

The upside? Christmas is decidedly more fun with a little one around!

Last week Everleigh and I went to explore the Christmas Wonderland in Gilham Park, a Kansas City tradition my mom remembers from her childhood. They had free hot cocoa, lots of fun wooden and blow-up decorations, a playground, and a stage packed with Glee-like performances by local teens singing Christmas tunes. Oh, and we can't forget the BIG GUY--Santa came in on a sleigh pulled by a tractor. I know, I know, but this IS Missouri folks. You've got to have a little tractor here and there ;)

It was so fun watching Ev explore the decorations (she loved the peek-a-boo penguine blow up the most!) and get her dance onto the Christmas tunes. While we've debated what to say to her about Santa, we decided there's no harm in letting her dictate her own level of make believe when it comes to that, and she loved telling us that Santa goes "who who who".

Gosh I'm a lucky girl :)

Look How Cute My Baby Is ;)

Sorry I don't have much to say guys! The Alice show went really well and I had a blast kicking it with my old friends. The downside? I got "the call" as I was stepping off stage (at 11:45 at night) that Evie missed me and was refusing to sleep and would only remain calm if she was being walked around. So, I didn't get to stay and soak up the laughs or the applause. Frankly, I left before even getting paid. All I heard was that my baby needed me. After rushing to her side and giving her some magic mom milk, she dropped right out.  Sigh.

Here's the rub about trying to venture back out into the world a little post-baby-- you can still have a good time, but your heart is at home with your little one. And sometimes all the hoops you have to jump through in order to have those 3 hours out make the whole thing seem like more work than it's worth. Anyways, I'm not bummed--I had a really amazing time! But I also realized it wasn't realistic for me to try and play out a ton right now while Ev's so little. Maybe Scott and I can use this time to focus on our little side-project family-style called Moonhead...

Playing music is definitely easier if you're at your own house collaborating with your spouse while your baby plays on the floor next to you.

OK, happy Wednesday everyone! Enjoy the new baby pics I took with my awesome little easy snap Canon PowerShot that Scotti got me for Christmas. Peace and Love!




Evie's "My First Christmas" dress




Christmas Eve naked Santa baby



Christmas Day--she loved the bows and paper more than anything

Wearing the awesome custum outfit her Auntie Kristen got her for Christmas

Everleigh and Mommy snuggling up in our comfies

The Best Christmas Ever of All Time :)

Folks, I have to say--this was the most magical Christmas I've had since I was a little kid. We didn't do anything fancy or give/receive the finest gifts imaginable. But we were a little tiny family--me, Scotti, and Evie-- and that was gift enough for me.

I remember the magic of the holidays as a kid--going to see Santa at the mall, making a wish list, hoping (and praying) that I would get that ONE amazing Barbie/Strawberry Shortcake Doll/Cabbage Patch Kid I had asked for. Listening to Christmas records on my mom and dad's huge record player console thing while the scent of my mother baking warm sugar cookies drifted down the hall. Helping my mom decorate the tree, helping my dad put small pieces of wood into our fireplace, attempting to crack chestnuts and walnuts. Going to church for the Christmas service, singing carols with my sisters, going over to my Grammies for Christmas Eve, eating a yummy Christmas dinner with my family. Waking up crazy-early on Christmas to open our gifts, and the excitement I felt. My dad reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to us and doing silly voices. Seeing all the lights and the sights and smelling all those amazing Christmas smells--turkey, cookies, pie, cinnamon, candy canes, the fire in the fireplace, the pine tree--all blending together to create a beautiful scent that could make a grown man cry.

But as time went on, I got older (shocker), and the magic of Christmas really took a dive. Our "teenage" Christmas lists became pretty specific: "I want the blue and yellow hoodie from PacSun in a size Medium. It is $44, but is on sale the weekend before Christmas for $35" etc. We thought we were too cool for our parents and that Christmas was about putting up with embarrassing family events, being dragged to church, and receiving a few gifts that may or may not be the right thing.

While the approach to Christmas became less selfish as I got into my twenties, the magic still felt like it was gone for good. But I tell you, this year it was back. Having Everleigh made me feel so connected again with all the fun and beautiful traditions from my childhood, and even though she was too little this year to know what was going on most of the time, it still felt so special.

We spent Christmas Eve with Scott's family, which was lovely, and then after spending some time Christmas morning at the house (opening gifts, relaxing, taking pictures of Evie), we headed out to my familie's Christmas dinner (where I was responsible for cooking a 26 lb turkey!). I had so much fun just being with my family, and seeing my daughter interact with my sisters. It really did my heart good.

Later that night at home, a sense of ultimate contentment settled in, as Ev drifted off to sleep and my husband and I cuddled on the couch by the glow of the Christmas tree lights.

Merry Christmas Lawrence Welk Style

Image by WelkMusicalFamily

This weekend, Everleigh and I found ourselves with nothing but time and a 1985 Christmas reunion of the Lawrence Welk Show on PBS.

For those of you not familiar with the show, it was a super creepy good-ol' fashion fun kind of song-and-dance performance show in the 1950's, 60's, and 70's. It mostly reminds me of my early childhood church experiences, but it's fun to watch primarily for the hair, makeup, and outfit choices.

Well, Miss Evie and I seized the opportunity to hone our kitchen dancing skills. She really makes a heck of a partner :)

By the way--her favorite Christmas song so far? Deck the Halls. Why? I really think it's because she LOVEs watching people's mouths do the "fa-la-la" shapes. It always makes her smile.

On that note, I hope you're all having fun prepping for the big day and still taking time out to dance in your kitchen once in awhile!

Erika

Holiday Wish List

Lately I've been searching high and low for some special gifts for little Miss Everleigh's very first Christmas! Here's my Etsy wish list:

Personlized Organic Sapling Stacker by littlesaplingstoys' shop



Adorable Build Your Own Coat for baby  by theonnutmegotree's shop



Amazing paper doll set by one of my favs, theblackapple

Wooden Guitar Teether by littlesaplingtoys' shop 

Vintage Wind-Up Bath Toys by ChelsO89

And for Mama:

Perfect 50's party dress by Thrush

Pretty vintage train case sold by jherrmann

Beautiful locket by FreshyFig

Summer Breeze paper poms for Evie's room by PartyPoms