Cousins

Lily and her cousins from my side of the family on Christmas day!

The kids were not exactly cooperating, but we got a few cute pictures out of it anyway.

 

 

 

 

Christmas Morning

Here's a little jumble of photos from our Christmas morning!

 

 

So excited about her Little People doll house

 

 

Cuddling with mom and her quilt

Puzzled

Bows are more interesting than presents sometimes

All done

Lily loves strollers, though I think it may be difficult to convince her she can't ride in this one...Her doll got some new clothes and a blanket from fabric grandma had saved.

Mike got what he really wanted! A car to chase Lily and her cousins around with. We'll see if they can handle it or if he'll have to take it to the park by himself.

Sour puss

Sweet sugar at last!

We haven't let her into the candy canes as much as she's tried, but she got a taste this morning. It's Christmas!

It was a fun morning. Lily doesn't really get what the presents or the holiday are all about, but it's nice to see her really like what we got for her and be happy and excited. We appreciate all the gifts we have been given, our families most of all! We are truly blessed. Hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

Open Open

Here's a video from Christmas morning for Lily's Grandma & Grandpa in Washington. We wish you could have been with us today! Thank you so much for all the great gifts you sent. Lily is going to have so much fun with all of them. We will post more pictures soon. Love you!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!!

Stockings are hung with care

...ours just aren't by the chimney.

I finished Lily's stocking awhile ago, but I've just been so busy with other projects I didn't post the pictures yet. I should post pictures of stuff I make sometimes since I titled my blog 'Making It' after all.

Mike and I made our stockings the first year we were married when we were living with Mike's parents, and I remember it being much easier...but we did have the help of Mike's mom and her serger then, and no little distraction running around! Here's Lily's stocking! Tried to find some cloth that would look OK with ours - and one of Lily's first stuffed animal friends was Mr. Penguin so whala!

 

I'm still working on her 2nd stocking. 

Why a second stocking? you may well ask...when this one looks quite large enough for such a little girl! Well, tradition, by golly! My mom made super cute felt Christmas stockings for each of us growing up and when we've added to our family we've made more along the same pattern. With a color coordinating name and heel patch and a candy cane at each toe.

Notice the stockings in the background, and my adorable baby just last year!

I'm helping make Lily's and Audrey's this year. Last year I just wasn't up to it, so it's time to catch up. Lily's favorite friend lamby will be featured on the family one, and it will be hung by the chimney instead of the TV cabinet. It's almost done - there were a few setbacks gathering materials, and my sewing machine has just not been the same since the DJ Lance Rock hat.

This is Lamby:

Oh so loved by this little girl of mine!

Almost ready for Christmas!

Getting Out

Lily woke up today and said: 'Beach, sandcastle, ducks.' I didn't even know she knew the word sandcastle. But I did know what she meant. Lily wanted to get outside. The only time she has been out recently has been getting dragged around Christmas shopping with us and then she is mostly in a car seat, stroller or shopping cart so it's not so fun for her. It has been so chilly and she was getting over a minor cold so I haven't even taken her out in the yard much in a while. So today we went to the park.

I took her early so hopefully she wouldn't fall asleep in her stroller on the way. She started to yawn as I strapped her in so I almost changed my mind... I booked it over there and kept reminding her about the slide and the swings so she would stay awake. Well, we must have gotten there a little too early... The slides were still soaked with dew. Note to self : Next early morning park excursion >Bring a towel.

So we swung for a while and it was pretty boring. The park just isn't as much fun without other little kids running around... but, after awhile they started to trickle in. I met another mom with a little girl slightly older than Lily who was super nice, and found out she probably lives right behind our backyard! Her husband was DJ Lance Rock for Halloween too, and her daughter was Toodee. How cute would she and Lily as Foofa have been together this year! So I'll have to call her up and get together some time. Lily played with some other little kid's toy cars and swung some more and I got to talk to other moms so we both had fun. So glad I went today.

Lily fell asleep on the walk home and now I have some time for my to do list! Better get cracking! I had to post a picture of Lily's outfit today. It is reminiscent of Punky Brewster, and it was my fault today, not Mike's. Anybody else's husband have no concern for matching? This actually sort of matched (stripes go with stripes), though it was laundry day and the pickings were slim. Sometimes clothes I have gotten from the randomest places just come together so cute on my girl. I love it.

Question...

Does this face say 'Merry Christmas!' to you? 

Hmph... It's not that she was grumpy when we were trying to take these pictures in front of the Christmas tree... She's just so busy... and this is pretty much the one that didn't come out blurry, have a hand or a cup in front of her face, or just show you the back of her head as she ran about and climbed all over everything. Haven't decided yet whether to try again or to just go with it.

Christmas is Coming

The goose is getting fat... Ah how I love that song. It reminds me of my good friend Melissa and how we used to argue over the proper words. Anyway, we kicked off the Christmas season with our ward's Christmas Around the World party last weekend - no geese involved. It went really well. The food was delicious and brother Latulippe is the bomb on the guitar - and a great singer too! We helped with the decorations and I spent a lot of time on some posters of Christmas Traditions from different countries - which I don't think anyone really read. I think I should have set them around on the tables instead of hanging them on the wall...hindsight is 20/20. If anyone else is throwing a Christmas Around the World party later this month I would be happy to e-mail you some lovely little posters/handouts for your party. If you are local you can even have my copies!

The most fun for me was watching Lily and her cousin Evie running around the church together, because, of course I had to run around and make sure they didn't get into trouble! Their wonderful and adoring Grandpa helped me a lot with that. I hear that he and Lily were audience to some pretty eloquent talks given by Evie in the Primary room - the longest of which was on the gospel subject of: Dogs. They were so cute and had a blast! Lily just lights up around her cousins. They get her to laugh and smile way better than her boring old mom can. Evie even got Lily to eat the same exact food she refused to take from Mike or I. Just a testament to how having siblings around could be extremely helpful to child raising.

Anyway, it was a fun night and a great party theme to change things up a bit from year to year. The Mexican and Hawaiian food were especially good, and there were all kinds of different desserts to try. Hey, food is very important to a good party! It's good to get together with people outside of church to just have fun. It's too bad Lily got a little bit sick afterward, hopefully her cold will be gone before Christmas, poor thing!

Here are a few photos from the night:

 

Ye Old Pine Tree

If a tree falls in your backyard at night, but no one hears it does it make a sound? Bugs and animals probably heard it, but we didn't. Don't know exactly when it came down, but the rain and the wind did it, and we're super glad it fell the direction it did. Right down the middle of the yard. My parents got several trees removed this summer to avoid just this kind of thing. I guess this one got lonely by itself in the backyard and just couldn't stand it anymore. (Ha ha - I know I'm a riot.)

Seriously though - it's sad that we now have no trees back there. But really we are so blessed, because this tree was right at the corner of the house where my brother's room is downstairs, and where Mike was upstairs putting Lily to bed when it probably fell last night. All the damage done was to the tree and to the ground, and our resident gopher does about that much to the yard himself all the time.

 

So anyway, the founders of the "Man Club" convened this morning for a little manly service. Mike and Mikey made quick work of this old pine with axes and a chainsaw and manly sweat and muscle, of course. It took a good few hours, but they each earned a few feathers or badges or something...You'll have to ask them. They enjoyed it, and Lily had fun too.

The Man scowl.

 

Anyone interested in some pine boughs?
It is almost Christmas.