Former Fridays: Tommy's Baptism

Today has to be a quickie without much explanation - traveling has kept me from scanning anything new or thinking too hard about today's picture.  However, I thought this one would be apt.  Yesterday was my brother's baptism anniversary.  His Godparents are our Uncle Tom and Aunt Paula - enjoy.

Merry Christmas!

Former Fridays: Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve!  This comes from the archives of my dad's youth.  (He is "Bob, 17").  I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas Eve!  We always light a ton of candles and my dad reads us The Night Before Christmas.  I love it!  

Pre-Christmas Festivities

Because we're headed to my parents for Christmas, we had a little celebration with my in-law's this past weekend. It was quite the transition out and back into Advent, but it was good to spend time with them as well as my brother-in-law who is home from college.

Anni obviously didn't really get the whole opening presents thing... in fact... tissue paper made her a little crazy, so we just opened her presents for her and we'll work them in as we go :).  She did quadruple her book collection (it was pitifully small), so we're pretty excited for that!  I'll have to share her awesome "Busy Bible" with you all later.  She's not quite old enough to get it yet (although the fact that it is cloth is a big hit as she has been very tactile lately), but when she is, I think she'll have a blast with it (and if not, I'll play with it).

This is actually at our place.  I was working on finishing our Christmas cards, and she discovered this lovely shiny paper stuck in the top of her gift from her great grandparents.  Figuring she couldn't do much damage to herself or it, I watched her play with it for a minute (she never discovered that there was a gift past that).  She seriously attacked this stuff.  I don't know if it was the shininess or it's slippery ability to avoid her bites, but she ended in tears.  I was alone for bathtime that night and we ended up pulling an early bedtime.  phew.

And on to our celebration...
  

If I haven't mentioned this, my husband is an amazing pianist.  We don't have a piano, nor a place to put it, so he only gets to play when we're at his or my parent's houses.  mmm... Christmas music.

She looks so big in her new, bigger clothes (we are transitioning her into 6-9 month clothes right now).

We also had a wonderful success with Anni's Uncle Dave.  Last time he was home (Thanksgiving) she was pretty picky about him holding her, but this time she was all smiles and love :).  I'm so glad, because she doesn't get to see him often, so it's wonderful to see him soaking in all of her cuteness!

And speaking of Christmas-ey things... I guess we did the Santa thing.  We're still discussing how the "Santa thing" will be handled when she's older, but Santa (a husband of one of the other mother's) came to our MOPs group, so we did a picture.  She was so fascinated by her feet that this is the only one you can see her face.  I love our daughter!  

The rolling is picking up speed.  She knows she can get to whatever her little heart desires just by a few gymnastic moves.  It's pretty cool to watch... but baby-proofing is happening often as we go and discover more things she can reach.

 These were Daniel's overalls when he was a little boy (I'll have to hunt up a picture).  She's making the faces at her daddy singing the frog song (a big favorite... with the both of them). 

Oh, Mary.  What fun baby Jesus must have been.

Crafty Christmas Cookies

I am so proud of these: I just had to share.  They are very loosely based on these lovely jars of sea salt scrub that Kelle over at Enjoying the Small Things made.  Only... ours had cookies... and I couldn't find squares of fabric so I used Christmas paper.  But, you know, it planted that seed :).  We made these for Daniel's departmental co-workers and one more for my best friend who is currently a soldier just beginning her tour of duty in Kuwait.  Guess it won't be a surprise anymore if she gets internet access before they arrive... but that's okay :).  She deserves to know something yummy is headed her way.

Anyway, despite the fact that we stayed up until nearly two to finish these, they are really simple.  We made a pecan shortbread cookie (the Betty Crocker recipe), making little round cookies to fit into our jars.  Then we fit some paper into the lids, tucked in a cute little tag and there we go!

Now to figure the best way to mail one overseas...

Former Fridays: Snow!

We finally had a little dusting of snow this morning.  While none of it stuck, it was beautiful coming down.  It floated all fluffy and lovely in the sky and made for a few happy moments dreaming of a white Christmas.  In honor of that - today's picture is from my mom's childhood (the winter of 1958).  She grew up on a farm in Nebraska, so this would not have been an uncommon sight.  Due to the quality of the photograph (and the fact that they are wrapped up to stay cozy!) I'm not sure which of the three sisters these two are.  Let's not worry about details, though.  What are your favorite snowy memories? 

The Epic Post following the Epic Weekend

Despite the lack of snow and really, general lack of Colorado winter weather, this time of year is so magical.  I am so in love with watching Anni take in the world and I love sharing it with you!

Thanks to the kind and gentle ministrations of my dear mother, I entered the weekend recovered and ready to rock some seriously fun times.  The full recovery was necessary in order that I might partake in the conglomerate of delicious meals.  It also meant we got to do a little tree decorating.  The tradition in my family is actually to decorate it on the 24th... but we'll be celebrating with my family by then, so we decided to go for it.

We started the weekend out with a visit to our church's Christkindlmarkt.  It is essentially our winter festival, celebrating the church's German roots and the nearing of Christmas.  While the day was beautiful, the evening was cold and windy!  Little Nugget ended up not only in her hoodie, but spent most of the night cuddled against her daddy in a blanket and Grandma's extra sweater.  She was quiet the whole time, just soaking in the sights and sounds.

And don't worry, we had some seriously unhealthy and delicious food.  Daniel had the brat with all the fixings (onions and saurkraut) and my mom and I both had hot dogs (this is my mom's... I may or may not have eaten mine too quickly before I remembered to take a picture).

Oh, but don't worry.  The fun didn't stop there.  Nope, it got even better.  Saturday morning we had to say good-bye to my mommy (this is not the fun part - I hate saying good-bye to her... but, luckily we'll be at her house for Christmas!!) and I headed off to a photo-shoot.  You'll have to head over to my photography blog to check it out.  Let's just say: 2 year old twins and a 2 week old beauty?  Life really can't get much better.

As soon as I got home from the shoot, I encountered this wonderful sight:

My heart melted (btw, Anni's hat and button flower was bought the night before as the Christkindlmarkt.  You can find more just like it at http://www.etsy.com/shop/bloomz). My family cleans up well, huh?  As quickly as possible, we gathered everything necessary up to head to the wedding of two beautiful people!  Daniel works with both of them at FOCUS headquarters.  It's always different (and relaxing!) to get to go to a wedding and not be working.  So, I just have a couple of pictures from our baby section (back row of the church and upper deck of the reception - perfect!)  This wedding was especially neat because they tied in Anand's Indian heritage for some awesome dancing, food and several other unique traditions. 

Oh, and don't worry, there was choreographed dancing.

And we got to hang out with some wonderful friends (who adore Anni, by the way... it's so fun to watch :)).  

It was a wonderful night!  And following the party, we decided to stop by a spectacular display of lights by our house.  Two houses across the street from each other have every light imaginable up and even string them across the street.  It was a really fun way to introduce Anni to Christmas lights... because she couldn't miss the spectacle!  She grinned and touched as long as I'd let her... then I quickly bundled her back to the car out of the chilly night (and got the cutest little shiver and "brrr" from her - blanket was then tucked even tighter).  Oh, happy weekend!     

Our Sunday was definitely a day of rest.  We went to an early Mass and then declared it pajama day.  What a beautiful thing a day of rest is after a day of being away from our beloved home.

PS Happy Feast day of St. Lucia!  Every year, my oldest sister wears a white dress (her wedding dress, actually) and brings braided bread to my parent's house.  I love this tradition and hope I can be in town someday again when it comes around!

Former Fridays: The Advent, almost to Christmas edition

In honor of the countdown to Christmas, I had to share my two big sisters telling Santa what they want for Christmas circa 1985.  I love Katie's confiding little hand on Santa's shoulder, as if to say, "Here's the deal, I know you work hard, but..."

7 months to the day...

Miss Nugget is 7 months old!  She decided to celebrate this momentous day by figuring out how to roll, with ease, back onto her back after rolling to her tummy.  It may not be crawling, but we definitely have a moving baby!  I have been reminded again lately that although she is growing (amazingly well!) on par with others born at the same time, her preemie-ness does mean she might not have certain skills down quite as quickly as her peers.  I'm learning to be okay with that: she'll get it eventually and in the meantime we've got a healthy, thriving little girl.  Really can't ask for more.  Now for the munchkin's stats:
Weight: 16.4 lbs (25-50%)
Height: 27 inches (50-75%)
Head: 17.75 inches (50-75%)

Her current favorite game (other than rolling across the room), is definitely peek-a-boo.  She gets incredibly proud of herself when she pulls the blanket over her face on her own and gets us to play.  She has taken quite well to new foods (sweet potato, prunes, peaches and oats), although we have had to adjust her eating due to some tummy issues.  We're hoping those solve themselves soon so we don't have to go in to the doctor any extra.  With the onset of flu and RSV season, little one has had to add a synergis shot once a month (preemies are even more prone than term babies to this nasty illness).  While it has been a huge headache to get organized, I'm grateful for it: I do not want to see my baby in the hospital again.  Plus, our home health nurse is an absolute sweetheart (and completely understanding when we didn't have the medicine when she came... no one told me they were sending it to us!).

So, there you have it.  Nugget is a whole month older, and a whole month sweeter! 

St. Nicholas Day

Growing up, St. Nicholas day was a long-standing tradition in our household.  On the eve of my big brother's birthday, our stockings were hung on hooks throughout the house (I know many families use shoes, but we have always used stockings per Czech tradition).  We would always get chocolates and a piece of fruit (my siblings usually got apples and I always got an orange - personal preference, in those cases) and often a little book or trinket. 

This year, all three of us were sick the day before St. Nick's feast day, so I wasn't able to make my sneaky trip to the store (my insides wanted to be on my outside... seriously).  Luckily, the next day, St. Nick made sure we remembered him anyway (thank you, dearest husband!).
 
 Our stocking hang on the wall with care (no fireplace nor hearth in our little apartment, but this seemed to do just as well).

 

Daniel did good mixing both the symbolism of the day (gold coins as well as the orange to symbolize the money purse St. Nicholas left for the three daughters) and satisfying my sweet tooth (everything else).  He even found a simple little $1 book for Anni; she was mostly interested in chewing on it.  Maybe next year we'll find a good children's book on St. Nicholas to read to her.

 

 

Happy Advent!

Happy Birthday, Charlie!

Little Charlie - around 2 yrs old.

 Happy Birthday to my dear Charlie!  Charlie is my (first) nephew and the first grandchild of my parents.  I was in high school when he was born, and I still remember the days of going over after school to help watch him.  My sister always kept popcorn for me to pop, and then I would do homework while he napped (in between checking him every few minutes to make sure he was breathing... guess not much has changed there ;)).  Charlie is fantastically brilliant and fun.  He has regularly filled me in on the workings of the human body, as well as the intricacies of WiiFit and has kept us giggling since day one.

Charlie - 7 years old

A year and a half ago, Charlie was diagnosed with aspergers.  Luckily, he has amazing parents who have worked hard to learn the best ways to help him grow and thrive... and it helps that our whole family seems to have a lot of the aspects related to aspergers.

I wish I was there to celebrate with him today, but I figure a blog post and a phone call will have to do.  Happy 8th Birthday, Charlie!!

Former Fridays [Happy Birthday, Tom!]

So...I know I missed last Friday.  Thanksgiving kept me happily busy with family, food, showers, etc.  However, I think you'll agree that this weeks picture is worth the wait.  In honor of my older brother's 27th birthday coming up in a couple of days, I had to dig through the box and find a suitably adorable picture of him.  This photograph is from the summer of 1984.  Isn't he the cutest, chubby baby boy?  He was even a blondie for a few years.  Now this was before my time, but I bet I'll hear back some good stories from my sisters about baby Tommy.

Thursday's Three Small Successes

1. Cleaned the apartment!  Like, really cleaned: dusting and vacuuming (the two things that tend to get left behind) as well as the normal necessary picking up.  Now, it's definitely not perfect.  I seem to have a knack for little piles that have no home.  But, I have to say, the place looks good.  Today is absolutely beautiful out, so I opened windows, cracked the door to our porch and am letting the sun shine in!  It's a beautiful thing.  Plus, along the lines of feeling like a good housewife: I have dinner all planned for tonight.  Totally random - but I have enough leftover ingredients (from several other meals) to make a small lasagna... and since it's just Daniel and I (Nugget isn't quite ready for lasagna), it'll be perfect!

2. Got all caught up on photos, ordered everything I had in the queue and blogged about all the recent shoots.  

3. We planned a few things for us to do for Advent!  While Anni isn't big enough to do a lot, we made plans to pray for one of our mission partners each day as well as to continue our tradition of lighting the advent wreath and saying corresponding prayers.  It's going to be a great month! 



Happy Thursday!  Hope you're taking time to recognize all the wonderful little things you do!

Thankful

As I worked on the photos for this post, Anni played on the floor behind me.  She began to whine, the whine that you know needs attention.  So, bending down to the floor, I stroked that fluffy down on her head.  Immediately, her eyes fluttered.  30 seconds later, she was asleep in my arms.  And even though she didn't need it, I sat in the rocking chair and held that heavy, comforting weight of a sleeping baby.  I was thankful.  Thankful that the nugget that caused me to spend most of last year's thanksgiving outside for fear of the deadly oven smell was trying sweet potatoes and grinning to everyone who passed by this year.  And even though the rest of today has made me want to run screaming out of the apartment, I am so thankful for this year, for my husband and baby and for our family that has been there through the frantic, worried phone calls, as well as the joyful ones over things others might find trivial.

This thanksgiving was wonderful.  Daniel and I thoroughly enjoyed our second Thanksgiving and getting to share it with our nugget.    

 This is how Anni "crawls."  When she really wants to move, she starts working her arms and legs so hard only her little tummy is left on the floor!

We even got a holiday outfit for the little one.  I adore it and as it is in my sister's favorite color, it made me smile even more. 

 It was just as good as it looks...

 The first attempt at sweet potatoes was mildly successful.  They needed to be pureed more, and she did her usual "new food freakout," but she ate most of them!

 Despite the fact that her "Stranger Danger," alert went off with her uncle at first, she quickly warmed up to him when he proved himself snuggly and willing to walk with her.  I loved how wonderful he was with her! 

 The joy of sweet, sweet, dessert wine.  It catered directly to the fact that I am the girliest of all drinkers... the sweeter my drink the better.

And what could be better than a bath amongst the pots and pans and pies at Grandma and Grandpa's house?

 Thanksgiving Day was followed by Thanksgiving weekend... which brought with it beautiful friends.  There was even some proverbial whipped cream on the pie in that they are both incredibly talented musicians.  Anni's love of music was wonderfully filled by their music.

 I love Anni's slightly shy but intently listening face in this one.  Emily sang her a beautiful Celtic lullaby... if you want to hear some of her lovely music - check out her facebook page.

And even more goodness followed that weekend... with a bridal shower honoring this lovely bride of this lovely couple (too many lovelies - they really are).  I am so excited to be photographing their wedding this New Year's Eve!

 

So thankful.