Did Somebody Say It's Christmas?

Already??


That would explain this VERY BUSY TABLE today. Tomorrow, it will be the kitchen....all day long. And maybe more on those birdhouses if I can't wrap it up in the next hour or so. I am assuming everyone would appreciate it if I took a shower before Christmas Eve Eve.

A Lovely Christmas Gift

My friend Marci surprised me with this picture she took of me and G a few months ago. Her partner made the frame by hand. And that little pot is called a "Mommy Pot" for holding all the little short stemmed flowers picked for you by little hands. AWWWW! That Marci is one great girl :)

Winer Solstice

Here's what we did to welcome winter...christmas cookies and sledding! And hot chocolate, too. That's how you spend a short day.

Snowy days

Our family has been enjoying the last couple of snow days. We had a literal snow day on Friday, even though there was no snow when we woke up. There wasn't any snow at 8am when we would have normally been getting to work. There wasn't any snow at 9am or 10am either. But...by 11am, we couldn't see the sidewalks anymore! Thank you Maria (our thoughtful Executive Director!) for caring about your staff's lives enough to decide to err on the side of safety and cancel work on faith that it really would snow, and it would be bad.

We stayed inside and played! Then we went outside and played (sort of, what do you expect a one year old to do when the snow comes up to her knees and she is stuffed into a snow suit that makes her looked like a cute blue sausage?) while Daddy shoveled. And then....hot cocoa! G's first time!

Later in the afternoon G got a lovely box to play in (crazy UPS drivers! But thanks for making sure our Christmas presents arrived.) Boxes are great, because they can be so many things with a little imagination. Now, granted, at one, you need a little help imagining. But G's box became a fun tunnel, a fire truck, and a drum (not that she needs another drum.)

Today, more playing inside. The box became a drawbridge into her fort under the dining room table! And I finally started the cute birdhouses that I am making for my mom for Christmas. The decoupage one took me about 5 hours today. We took a trip to 5 Guys (Yipee!) around dinner time, and then, back to work! But I got it done. 2 more to go. Those are not going to be as time consuming, I hope.

Here's a few pics, because I can't resist. What did you do during the snow?


What the heck are we doing out here?


This is G "playing" in the snow. John is having fun. Max had a lot of fun, too. For real. He was running around like he was crazy. Wait a minute...

There's the smile I have been waiting for.


Ok, I smiled. I'm done. I'm going inside. You can come...or not. I don't really care. I'm cold.

The pay-off. Hot cocoa!! (why do all my pictures look fuzzy? She is constantly moving!)



You don't want to know how many pictures I took just to get this one...she's not so much a fan of the hat. She puts it on and then takes it immediately off. She's quick! But I did NOT pose her in the box. She loves that thing. She yelled if I took her out.

Leaving the fort.

Decoupage in progress.

Done. I have to paint/craft those other two before Christmas!

On a side note, last weekend we went to Breakfast with Santa at the Binghamton Club. It is an annual event, and G's second time sitting on Santa's lap. Although, admittedly, she slept thought it all last year, being only 2 weeks old and all. This year...not such a big fan on Santa. However, she did better than I expected. You may recall my post the other day about one year old meltdowns. Yeah, I was kinda anticipating a scene...no scene, so I was cool with that. Here is the happy family, etc.

I swear I'm not pregnant. That dress is actually flattering in real life.

Not looking too sure...

Trying to get a group shot of the pretty matching dresses...not happening.

One (Revised)

Let me tell you what having a one year old has turned out to be like in the last week. She is still as cute and lovable as I remember. However, yeah....she's suddenly one. Some switch must have flipped in her brain after eating that birthday cupcake and she suddenly realized, hey, I can do what I WANT TO DO. She developed this fierce WILL OF HER OWN overnight! Milestones...

So, here is what is becoming a typical scene:

G: playing with...anything she wants to play with, books, kitchen utensils, pots and pans, videos, dvds, napkins, stuff on all the shelves at Michael's and the Giant, possibly even toys...

Mommy (or Daddy): Oh, G, we have to go check your diaper out.

G: NOOOOOOO! I want to play! (In baby language, this is much less civilized)

Mommy: This will be quick and then you can come back and play.

G:NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I want to play!!!

Mommy: But, G, you are a little smelly, no offense. You don't want to play in that. It will be quick, I promise.

G: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! You are killing me inside! I will not stand for this outrage!!! NO NO NO!!

Mommy: G, really, you need some perspective here, it will only take a minute. Hey, please don't kick Mommy. And could you stop yelling in my ear?

G: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NO NO NO NO. I MUST PLAY!!! YOU ARE MEAN AND NOT NICE. I WILL DO WHAT I WANT TO DO.

Mommy: Oww, G, don't kick. Let me get this diaper off you...hey, don't crawl away, you'll fall off the changing table..wait! don't stand up yet. Please stop yelling. Geez, can I just get your pants back on? Then you can go play....There, all done. Go play.

G: "Alllllll dooone" Smile (as cute as can possibly be!), crawls back to book shelf to rip more books down...

(By the way, in the span of writing this post, here is what occured:)

ACK!
(Oh, and in the time it took to upload these pictures, G turned the stereo on at volume 40! Somehow, of course, to a heavy drum solo. I think she may be deaf now. She likes to stand directly in front of the speakers...)

It's Finally Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Thanks to an unexpected afternoon off, due to an ice storm, I finally got my Christmas decorations out. Giuliana has been wide eyed at the lights on the tree all day. And so far, she hasn't stolen a single ornament!

Scenes From a Birthday

Ok, a few days late, but here is the recap in photos of Giuliana's very first birthday party! We had a very good time and it went off with nary a hitch. Giuliana was still a little bit sick and she was a little moody at the beginning as she had just got up from a nap...but she overcame all that and ended up having a ball! Yay!







And, for fun, a few before and after party pics, too.

Enjoying her DRUM SET!!!

That smirk says it all: I'm ONE! people, watch out!!


Cute toes on her bench.

Thanks! I had a great birthday!