Poor Bella

Bella has had a runny nose for a month but it seemed like every kid had the same issue and we had taken her to her check-up in the midst and the doctor found nothing wrong. Anyway, I was still concerned it was lasting a long time and we debated on whether to take her in again. Last night it was clear we had to. She woke up crying every 30 minutes and started to complain her ear hurt. Randy took her today and it turns out she has double ear infections :( Poor baby. She hasn't had any fever and until last night had no trouble sleeping, but I am so thankful we took her so she can start an antibiotic and be on her way to feeling better just in the nick of time! Christmas is just two days away!! and we start the celebration with family tonight!

Santa Explained...

This is just going to be a quick (I hope) explanation of why we don't do Santa. First, let me say, it is NOT because we are trying be over spiritual or because we think it is a sin to do so. We think that every family should choose what is right for their own family.

While we do not think it is wrong to incorporate Santa into Christmas, we don't find the need to. To begin, Bella has no idea who he is and has no reaction when we see pictures or figures of him. She hasn't even noticed him in one of her favorite movies, the Polar Express. Because she hasn't noticed and hasn't ever asked, we don't feel like we need to bring him at all at this point. If we did, it would feel like lying. We know children enjoy fantasy and that is why we will treat him like any other character that we come across including Disney princesses, Elmo and Dora. Those friends are fun to her and we watch them on TV but they don't come to our house and they don't have any magic abilities to affect our real lives. As she gets older we will tell her where the fantasy and stories came from and about Saint Nicholas.

As adults it is hard enough to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. We find ourselves stressing out over gifts to give and getting the house decorated, cooking and making sure we can get to everyone's parties and celebrations. Personally, we are trying our best to keep things simple while still making a big deal out of celebrating the birth of our Savior. We want to make it even easier on our kids by taking the distraction of Santa out of the equation. We will make it clear that Christmas day is the day we celebrate Jesus's birthday! Yes, we give small gifts and yes we think it is a time to spend with family, but we don't want all the attention to be on "what we get." Whether she is "good or bad," or "naughty or nice," she will be loved and treasured by her mom and dad and will receive gifts regardless. We want our children to be thankful and appreciate gifts and where they really come from- rather than believe they are never-ending.

God is the one and only that is omniscient and omnipresent, the one who gives all things and the only one capable of miracles. Let us not confuse our children into believing any other has those kinds of abilities.

Again, this is not the answer for everyone and we think nothing less of the those that choose to use Santa. We have just felt this was the right decision for our family. Please don't feel sad that Bella's is "missing out" or anything like that. She loves to celebrate birthdays and is already excited about baking a cake for Jesus's birthday in just a few short days!

Here are a few other resources if you interesting in hearing someone else's perspective on the topic:

http://www.andybox.com/?page_id=76
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/thinking-about-santa

Christmas Cookies

This was something new I did with Bella this year. We bake things all the time together but this was the first time we made cookies dough and she used cookie cutters and got to ice and decorate them. PJ dropped by in the midst of the chaos and got to help with them as well.

and yet another tradition

Every year we make it a point to visit the Billy Graham Library at Christmas. This year, like most things, was one of the best because Bella actually knew what was going on more so than before. We usually wait in a long, cold line to ride in the carriages but this year, it had been raining and the line was very short! It was also in the 60's so we went at a great time this year. We started with the carriage rides- Bella noticed the horses right away and was very excited. They take you on a short trip around the property and there are some Christmas lights. After the ride, we went and saw the love nativity scene, watched a choir sing some carols, and then we showed Bella the house Billy grew up in. After all of that, we took her to listen to a few books at story time on the patio & then ate dinner. We ended the night picking up a gift from the shop and letting Bella see Bessie the cow up close. She really seemed to enjoy it. The only thing I regret is going so late. With it being so dark, we didn't get the good pictures we usually get out there.

Christmas Playdates

A couple of weeks ago we ventured over to the Stinson's home for gingerbread houses. Bella and Pierce loved eating the candy and the icing. Pierce is Bella's age and his mom is one of my best friends from college. We usually hang out together once a week or so.





Last week we went to Founders Hall to see the singing bears with them.


And then this past Monday we went to another playdate with some new friends from our neighborhood. We recently learned that Landyn goes to Bella's playschool and they had played over the summer at the pool. She had a few moms and their kids over and we had breakfast and watched a movie and made a craft/ornament for the tree- one of Bella's favorite things to do :) I wish I had some better pictures from that day but Bella was not in the mood!

fyi

You may already know this but I just figured out that if you click on the pictures posted you can see them much bigger! What great news!

the sweetest sound...

Last Thursday Bella's playschool had a Christmas program. The two year old's were the last to come out and they did such a great job! The typical funny things kids do when they are preforming-- potty breaks and lots of shouts to mommies and daddies. As soon as Bella's class came out, they sat down and she made eye contact with Randy and I. "That's my daddy!" she yelled a few times and then she continued with, "Hi Mommy!" and "There's Grandma!" It was truly precious and she was not the least bit shy. Distracted? yes but not shy!

traditions

Another tradition we have is to drive to McAdenville, Christmastown USA, with hot chocolate and Candy Cane Joe Joe's on hand. Last night we decided at the last minute to go ahead and make that trip. Bella LOVED it! This was the third year we have taken her but this year was by far the best. She was in love with the "Christma tees." She told us they were, "Awesome!" Unfortunately the darkness isn't the best for pictures so we don't have any to post but we may have a video to add in the next couple of days.

its that time again!

To end our Thanksgiving vacation, we went searching for a Christmas tree and decided on a Charlie Brown Christmas!


Just kidding! But that is where Bella put the little tree when we told her what the stand was for. We really did go out and get a tree plus put all the other decorations up and Randy climbed on the roof in Chevy Chase fashion to get the lights up. The best part was Bella had some clue as to what was going on. I think her favorite part was helping Daddy with the train!

we are so very thankful

(four generations- grandma, nana, mommy and pj, and bella!)

This year we are thankful that we are surrounded by our family and don't have to travel to see everyone. It was great to see everyone in Randy's short time off of work. We started out with brunch on Thanksgiving day with Randy's parents. We watched the parade on TV and took her to the park there in their neighborhood. We ended the night at my aunt's where we got to have dinner with my dad's side- 16 adults and 5 girls under the age of 5! plus two more little baby girls on the way! (unfortunately no pictures) Friday evening we headed to my grandma's to celebrate both Thanksgiving and my mom's birthday.

I think we are most thankful for a healthy and relatively easy pregnancy, not to mention the new life on the way! We are so very blessed and it is so good to have time to reflect on that with loved ones.

'tis the season

We kicked off the Christmas season last Friday night at the Southpark tree lighting. This is the first year Bella is really starting to get it. They had free crafts, carriage rides, train rides and bouncy houses. She had a lot of fun. We gathered around the tree and counted down. She was really surprised when it lit up!

Bella was bundled and ready with her dollar!

A picture she took of us.

And one last sweet smile to share.

"cafts, cafts and more cafts"

My grandmother handed her passion for crafts down to my mother who passed it to me and even more recently my sister. Apparently, Bella has the bug as well! Each year as Christmas approaches, we work on various projects and sometimes we sell our things at craft shows. Bella has developed a love for painting first, and now using her scissors on a daily basis. She calls them her "whoopers." This year Bella is finally able to participate in the Christmas crafts so once or twice a week we will craft together at the dining room table. Anyway, today she didn't ever go to sleep during her nap time- something that happens a couple of times a week these days- but it did get really quiet for a while. Randy and I assumed she fell asleep on the floor because it was so quiet and we couldn't see her in her bed on the video monitor. Almost an hour after the silence, she called for her daddy and so he went up to get her. He called me to come up there just a minute later. I didn't know what to expect. She was surrounded by my scrap-booking paper, glue, glitter and stickers and she said with much excitement, " I do a caft daddy!" She had gotten the supplies from her closet in a container I keep such things in and created many "cafts." We will have a new lock on that closet door tonight! In the meantime, we are enjoying a laugh and her sweet little artsy spirit.

mustache movember

that's right! randy is participating in mustache movember for the second year in a row and even got bella on board! needless to say we will be late getting our christmas cards out because i am not taking a picture until december 1st! read more about it here.

hoe down!

Last night we went to a hoe down for Bella's school. We had a pic-nic, the kids sang, and then we went from room to room playing games and the such. Bella had a blast. She won the cupcake walk and got her face painted.

"not funny"

When I tell Bella she is funny, she says, "No I not! Daddy funny" or "No, not funny," but the truth is she is really funny. Today we got home from playschool and she wanted to go to the bathroom alone, with no assistance, so I let her. I ran out to the car to clean up a recent mess and seconds later... she popped out on the front porch bare naked and yells, "Casey! I did it!" This is one of the many times lately she has insisted on calling me Casey.

Last night she was eating crackers and decided she didn't want the bag to go back in the box so she took the box to the kitchen and said, "Daddy recycle it." Needless to say, Randy was very proud she is picking up on the recycling habit! She also wanted me and daddy to play a game of "boss" where she tells us where to sit and what to do. Randy had already started recording her so maybe I can upload to the video but during all of her bossy commands to her daddy who wasn't being fast enough for her, she blurted out with her hand raised in the air, "Don't you wisten (listen) ?!"

This morning when I got out of the shower, she came and told me to come to her potty. It took a few minutes to figure out she meant party :) When I got downstairs, she had a blanket laid out, balloons, candles and the singing birthday monster we use all spread around. It was very sweet.



There are plenty of other stories like these to share but that is all this pregnant brain can come up with for today!

babies of Halloween pasts

just a little reflection of Bella in 2009 as a ladybug, 2010 as a bumblebee and now 2011 as a princess. i am sure i will be doing more of this comparing with the new baby girl coming soon as i look back on the last few years. is it just me or did she grow up like three years between being a bumblebee and Rapunzel? (tear. sniffle.)

daddy and his princess.

Bella and Randy were Rapunzel and Flynn Rdyer from Tangled for Halloween.

we'll call her...

AVA! That's all we know right now, but it feels great to have something to call her as we plan for her arrival. The sweetest part is listening to big sister, Bella, say her name.

let me tell you...

what is hard: to juggle a master's degree, a two and a half year old, pregnancy and things like laundry & other housework. oh, and did i mention my husband? and my faith? and commitment to do nursery duty once a month and lead a bible study... sheesh. we are overwhelmingly blessed but figuring out this whole time management thing is tricky. bella continues to make it fun though. we never have a dull moment.

i went to the ob yesterday for my check-up (22 weeks!). everything went well, but trouble reading the heartbeat again! it was evident she was doing just fine though because she continued to kick the doppler tool. she played her usual game of hide and seek and the nurse advised me to have a talk with her about calming down. i am getting nervous! she is a little wild child already.

mud pies and cookies

Bella and I have had a blast playing in the dirt. I recently introduced her to good ol' fashioned mud pies and then we did some real baking too- well, easy bake style.