the long awaited recap...and the BIGGEST news

I started this post days ago, but let's see if I can actually get it posted while it's still 2009 (but you have to read all the way to the end to find out the other big news)!!

We're home again after a whirlwind weekend. Actually, the weekend wasn't really the whirlwind, but Christmas Day was, and we spent the rest of the weekend recovering. I wish there was a way to spread it all out over a few days so we could savor each minute, because I hate when it's all over, but because of the craziness of the day, savoring is not possible. It just turns into a frenzy of unwrapping, packing up, and going to the next place for more of the same. Maybe next year we can figure out a way to spread it out.

But despite the frenzy, it was a fun day. Rachel had a blast. Here's how it all played out....

Christmas Eve

After Rachel's nap we had a rather rushed Christmas dinner. For the last several years it's become our tradition to eat seafood on Christmas Eve, because my husband and I both love it, but rarely buy it, since it would break our budget to buy it very regularly. Usually it's king crab legs. (Rachel had a hot dog! I decided I wasn't up for arguing over a meal on Christmas Eve, so I gave her something I knew she'd eat--and then she still didn't eat it! Ugh!) So anyway, it was a wonderful meal, but VERY rushed because we were trying to get to the 6:00 Christmas Eve service at our church. We made it, but I'm sad that we couldn't linger over our dinner, because it was so good. Here's our girl, complete with cheesy smile, ready for church.

So we went to church, came home, and Rachel decorated Santa's little tree, where Santa puts his gifts (a tradition we started last year, to distinguish between the presents Santa brings and the gifts from Mommy and Daddy--it's a long story about why we started this tradition, but it works for us, and Rachel enjoys decorating a little tree all of her own). We left some milk and cookies for Santa, along with an apple for the reindeer. She was really excited about that part. She opened her one Christmas Eve present, new PJs to wear to bed, and Daddy read her 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and a picture book version of the real Christmas Story before it was time for bed.

She told me as I was tucking her in that she would hear Santa come, even though I assured her that Santa would only come after she was sleeping. She woke up (coughing and stuffed up because she's had a cold since the 23rd) at 3:00 AM and when I went in to get her a drink she told me that Santa hadn't come yet because she hadn't heard him. I told her that she'd better go right back to sleep then, so he could come. She said okay, and went straight back to sleep.

Christmas Morning

She woke up around 6:00 AM, which has been pretty normal for her. After Daddy went down and got everything ready, we joined him. The first thing she saw as she came around the stairway was her "new" dollhouse. It actually isn't new--it was mine when I was a little girl. My grandma had someone build it for me, and she started working on it to finish it, but then she got sick and never got to finish it before she died. I just always played with it as is, and we never finished it either. My husband and I had been working feverishly for about two or three weeks to redo it, add upgrades, and get it looking decent for her for a Christmas present. Here's the before picture (actually, it looked a lot worse than this before--this was after we stripped the wallpaper and cleaned it out, and my husband had cut a door in--it was a huge mess before we even started, but I forgot to take a picture then!).It's still not quite what we wanted, but it looks better than it did. My talented husband added a porch, cut the door (there was no door and no windows on the first floor--still no windows, but at least there's a door!), and added shutters. Together we put in flooring in each room, added and painted shingles, and painted the whole thing.

My old furniture and people are what we put in there--eventually I'd like to add to it, but for now, this is it.

So that was the first thing she saw. She stopped and looked at it, but didn' t even touch it. Then she saw this.....

"A merry go round with people" was really the only thing on her Christmas list, and what she asked Santa Claus for when she sat on his lap. Before Christmas if you asked her what she wanted for Christmas, this is what she told everyone she wanted (the only other thing was paints). We tried to find a different one (read: a less expensive version!---she had seen this one at Home Depot and it cost a fortune) but couldn't. It went on sale just before Christmas and we finally just decided to get it, even though it was more than we wanted to spend, even on sale. We just couldn't bring ourselves to deprive our only daughter of the one thing she asked for for Christmas! (Incidentally, it's now half price at Home Depot on an after Christmas clearance--think they'll do a price adjustment?)

So she saw this, and immediately the doll house was forgotten. We turned the merry go round on--it lights up and goes around and plays 25 Christmas songs (and 25 other songs too, but we played the Christmas songs all morning). It will be an addition to our Christmas decorations each year, and it was worth it to see the excitement on her face at finally getting the one thing she really wanted.

Next she went to see if Santa had stuffed her stocking, which he had. She was thrilled with everything inside, especially the little princess polly pocket dolls. She got them for her birthday last April, but she had since broken Belle and Sleeping Beauty. Santa must've known, because he replaced them both, and she was so excited.

Then the present opening began. She got the hang of it right away, and was so thrilled with each and everything she opened, even the clothes! She wanted to stop and play with everything, which was nice because it made it all last longer. With every present she'd get so excited and say, "It's a box with something in it!!" and then she'd say, "It's exactly what I wanted!!"

The present I was most excited for her to open was the "Big Sister" shirt. We told her what it said and explained that she was going to have a little brother or sister. She didn't quite get it. We told her there was a baby in Mommy's tummy that would be her little brother or sister. She looked at me for a minute and then smiled and said, "A baby!?!?" I showed her the ultrasound picture and told her that was a picture of the baby in my tummy, but she showed little interest and moved on to wanting to unwrap the next thing. She seemed glad about the whole thing, but she doesn't quite understand it all quite yet. We've talked about it off and on since then, and she's starting to get it a little more. She says she's going to hold the baby and be gentle. She thinks it's a girl baby, she says. She also keeps pointing to her own tummy and saying, "But there's no baby in MY tummy!" I'm glad she finally knows.

At one point in the morning she remembered to check the plate to see if Santa and the reindeer had eaten their snacks. She was so excited to see that they were gone!

After we opened all of our presents, she played a little while and Daddy and I frantically got ready and packed everything up to leave by 10:00 AM. We had to leave the house in a huge mess and get to my husband's work. There were samples that had to be run in the lab on Christmas day, and it was his turn to be the one to go do it (usually his assistant does it), so although it was the last place I wanted to go on Christmas morning, it had to be done.

We were there about a half hour, and then we took off for Granny and Papa's (my husband's side of the family). Rachel watched one of her new videos on the way--The Jungle Book.

Granny and Papa's

We arrived around lunch time to a crowded house. They had all opened their presents that morning, so when we got there we ate Christmas dinner first. After dinner, the kids were ready for another round of presents, so they all opened the presents from us, and Rachel opened the presents from them. We were only able to stay for a couple of hours, so it was really rushed, but Rachel enjoyed playing with her cousins and Granny and Papa.

Grandma and Grandpa's

About mid-afternoon we took off for another round with my side of the family. Our parents live about 40 minutes away from each other. Rachel fell asleep (her only nap for the day) during the last 5 or 10 minutes of the trip! She woke up as soon as we pulled in the driveway and was ready to go again as soon as she ran in the door yelling, "Grandma! Grandma!"

Rachel's cousin, Emma, had a kilt, and asked Grandma to make her a sash and tam like Rachel's from her Christmas program, and wanted Rachel to wear them so they could match. So match, they did.

All of the grandkids....eager to open presents (and not all so eager to get their picture taken, can you tell?)

The present opening began.

Rachel's favorite: A Princess Tiana dress from the Princess and the Frog movie we had just seen.

A close second: A new Snow White dress to replace the one that doesn't fit her anymore. This one was Emma's and Emma decided that since it didn't fit her anymore, she wanted to give it to Rachel for Christmas. Rachel lived in these two dresses for the rest of the weekend.

Mommy's favorite of Rachel's gifts: An "OK to Wake" clock. You set it to glow at a certain time in the morning, which tells the child, who can't tell time, that it's okay to get up. We just started using it a couple of days ago and it's MAGIC!! While she has been waking up and calling me anytime between 6:00 and 7:00 AM, it's now set for 7:00, and she knows that if she wakes up and it's not glowing green, she needs to stay quiet and try to go back to sleep, but when it turns green, then she can call Mommy. So far it's worked like a charm! At 7:00 AM on the dot each day, I've heard a little gasp and giggle, and then, "Mooooooooommmmmmmmmyyyyyyy...." Anything that gives me an extra hour in the morning= priceless!

A highlight for Rachel was watching Grandma's Santa Claus doll dance to "Jingle Bell Rock." Everytime he did, she joined in, swaying her hips back and forth with her arms up in the air like santa. I wish I could put the video on here--it's hilarious! The picture doesn't do it justice, but you get the idea. Emma joined in on the fun, too, even dressing up in Rachel's new Princess Tiana dress.

Lots of presents, lots of food, lots of people, lots of fun. It was a busy, but very fun day.

The Aftermath

We spent the next few days relaxing and recovering at my parents' house. My husband and I enjoyed a date (we saw The Blind Side--great movie!!) and Rachel enjoyed her grandparents, her cousins, and her new toys.

The Other News
And now, for the news you've all REALLY come here to read today....the ultrasound was this morning, and........

I T ' S...................... A ..........................................................................................

GIRL!!!

Rachel's reaction: "I get to put a PRINCESS DRESS on her!!!"

My husband's reaction: "Thank goodness we don't have to paint the nursery!"

My only reaction was tears of thankfulness that everything looks healthy and is measuring up correctly. If I could've chosen, I would've chosen a girl, too, because I've always wanted a sister, and really wanted Rachel to have one. But I would've been thrilled with either one, as long as it was a healthy baby.

Happy New Year!!!

a belated Merry Christmas

I've been working on a Christmas post, but it's taking me much longer than I had anticipated. One of these days I promise there will be a full recap, for there is much to recount.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. Hopefully I'll be back in a couple of days with the big news (boy or girl?) !! We are supposed to find out on Thursday, provided the baby cooperates.

And some Christmas pictures, too, eventually.

just a little news

We've been busy getting ready for the big day tomorrow, but I just thought I'd write a few things that have happened over the last few days. It'll probably be another few days before I post again....and then it will be all about Christmas Day, I'm sure, and I didn't want these things to be forgotten.

*Sometime last summer Rachel first saw Princess Tiana in the stores and kept asking who it was. I told her that it was a princess from a new movie, The Princess and The Frog, that would come out at Christmastime. I told her that maybe we could go see it on the big screen when it was all done. She was so excited, and ever since, whenever we've seen Tiana in the store (which is a lot, since we're always looking at princess things in the store!), she's told me that we're going to go see it on the big screen at Christmastime. But as I started hearing more about the movie, I started having second thoughts, since I thought she would be pretty scared by the voodoo "Shadowman" I kept seeing in the previews. But she kept talking about going. So we read reviews, it was rated G, and I talked to some friends who had seen it with their little girls, and was fairly convinced that it would be okay, so we decided to take her. Daddy was off of work yesterday, and we found out that a nearby theater had movies in the morning for $5, and mornings are perfect for us, since she naps in the afternoons and goes to bed pretty early in the evenings. So we went.

Remember when we went to see this? I was worried that this experience would be much the same. Thankfully, I was wrong! She did GREAT! She stayed in her seat (almost the whole time), was mesmerized from the first moment, and loved eating popcorn and drinking lemonade throughout the movie. And she wasn't scared at all! A couple of times she said, "I don't like this part!" but they weren't even the scary parts. She just didn't like that Tiana was turned into a frog! A couple of times she clapped her hands in sheer delight, and lots of times she was bouncing up and down in her seat in time to the music with the biggest smile on her face. I think I watched her more than I watched the movie....and I enjoyed every minute of it. So did she!

Afterwards we walked around the shopping center where the movie theater is, and they had a huge Christmas tree in the courtyard, a big nativity display, and a pretty large display of electric trains, which she loved! Then we went out to lunch, where she ate her entire meal, something she never does. I finally got my onion rings, which I'd been craving for about a week (the other thing I've been craving is salad....so at least I'm balancing my crazy pregnancy diet a bit!!). It was a nearly perfect outing, and lots of fun for all of us.

*This morning Rachel told us she can't wait to be a woman so she can do "grown up stuff." We asked her what kind of grown up stuff she wanted to do: "I can get married!"

*Also this morning, I burped (don't really want to write about that, but it's an important part of the story!). I usually do my best to hide it, but Rachel heard me and said, "Mommy, what do you say?" Guess she's been listening to her mother's instructions about manners!

*Last week when we were leaving school on her last day, she saw another little girl leaving with her big sister, little brother, and their dad. She watched them for a minute and then said, "Mommy, look!" and pointed to them. I didn't know what she wanted me to notice, so I said, "What do you see?" After a moment she said, "I want brothers and sisters, too." It's the first time she's ever really expressed an interest. I said, "In order for you to have brothers and sisters, Mommy has to have a baby." She immediately turned her face into a look of disgust and said, "Nooooooo. I don't want you to have a baby!" Oops! Guess she'll be in for a rude awakening tomorrow morning when she unwraps that 'Big Sister' shirt and finds out that there is, indeed, a baby inside Mommy's tummy!

*Rachel's walking around in circles in the kitchen in her ballet costume (clomping, is a better word for it, because she's wearing her plastic dress up shoes!) singing, "Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve, it's Christmas Eve!"

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Well, it's been looking that way in here all month, but now there's snow outside to match the decor inside. And when she woke up on Saturday morning and saw the snow (just a little more than a dusting, mind you), she couldn't WAIT to go outside and play in it.

She and Daddy went out later in the morning. What she really wanted to do was build a snowman. It took about all of our snow in the front yard, but Daddy managed to get one built.

His name, of course, is Frosty. And every time we've gone anywhere since, she gets excited all over again and yells, "There's Frosty! He's still there!"

And here are some other Christmas activity pictures. Last week we made "gingerbread" houses out of graham crackers.

We also made cut out cookies one day (just so she and Daddy could eat them, not to take to anyone....and you can see why from how she decorated most of them....). But she had a great time and enjoyed them immensely.

newsworthy

I just put dinner together and in the oven....not usually very newsworthy, but it is today, because I just used raw meat for the first time since September! And I didn't get sick....or even gag! This is BIG news. Just ask my husband. The poor guy has been living on frozen food and sandwiches for three months. A couple of weeks ago I was finally feeling well enough to make dinner most nights again, but I hadn't really attempted anything with raw meat. I knew the raw meat would make me sick.

Two weeks ago I put a pork loin in the crock pot and set it in the garage all day to cook, so I wouldn't have to smell it. It worked well, and we got our protein, but I didn't have to do anything with it.

So tonight I'm making meatloaf. I just mixed it and shaped it BY HAND with narry a gag. Hooray! Life is (sort of) back to normal!

tidbits

:: About a month ago it seemed that Rachel started realizing that I have a life apart from her. She began to ask when I took her to school, "What are you going to do today, Mommy, when I am at school?" or if she forgot to ask before she'd ask on the way home, "What did you do today, Mommy?" I still think it's cute when she asks me--just that she's growing up enough to think to take an interest in what I'm doing.

:: The Advent calendar continues to be a hit--it's the first thing she asks about every morning. But there's also been an added benefit that I hadn't anticipated: she's learning her numbers above 10. She's been recognizing numbers up to 10 for quite awhile, but once you get past 10, she can't correctly identify her numbers. Now that we're up to number 15, she's learning more about the teens, and will soon learn about the twenties as well. Who knew it could be such a teaching tool!?

:: Rachel's worn her hair in braids every day since Sunday. I realized that it's not that much harder than ponytails, and with the extreme static she's been sporting in her hair lately with the colder, drier weather, the braids are perfect for keeping that under control. She complains every morning as I do it, but at least she stands still and it looks good (at least until naptime, when she insists that they come out--and after naptime I don't generally take the time to do anything else to it, unless we're going somewhere, which we usually don't).

:: So this morning when Rachel asked me what I was doing while she was at school, blogging was not on my list of things to do. I told her I was going to clean and do some laundry, so I'd better go get busy!!

just call her half pint

I braided Rachel's hair for the first time this morning. I've tried a few times, but she never stays still long enough for me to get it looking decent. This morning she finally did.



So here's "Half Pint" and "Pa" posing in front of our tree.

And in other news, I felt the baby kick this morning for the first time! It was a HUGE thrill and relief to finally feel the little life inside me.

ho ho ho

Here's what it said we were going to do behind the advent calendar door for today.....




To say she was THRILLED would be a huge understatement.



She had such a great time and we had a fun morning, visiting Santa, Christmas shopping, and getting lunch together. I love my sweet girl.

gingerbread men

Last year my mom started the tradition of making gingerbread men with Rachel at Christmastime. So this year they did it again. Yesterday morning Rachel opened up the little door of her advent calendar and it said, "Make gingerbread men cookies with Grandma." She was thrilled.

Here are some pictures from their fun day together.

Eating the dough was her favorite part, I think it's safe to say.

She graciously shared some with Grandma.

Rolling out the dough (with her own rolling pin--a gift from Grandma last year)

Decorating

Mission Complete!

Christmas Around the World

Last night was Rachel's Christmas program at school. The theme was Christmas Around the World, and the kids were asked to dress in a costume that represented their family's cultural background. Only some of the kids actually did, but Rachel was all decked out in a Scottish kilt, sash, and tam, in honor of her Daddy's side of the family. Grandma made it for her (without even having a pattern, might I add! She used one of Rachel's cousins kilts as a guide and scaled it down to Rachel's size--what talent!!!).

Of course, we're not biased or anything, but she was the cutest one up on that big stage! (doesn't she look so small???)








You could tell when she'd spot us in the crowd because she'd break out into a huge smile. She didn't do anything embarrassing, like I was afraid she might do, and was quite serious and intent on what she was supposed to be doing.

Sadly, none of the pictures came out all that well, but you can get the idea. We couldn't have been more proud of our sweet little girl.



Afterwards she was wired, and kept telling us how much fun it was.

say cheese

Rachel's school picture

According to her teacher, it wasn't easy to get her to look at the camera and smile at the same time (I would believe it!), so though it's a fake, cheesy smile, and her eyes kind of look like a deer in the headlights, I'm happy she did manage to look at the camera!

o christmas tree

Last year for Christmas I received an advent calendar with little doors for each day of December. My plan was to start using it this year with Rachel to help her count down the days until Christmas. So we started on Tuesday. She opens up a little door in the morning (she wakes up each morning immediately asking to open the next door--she's so excited about it!) and there's a little piece of paper inside with a different activity for the two of us, or sometimes all three of us, to enjoy that day.

So far.....

Dec 1: Put up Christmas decorations

Dec 2: Watch Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer

Dec 3: Paint in a special new book (a Rudolf paint with water book--she painted every single picture in the book that day!)

Dec 4: Make a snowman craft (which we had to do immediately, which means by 7:30 in the morning we had already done a craft!)

Dec 5: Go Christmas shopping with Daddy

Dec 6: Put up the Christmas Tree

Dec 7: Play with a new Christmas sticker book (she opened it at 6:40 this morning and by 7:00 AM she'd put all the stickers in the whole book--all 16 pages were done!)

So yesterday was Christmas Tree day. She's been looking forward to it for well over a month....ever since she started seeing Christmas trees in the stores.

And it didn't disappoint. She's been ooohing and aaaahing over it ever since.

(Yes, she was playing dress up while simultaneously decorating the tree, and yes, she had on a different dress up outfit a little bit later when I took the other pictures!)

This morning she was so excited to come downstairs and see the tree. She tells me over and over again throughout the day, "I LOVE Christmas, Mommy!" It's so fun to watch her enjoy everything so much.

not at all shy

We were out running errands this morning, but part of the time I decided to let Rachel do what she wanted to do for a little while. As we walked into a department store at the mall a worker said hello to us. Rachel looked at him and said, without any prompting from me, "Hi, I'm Rachel!" He said, "Hi, I'm George, how are you today?" It was so funny, and I couldn't believe how NOT shy she was!

We walked through the store and she saw all of the Christmas things on display and went crazy. We went out into the mall and she played at the indoor playground a bit. Then we went to the Disney Store because she asked to go to "The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!" (That's what she calls the store because it has Mickey ears on the outside around the store front). We just looked around and she was in heaven, playing with all of her favorite stuffed animals, touching all of the beautiful, sparkly princess dresses, and dancing with the princess dolls.

As we were leaving there we saw Santa down below on the first floor of the mall (we were upstairs). He was leaving his little area and he came up the escalator right by us. Rachel was SO excited and just kept walking over toward him, staring. He waved at her and then as she continued to walk toward him in awe, he opened up his arms and she went right into them and gave him a huge hug. He said, "Ho Ho Ho!" She continued to watch him (as he walked into Starbucks--he was on a break, I guess!). She wanted to know what he was doing. I said he was thirsty and was getting a drink. As we walked away she said, "I LOVED seeing Santa, Mommy!" I don't know where she gets her boldness (certainly not from me, and not really from her Daddy, either!), but it sure is sweet!

the diplomat

Last night Rachel evidently told Daddy that he gives the best hugs. When they told me this I asked her, "Daddy gives better hugs than ME?"

She paused for quite awhile, looked at Daddy and back at me, and finally said, "Daddy AND Mommy give the best hugs!"