Christmas 2012 Recap in Photos

We're back!  We had a great Christmas--first at our house on Christmas morning, then an impromptu trip to visit my husband's family (it was supposed to be the day after Christmas, but bad weather that day meant that if we wanted to see them, we had to fit it in on Christmas Day), and then several days with my family. 

The girls were thrilled with everything.  And my husband completely surprised me with my big gift--an iPad!  I had been wanting one, but didn't ask for one because I knew I didn't need it, and there were lots of other things I needed more.  But I got the things I needed PLUS an iPad!  I couldn't believe it.  I love it!

So here are pictures from the last few days.  Enjoy!  And Happy New Year!

Rachel's biggest wish was a Merida dress (the princess from Brave).  It was the last gift she opened.  She was so excited.

Daddy got the girls head lamps.  Hilarious!

Rebecca loves Minnie Mouse!

She also loves Doc McStuffins, so my mom made her this doctor's coat that says, "Doc Rebecca."

Not only did Rachel get a Merida dress, Grandma had a whole box of Brave stuff, including another Merida dress (that she made herself!), wig, shoes, crown, necklace, earrings, bow, arrows, and quiver.  This is Rachel opening the box

then expressing her excitement!

And all dressed up.... (isn't the wig hilarious???)

Rebecca had to get in on the Merida excitement, too....

Both girls are excited about my iPad, too!

What fun!

Nutcracker 2012

Today was the day!

Rachel was so excited.

It will never be as exciting as it was the first time we went, but it was a fun afternoon.

And just because Rebecca wanted her picture taken, too, here she is, with Grandma and Rachel:

 

 

And here are a few pictures from yesterday--our first snowfall of the year, and Rebecca's first time playing in the snow.  She mostly just walked around in it, laughing, and watched Rachel and me have a snowball fight (my first snowball fight with my daughter--she thought it was hilarious!).  We tried to make a snowman, without success.  And Rachel made a few snow blocks with this snow block maker, but mostly she just posed with it.

 



another failed attempt

Here's what happened last year we took the girls to see Santa.

I thought this year might be different.  Rebecca's not too shy anymore.  She's excited about Christmas and Santa and was excited about going to see him.

But as soon as I set her down on his lap, this happened:

And this:

After I quickly snapped the pictures I rushed over and rescued her.  She stopped crying right away and talked to him a little bit in the safety of my arms.  She told him she wanted a purple present.

Rachel changed her mind about what she had written in her letter to Santa and told him something completely different that she wanted him to bring.  Uh oh!

He asked her if she'd been a good girl.  She's gotten in some trouble at school lately, so she said, "Well, I've been a little bit good and a little bit bad, but I'm trying to do better."  He thanked her for being an honest girl and told her just to do her best and that no one can be good all the time. 

the best laid plans...

When we won the Nutcracker tickets, my plan was to wait and surprise Rachel the morning of the show with the tickets. 

But then, a week or so ago she came home from school with a birthday party invitation.  And wouldn't you know that it was for the exact day and time as I had already chosen the Nutcracker tickets.  Ugh. 

She was so excited about the birthday party (are all six year olds as into birthday parties as she is?  She talks about them for weeks and weeks!), but once I looked at the invitation, I knew she couldn't go.  But I couldn't tell her that she couldn't go unless I told her about The Nutcracker!  I hated changing the plans to surprise her, but I didn't really have a choice.

So I wrapped up a Nutcracker bookmark I had found and when she opened it I told her about winning the tickets and going to see it.  She was really excited, until she found out it meant that she couldn't go to the birthday party.  I guess I should've anticipated that reaction, but I didn't.  Lots of tears.  Ugh.

But over time, she's forgotten about the birthday party and is really excited to go to the Nutcracker tomorrow.  She's been listening to the music up in her room (two years ago after we saw it for the first time I bought her the CD for Christmas, and she loves it) and dancing to it.

The plan was for Grandma and Grandpa (who are coming with us to the Nutcracker tomorrow) to come down today and go with the girls and me to go visit Santa.  Rachel's been talking about it for a week.  But then winter decided to make an appearance, and it's going to snow all day here.  They said the roads are going to get worse and worse today, so they've decided to wait and come down tomorrow in time for the Nutcracker, and not go with us to see Santa today (tomorrow the weather is supposed to be fine).    So once again, plans change. 

Rachel's not good at changing plans.  Thankfully she took this one in stride.  I'll have to wait and see how the roads are before I decide whether or not to go on with the plan to go see Santa today.  That's a plan I'm afraid she won't be as okay with!  We'll see....

Rebecca's strep throat is the easiest case of strep throat I've ever heard of.  After we went to the doctor she hasn't had a fever at all!  She takes her medicine like a pro.  You can't even tell that she was ever sick.  Still hoping that Rachel doesn't come down with it, though....that would probably change some more plans, and that would make her (and me!) really sad.

medicine

Rebecca loves taking medicine.  This is a complete turnaround from what I'm used to with Rachel, who is terrible about taking medicine.

So it's a good thing that it's Rebecca who's been diagnosed with strep throat, not Rachel!

The last few days she's had a pretty high fever, and I figured it was just a virus, and wasn't planning on taking her to the doctor, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought now would probably be a better time to take her, rather than waiting until later in the week, closer to the holiday, when there would probably be fewer doctors in the office and harder to get an appointment.

I'm SO GLAD I did!  I never expected strep throat.  Neither of them has ever had it.  She wasn't complaining of her throat hurting, and was still eating okay.  Just the fever, really. 

So now she's on the pink stuff, except it's not pink!  It smells like it, is the same consistency, but it's white, not pink!  She likes it.  Oh, it makes it so much easier that way.  Bless you, Rebeeca!!!

Now I am really, really hoping that Rachel doesn't catch it. 

Gotta go wake up my sick girl to go to the bus stop.  In a few minutes it will be Christmas vacation!  Rachel's done with school for a couple of weeks.  YAY!

an eventful weekend

Last week/weekend was the busiest, most exhausting of the month (year??). Whew!  I'm so excited to relax and do nothing today (well, if you count lots of laundry and wrapping Christmas presents nothing....).

This weekend Rachel performed three times in the kids' choir at our church and I performed three times in a choir at a different church across town (I skipped two additional performances in order to see Rachel in hers, or I would've been in five!).  It was BUSY, and I didn't know how we'd make it all work, but we survived, and it all went well.

 

Here are some pictures from Rachel's performance.  She did great and it was so fun watching her up on stage.  I can't really put many because there are other children's faces in them.  Hopefully I cropped these well enough.

Also, this weekend, my parents came (to see us sing) and made gingerbread cookies with the girls.  By this point Rebecca was done with baking and didn't want to pose for pictures, so I only have pictures of Grandma and Rachel.

And not to be outdone, here's Rebecca.  She was a trooper this weekend, putting up with everyone else performing.  She had to do lots of waiting around.  At our church they have this nativity scene set up, and she enjoyed playing in it while she waited for Rachel to finish singing for the last time.

the lucky one

Remember how my dad won us tickets to go see the Nutcracker?

Well, before we found out he won, I had entered another giveaway.  And would you believe that I just found out yesterday that I won that one, too!?!?!? 

I won four more tickets!  Is that crazy or what?  I've never been lucky in this sort of thing before, so I don't know why this sudden stroke of luck, but I'm so thankful to have been blessed by EIGHT tickets to this show!

Last night I called a friend with two little girls who I thought might like them.  She told me, "I think you're about to make my little girl's dream come true!"  Her daughter (a friend of Rachel's) had recently seen the Barbie Nutcracker video, and there was a documentary at the end about the real Nutcracker ballet, which she loved watching.  Then her mom told her that they do the Nutcracker here in town, and she started begging to go see it.  They looked into going, but the only tickets left are the really expensive seats, so they decided not to go.  And then I called her with four extra tickets!  I'm so excited that I could help make her dreams come true.  They're so thrilled.

As fun as it is to know we get to go see it again next weekend (Rachel still doesn't know--please don't tell her if you see her!), I think it's even more fun to get to play Santa and give these away to a little girl and her family who really, really want them. 

fancy

Over Thanksgiving my mom decided she wanted to get Rachel a gingerbread house for us to put together at Christmastime.  While looking at them, I saw this:

If you know Rachel, you know what a perfect find this was.  She's still very princess-obsessed, and loves anything having to do with princesses, castles, fairies, fancy...you get the idea.  So this was perfect. 

She couldn't wait to put it together, but we had to wait until a weekend, when we'd have more time to devote to it.  This past Saturday was finally the day.  Of course, we couldn't wait until a normal hour-- my girls are up at the crack of dawn, so all kinds of things happen around here before 8:00 AM, including making gingerbread castles. 

Mommy had a little trouble getting it put together....

But in the end, it all turned out just fine.

Rachel helped with the decorations while Rebecca played with the Cinderella and coach. 

Later, the girls were dressing up.  Rebecca's not as into playing dress up as Rachel, but sometimes she gets into it.  Here's my fancy girl:

And Rachel wanted her picture taken, too.

Love my fancy girls! (Rebecca was done with looking at the camera.....

another one bites the dust

First Rachel had a cold.  Then I caught it.  I'm still getting over it, but this afternoon I started wondering if Rebecca was sick. I had to wake her up from her nap in order to go get Rachel from the bus stop, and she was really lethargic for the next hour or so.  She finally perked up and acted pretty normal during and after dinner, but about an hour before bed she was on my lap, rubbing her eyes, digging her head into my shoulder, whining that no, she wasn't "sweepy."  She felt a little warm.  She continued to sit quietly with me for a long time, which is very unlike her.  She loves to sit with me, but only for a few minutes at a time, and then she's down running around again. 

Before bed I took her temp.  Slight fever.  I tried to put her right to bed after giving her some medicine, but she said she wanted a story (our usual ritual).  I started the story, but she spent the whole time with her head laying down on my chest, not even looking at the book.  Not normal Rebecca at all.

Hopefully it's quick, but that's not usually the case with my kids.  And this is something different than Rachel and I had (she's not congested, and neither Rachel or I had a fever), so anyone could catch it....  Ugh.  This next week is the busiest of this whole busy month.  This could throw a wrench in things.....

Christmastime

Christmastime at our house has begun.  Rachel was counting down the days until December 1st, when Rudy, our elf on the shelf, would make his appearance (she really thinks he flew here that night from the North Pole--it's going to be one sad day when she finds out that he actually spends the rest of the year packed away in the basement....), and she could start opening the little doors on the Advent Calendar. 

We got out our Christmas stuff and decorated the tree over the weekend.

 

 

Rebecca loves it.  I gave them their new ornaments that day (she got a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse balloon ornament and Rachel got a Merida ornament--the princess in the movie Brave), and made the mistake of wrapping them, so they got to unwrap them (which Rebecca also loved!).  Then my husband put some presents (for me!) under the tree, and she asks every day (several times a day) if she can open them.  She doesn't yet understand that there's a separate day for that--she already got to open a present, so why can't we keep opening the other presents, too? 

I usually love putting up the tree, because I get the chance to relive the memories attached to each ornament, but this year it was rather stressful.  Both girls kept grabbing into the boxes to get another ornament, and, of course, weren't careful.  Three ornaments were broken.  After multiple warnings, I finally had to make them sit down and just watch, which wasn't much fun for any of us, but I couldn't keep letting ornaments get broken.  Finally I started unwrapping them and they were allowed to hang them up (it was the unwrapping that usually caused the breakage, so I just did that part).  That was an okay compromise.