Christmas Party 2013

It's that time of year again - Jesse's family Christmas party where they rent out a local town hall each year and celebrate the holidays. We talked about this with Riley a few days before the party thinking she would be excited, but she was really concerned about having to see Santa. So concerned that she said she'd rather take a nap than go to the party. We had to come up with a plan that when Santa called her name grandma would walk with her to get the gift. And, that she did not have to sit on Santa's lap. Yeah, that didn't work out so well... but more about that below.

As usual, Riley was a little overwhelmed when we arrived and actually wanted to be held. I know these days of holding her are numbered since she's getting so big so I have to admit I like that she wants this sometimes. Once she started to warm up we guided her to play with the other kids in the back room. Most of the kids are older than her so she tends to tag after Jackson who is pretty close to her age.

The older kids had a hide and seek game going on which was pretty funny since there was maybe two spots to hide in the room. Whatever - they had fun. Jackson and Riley don't fully embrace the rules of hide and seek so the fact that the hiding spaces were limited meant nothing. They were still super excited.

Where's grandma?

Stopped for a little dancing. Wearing a dress brings the ballerina out in her apparently. 

Somewhere along the line we ate food. Lots and lots of wonderful food. And treats. And then did crafts, some played cribbage, and the kids continued to run around...

Grandma was wearing the necklace Riley made for her. Grandma rocks.

Sisters

The kids waited anxiously for Santa to arrive. There was a big debate about what sort of vehicle he would have.

And then Santa arrived!

The kids immediately lined up in front of Santa. Except my kid. She cowered behind me and eventually ended up in Jesse's arms. I hope one day this become less scary for her.

It became clear that Riley would not be walking up to Santa on her own or with grandma. Once her name was called Jesse walked up with her while she had her head buried in his shoulder.

And I thought we were making progress after last year where she actually stood in front of Santa.

2010, 2011, 2012

Most of the other kids were a little more receptive to sitting on Santa's lap and the cuteness meter went through the roof when the twins fist bumped Santa.

Waiting patiently to open her gift.

A Dora microphone! Riley sings all the time. In fact, when we picked her up from preschool on Friday she was holding a play microphone and the teachers called her their little singer. So we knew a microphone would be a big hit for her. I'm sure we'll get sick of the four songs Dora sings on the microphone, but it's worth it to see how much she loves this thing.

Haha. Other gifts in action.

I still sometimes find it odd to have married into a large family. Jesse's immediate family is small, but since his mom is one of 11 kids I would definitely consider this a large family. I mean, I shouldn't find it odd since I have 15ish siblings myself, but it does. The odd part is that I was always the one explaining to other people whose kid belonged to which sibling and now I am the one trying to remember every one's name and what family they belong to. Luckily, Patty organized the following family portraits which is a great way for me to finally (maybe) figure this out (except that we didn't capture everyone).

Riley's timidness had worn off at some point and she walked right up to Jesse's aunts and uncles and started belting out B.I.N.G.O. How can you not love this family - look how in awe they are of my kid. These people rock.

Siblings!

And then there was an attempt to get a picture of all the kids and kids' kids. And since I was using my 50mm lens there was no way I could get everyone in the shot unless I moved waaaaayyyyy back...

But it turns out I wasn't the only one taking pictures... : )

I think this is my favorite picture of the bunch. Everyone just wanted to seal this moment in time... to capture the holidays and know that we stopped to spend a little time with our loved ones. I love this time of year. Happy Holidays!

Christmas Crafts

This cold weather is ruining my holiday plans. I was hoping to get to the Holidazzle parade this past weekend, but there was no way I was going to sit outside after dark in below zero temps. Hopefully, we'll still get to squeeze the parade in this season since it's supposed to be the last year it's running. Riley really loved it last year so we're quite bummed that something she actually likes will be ending.

Even though it was too cold to go to the parade we still tried to work in some holiday fun - mostly in the way of crafts. To start with we made one of those ornaments that you bake. Won't be doing that again - those suckers stink. I ended up getting a headache so we decided to leave the house and go to the gym. Note to self: never, EVER, go to the gym during the cold season at 10 am on a Saturday. Crazy town in there. It was like Lord of the Flies when it came to finding an open locker. I almost gave up. But I didn't and was able to work out (even if I could still smell burning plastic for some reason). Thankfully, by the time we got home the smell was gone.

I realize this is the backside, but hey - the front pretty much looks the same. 

We had already put up our countdown to Christmas chain. I actually saved most of the links from the previous year so this was rather easy to put back together. It doesn't look as pristine as last year, but at least I didn't have to cut out new chain links. Whatever I can do to make my life easier.

Sunday morning we decided to make Santa's. I found a site that had templates which made this an easier task, and frankly, made Santa look much more pulled together than if I free handed this. This was a fun task for Riley - plus I could use some of those cotton balls that I've had for years. I must have used them a lot in the past to provoke me to get such a large bag. Who knew that one day I would have a kid that could totally use these in craft projects.

After Santa was completed we found some leftover snowman parts from a project we did last year. I bought a kit that had a bunch of foam snowmen and snowmen parts that you stuck to the body. It only cost about 5 bucks and provided entertainment for two holiday seasons so that was a total win, even if we were short an arm. At least we had an extra scarf.

Riley really wanted to make a sad snowman. Girl was just keeping it real -snowmen can't always be happy.

Next up was making some hearty food. Ok, this isn't a Christmas craft, but noteworthy all the same. Earlier, I went to the store and bought a bunch of stuff to make chili and to make pulled beef sandwiches. The sandwiches are on hold since I picked up clam chowder instead of beef broth. Guess I need to look at the can instead of just grabbing from the broth area. So I made the chili first. I've been on the lookout for a good chili recipe. The last one I made was a little too sweet for my taste so I didn't want to try that one again and Jesse has been requesting a low meat, high bean one. I found one that I think he'll like, but I didn't find it until after I got back from the store. Maybe next time. 

At any rate, I found a recipe that I thought sounded kind of weird, but I got it from a site that has not let me down with recipes yet so I went for it. Jesse was a little weirded out when I told him it had V8 juice in it, but after eating a bowl he has declared it one of the best chili's he's eaten so maybe I'll be making this one again. To compliment the chili I made some cheddar cornbread as well.

Riley wouldn't touch the chili, but chowed down on the cornbread... and yes, we wore our jammies for much of the day.

And to wrap up the post, I might as well put up a picture of the kid in front of the tree...

And I have to give a call out to the cat, Lucy, for tolerating us. This cat sure can be a pain with wanting to eat food ALL THE TIME, but is also great in so many ways. I'd like to say it was the kid who put all the cars on her, but it was me (and there were actually more).

Riley took all the cars off of Lucy because she said she didn't want to make the cat upset. Well, aren't you just a nice kid looking out for the feelings of others... I wonder who you got that from? Surely, not from me.

Oh, Christmas Tree...

The Christmas holiday seasons is one of my favorite times of the year (even though it is cold - poo on that). I love that there are so many traditions this time of year and as an adult with a small child I've been trying to carry on these traditions and even establish new ones. One of my favorite traditions revolves around the Christmas tree. In the past we've cut down our Christmas trees at my dad's farm, but as the years went by the tree selection became a little slim... unless we wanted to cut down a 25 foot tree just to use the top 8 feet... or even better, a tree with one or two sides. We've planted some new balsam firs, but they won't be ready for a few more years. For awhile we got our trees from Menards or Home Depot, but last year I was determined to find a cut your own tree farm, because picking them up at the local home improvement store just isn't the same thing. Last year, I had two tree farms highly recommended so we headed out towards one only to get lost. We happened across a different tree farm, but didn't love it enough to drive that far this year and didn't want to risk getting lost again.

My husband's biggest request this year was to find something closer and it turns out the other suggestion I received last year, Hansen Tree Farm, is closer to us. It was a little on the spendy side, but they sure do provide an entire experience... free cocoa, hot cider, hot dogs, Christmas sausage, gift shop, sleigh rides, kid's Christmas books read around a roaring fire by the author... it was quite the set up. I would recommend it if you are ok with spending a lot on your Christmas tree. The true test for us will be how well the tree holds up until Christmas.

This place was a well run establishment. When you pulled in you were greeted by a young woman who gave you a map and a saw, if needed, and walked you through what to do and where everything was. I'm not sure if I've ever met such an articulate, and charming 14 year old before. It set a good tone from the start. We then drove around, parked, and found our tree. 

Last year we wildly misjudged the size of the tree we picked and ended up with a huge, fatty tree that seemed to take up the entire room. This year we looked for one on the small side and found one that is a perfect fit for our house. Once cut, we loosely tied it to the top of our car and drove over to where they shake and tie up your tree. They have you park and hand you a ticket to go pay for your tree in the gift shop while they do all the work. When you come out the tree is ready and securely strapped to the top of your vehicle. 

When there is snow they have the horses pull a sleigh instead of a wagon. Riley told us she wanted to do this, but once we got to the farm she wanted nothing to do with it. Perhaps we shouldn't have gone during lunch time and right before nap because kiddo was a little on the fussy side when we were there.

The gift shop is also the place where you will find free food and drinks. Unfortunately, every time I tried to get some hot dogs they just ran out. After holding on to some hot dog buns for some time, scanning the store where there were people actually carving ornaments and kids painting them we decided to pay for our tree (and our carved Santa ornament, maple syrup, and maple sugar) and then I finally threw the buns away and we headed outside.

There we found a little log house that kids were playing in and a bonfire nearby. We decided to sit around the bonfire as a lady was reading a Christmas tree book she wrote for the kids. The kids were all very engaged in the interactive story and the fact that this lady wrote the book based on a tree on the farm just added to the whole quaint experience. I was half expecting Santa to show up with the Mrs. 

After trying one more time to get our slightly fussy and somewhat timid kid to go on the horse drawn wagon without success we headed home. Normally, I want to get the tree decorated right away, but Riley was spending the night at her grandparents so we waited until the next evening when we were all home to decorate the tree together.

A couple years ago we decided to let Riley pick out one new ornament for the tree, but this year we somehow ended up with three new ornaments (see: husband with all the buying) and a smaller tree which ended up in her room.

Putting the first ornament on the tree.

My dad gave me this star when I was a little girl. It's nothing fancy, but it means a lot to me and I hope to pass it on to Riley as she gets older. Oh yeah, and Riley's really into 'silly pajamas' right now, hence the non-matching pajamas.

This is the tree we moved to her bedroom.

Next up? Christmas parties with friends and family, holiday parade, Christmas lights... I can't wait.