A Wonderful December

Auntie Mel and Auntie Sheila came to visit us!  When Mel came she caught me by surprise.  Dan had to travel for work so he secretly set up a visit from Mel for the same time.  She had been meaning to come see the kids and was also here for a helping hand.  Boy did I need it!  Grant was going through his fussy phase.  Sorry Auntie Mel, he just cried all the time!

 



 

Auntie Sheila came to visit in the beginning of December to see the kids and visit me for my birthday.  By the looks of the next picture, Grant was starting to mellow out a little.  He was still a bad sleeper/napper, just ask Sheila.

Girls night out painting a fun Christmas piece

A pro! 

It was my birthday when Sheila was in town, so Dan took care of the kids a few nights so I could go out and have some fun.  Sophie also wanted to be sure to celebrate with me, so for the first time in quite a while, we got a birthday cake.  When Dan brought it home Sophie decided she wanted to play one of her favorite games.  She says, "I will be Mommy and you be Sophie" to me.  This prompts me to say something she would say and she would pretend to be my mommy.  So when the cake showed up, we were expected to sing happy birthday to her (Mommy) and she would blow out the candles!  She is one smart little gal!  I insisted on her singing happy birthday to me, but I was happy to let her blow out the candles and lick all the frosting off of them.


Here is "Mommy" with her birthday cake

 

Dan got me a wonderful birthday present!  Three bottles of wine, a Bon Jovi CD and a new wine glass.  The picture below shows my new glass.  I love it!  It says "Mommy is calmer now".  Genius right!?  When he was at the store having it made, the lady taking his order said, "It's going to take a lot more than wine!  Try a trip to a tropical island..."  Ha Ha!  I love it and have used it many times already.

 

We decorated for Christmas a week earlier than we usually do.  Here are some pics of Sophie helping me decorate the tree.  She had a great time putting the ornaments on the tree and learning about all of the special ones.  Of course she got to finish it off by putting the angel on top with a little help from her Daddy.



The finishing touch!

Window decals from Grandma

All dressed up to see Santa!

The kids did great!  A beautiful Sophie and our Grumpy Grant

Nothing phases us, right Soph?

I borrowed a scale from my neighbor to see how much Grant weighed.  Not sure how accurate it was since he was dangling off in all directions!  Approximately 16 lbs. at 3 months!!

Sophie was involved in her first Christmas pageant that was put on by the Methodist Church where she goes to school.  The event was titled "A Walk Through Bethlehem" and it consisted of songs and scripture readings in the church followed by a walk that depicted many scenes of Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus.  Sophie was a little sheep along with her class and sang two songs, "The Friendly Beasts" and "Go Tell it on the Mountain".  Of course I cried the entire time and even a little bit before she even walked in.  Dan just shook his head at me while trying to take pictures so I could see what I was missing since I couldn't see through all my tears.  Boy am I in trouble for all future events...

 

Then, as if that wasn't enough, she went Christmas caroling with her school at a few downtown locations.  They went to the library and also to city hall.  Grant and I attended, I cried, and managed to snap a few photos for daddy to see.

 



I think she was trying to see where I was

The big guy even showed up at city hall!  The kids were so excited to see Santa!!

I took Sophie out to see Christmas lights and we drank hot cocoa. This is the tree at Lake Eola

She was too scared to stand right by the nutcracker.  This as close as she wanted to be to him

 

This year a very special friend came to visit Sophie for the Christmas season.  One of Santa's elves came to be sure Sophie was being a good girl.  She named him Yoko (I honestly don't know where she comes up with some things).  Every morning Yoko would be doing something new after his trip to the North Pole to report to Santa.  She had a great time looking for him every day.  He was a fun little guy to have around and also quite crafty.  Here he is with a toilet paper snowman.



Snapped a family picture before heading out to Dan's work Christmas party.

Papa and his mini me

First time in the exersaucer!

Grandma making Reindeer poop (cookies) with Sophie and her friend Sloane



Christmas baby



A happy little elf!!



Santa has been here!

Grant's first Christmas. Opening one of his presents. Sophie helped open the rest!

His very own puzzle!  Love that face and those cheeks!!

Sleepy baby

A new Rapunzel baby doll and Little Mermaid pajamas



Happy guys!!



Love my family!!  Papa has his hands full!

My Little Pony play doh toy.  You put the play doh in, press it down, and hair grows out the top. She loves to "cut, cut, cut"!

Nap time wearing her new lady bug rain coat



Christmas day with my little family



Snapped a quick photo before all heck broke loose.  Obviously Grant didn't last long in his high chair. But we faked it for one second.

Playing with her little brother and his new toys.



Love my babes

Sophie's new boots from Grandma Elaine.  Watch out, she's sassy!

Dan and I had an exciting New Year's Eve!  I had to work on New Year's Day, so we actually stayed home this year.  I told Sophie when she got home from school we were going to have a party to celebrate the new year.  She asked if we would have decorations and I said we sure would!  I riffled through some of our old decorations from birthdays and other parties and found some streamers.  I hung up just a few.  I also got some horns and crowns.  When she came home, she was so excited to see all the fun stuff.  A little really goes a long way in the eyes of a 3 year old!

Netflix actually had some New Year's Eve countdowns for kids.  There were a few cartoon characters to choose from.  Sophie made her choice and we had a New Year's countdown at 9pm.  Yay! Mommy and Daddy could relax and party the night away.... HA!  After the countdown, Sophie and I went out on the front porch, blew our horns, and shouted happy new year a few times.  She thought that was really fun, and so did I, just because I was spending the evening with her.


Grant was not a fan of the festivities

She's starting to like him more and more

It was 55 degrees out this day.  She cried most of the morning because of the cold.  That's my Florida girl!

Grant turned 4 months old on December 26th.  He weighed in at 17 pounds 10 ounces (90th percentile) and was 27 inches long (97th percentile)!  The nurse came back in the room to measure his length a second time after comparing it to his last length.  She said she wanted to be sure since there was such a big growth.  He got a few shots and cried pretty hard, but it didn't last long.  He was a bit cranky for a few days due to the shots, but no fever thank goodness!


Grant has been noticing Sophie more and more.  She is really good at entertaining him.  He will sit and stare at her for a long time, smiling when she talks to him.  The next picture is him staring at her.  She was probably sitting next to me on the couch just watching TV.  But that's all he needs.  I can just hear it now, "Mom, Grant won't stop following me around" or "Grant's playing with my toys".  He already adores her!

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!!

Love,

Dan, Jess, Sophie, and Grant