Christmas Eve 2010

On Christmas Eve we went to Jeff & LuAnn's house for a German Christmas eve. It was fantastic. LuAnn and her cousin made German pancakes and Rouladen. It was delicious!

After dinner the kids (and some adults) performed a live nativity. Calder had been looking forward to being the shepherd for a few days. He even got to hold a sheep that the Oliver's had. He was in heaven. Jason read the story from the Bible and I did my best to herd the shepherd. We all had a great time and Calder still talks about being a shepherd.

I forgot my camera so I had to steal these from LuAnn's blog. Thanks for taking pictures LuAnn and thanks for the awesome evening.

Christmas 2010

 We had the most wonderful Christmas. I feel like this is the year Calder caught on to holidays. He now knows what his birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas all mean. This is what it looked like the night before when we finished putting the presents out and stuffing the stockings.

 We feel greatly blessed to have such marvelous families. We would have loved to be with them on Christmas but the distance and weather (and buying a third plane ticket) limited our ability to be with them. We still had a marvelous day filled with love, friends and presents.

 I think this face sums up Calder's day. He loved every minute of it. Actually Christmas present opening lasted until the evening of the 26th. He kept wanting to play with each toy he opened and we didn't rush him so he had presents for quite a while. I really liked doing it this way. I imagine I couldn't force this schedule on a 10 year old though.

 We had three families over for brunch at 11:00. It was perfect. It gave us enough time to leisurely get ready for the day and finish making quiche and cinnamon rolls. This was our third time hosting Christmas brunch with friends and I really like it. It makes it feel a little more like an eventful day without being stressful.

This is how we spent the afternoon. Reading, snuggling under a blanket. What a perfect day!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Santa's Workshop

 On December 23 Calder and I met up with my friend LuAnn and her boys to visit Santa's workshop. Every year Santa comes to visit DC on the Ellipse of the White House. This is also the site of the National Christmas tree, which is not a very attractive tree in my opinion.

 It was a lot of fun for the boys and we were lucky Mrs. Claus was there as well. Calder was pretty excited to sit by Mrs. Claus and have a picture. It was nice to be inside while visiting the Claus family because it was a bit chilly outside.

 Calder weathered it well though.

And in the end it was all worth it to meet the man himself. I have to admit, this is the best looking Santa I've ever seen. The beard is real and even had a little glitter in it. He definitely looked quite comfortable in the suit. Calder was a little nervous but thankfully LuAnn's boys went first so he was okay with it. Although his wish list changed every time we talked about it he told Santa he wanted a train. Santa asked if he wanted a Thomas or a GeoTrax. Calder said GeoTrax even though neither of us have even seen such a train / track system. I love that Santa knows more about the toys available than I do.

Work Christmas Party

Last Friday we went to Jason's work Christmas party. It was an amazing event that started out with buffets of food and dessert, including chocolate fountains. They had a gingerbread cookie decorating station and ice cream sundae bar for the kids.

About half way through the caroling started. The bosses took charge and called out songs and page numbers for everyone to join in. It was really fun! Calder (and I) got to meet some really cool people and we all had a good time.

 

Of course we had to get a picture with Calder in Jason's chair. This is the face he makes when you ask him to smile. 

Capital & Botanic Garden

 We went to the Botanic Garden this last week with some friends to check out the model trains. On the way we walked by the Capital and admired the Capital Christmas tree. (Not to be confused with the National Christmas Tree) It was very pretty and decorated with hand crafted ornaments from Wyoming, where the tree came from as well.

 It was cold that day and this is how Calder travels around DC these days. I asked him if he was freezing and he replied "No, just cold." So don't worry, I don't freeze our kid, I just keep him cold. Speaking of, he is not a fan of the cold. Usually if we go outsize to run errands or something and it is cold he asks to go home instead. If we're going somewhere cool he's willing to face the cold. 

I would also like to mention that it is nowhere as cold as Chicago and for that I am thankful. Calder is too.

 The botanic garden has amazing poinsettias, model trains and DC building replicas made from plant parts. I can't believe all of this was built using only food and plants. It was fun to get up close and try to guess what they used to create it.

 A happier, warmer Calder.

 Calder was so excited to get to see Percy, his favorite of the Thomas series trains. He waved and pointed every time he came by.

And as with everything else in DC (it seems) it was free. I really love it here.

Festival of Lights

 Last weekend we went to the Washington DC temple to experience the Festival of Lights. It was truly beautiful. I was surprised to see so many multi-colored lights. For some reason I was expecting to see all white lights. It was very beautiful. I think they use over 400,000 lights.

 In the visitor center they had a creche collection with creches from all over the world. I took some pictures of my favorites. I have to admit that I don't have a creche in our home yet. I've wanted one for a long time but I don't know what kind I want. I guess I should just get one and then keep an eye out for the perfect one. I do want Calder to have the tangible reminder of the birth of Jesus.

I love this one from Japan for is simplicity.

 I can't remember where this creche is from but that woolly mammoth sure made me laugh.

 This one is from Germany. And below is the sign with tidbits about it.

 This one is from Africa. I think it has a very humble feel and I like that.

This felted one is from Finland. It made me want to create my own but now that I'm home I'm having second thoughts.

Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas! We hope each of you are enjoying time with loved ones. We move and miss each of you. Our Christmas was beautiful and special. It was very low key but also full of traditions that we love.

We started our morning with cinnamon rolls. They were delicious. Then we got down to the present opening. We were able to take it at Calder's pace. He opened his last present at 7:00 pm which was just fine by us.

Calder has bronchitis and has been under the weather for the last few days. So, if he we look tired, there is a reason for that.

Here is Calder checking for Santa. (Lets be honest, he is probably checking for the garbage man)

Dr. Calder is in the house. If you come visit he will check your heart. He's very good at it.

One of his favorite presents... a garbage truck. He's asking 'where is it' in reference to the real garbage truck.

Attacking the stack.

Playing his new harmonica with daddy. He got a whole band set, which he loves.

A fishing pole. He used it twice in the bath today.

Break time. I love the way he has a toy in each hand and string cheese in his mouth.

Snuggles with mommy.

Another break. This Christmas business is hard work.

Taking the trash out at the end of the day.

Christmas Decorations

I LOVE decorating for Christmas and getting into the spirit of the season. This is the first year we've had a tree in our 5 years of marriage. Prior to this we've had our festive Christmas swag that we hung ornaments from. This is such a sweet tree. It is about 4 feet tall and rather sparse. It is as artificial as they come. Everything on it is something Calder can touch or move to his heart's desire.

I feel a theme emerging for my Christmas decorations. I'm glad because prior to this year I haven't really felt like it was cohesive. So, the theme is slightly Scandinavian, winter white and gold. I want to get a few things at the after Christmas sales to really make it obvious.

I just bought this advent calendar and am so in like with it. Next year I'm going to not only include candy but also a slip of paper with an activity for us to do each day. I've seen various lists online and am so excited to try it.

Christmas Time Bliss

We were in Chicago for Christmas. This was not the original plan and therefore we didn't have much to open. Jason got a few law books from Amazon and Calder got his exersaucer (thanks Grandma Kate) and pajamas.

We got together with friends in the afternoon for brunch which was wonderful and delicious.

This is one of my Christmas decorations. It's pretty cool. The pieces all come apart and fit together like a puzzle. Calder didn't particularly like riding in the sleigh but his parents thought it was funny.
These are Calder's Christmas pajamas. I promise he doesn't have the world's largest bottom, but with cloth diapers it's hard to make it look small. I made the pants out of flannel. The top is from Grandma Jan.

I'm a Believer

Calder received a letter from Santa this week. Yes, Santa Claus himself. It came in an envelope with a North Pole postmark and on beautiful stationary. Here's what is said:

Dear Calder,

I know you can't read this yet, but I wanted to send a note letting you know how excited I am to share your first Christmas with you! One day when you're bigger, you'll know just how special and wonderful this time of year is, and all about the magic I bring to good boys and girls.

Since this is your very first Christmas, you get a special spot on my GOOD LIST! When you're older you'll have to be sure to listen to your family, be kind to others, and do your best to be a good person, but for now being a sweet, cuddly baby is just fine! The joy you bring to your family is one of the greatest gifts of all, even better than the toys I bring!

I can't wait to peek in on you when I fly into Hermiston this Christmas. I'll do my best not to wake you up, since a baby sleeping all night is quite a blessing, too! Merry Christmas, Calder, and welcome to the world!

Love,
Santa Claus

Deebo's Shoes

Deebo got a pair of shoes for Christmas this year. This is his first attempt at wearing them. Tonight he wore them outside for the first time and had a blast. He didn't want to play with other dogs at the tennis court but loved running in the snow.

Christmas Prep

Today has been a day of Christmas prep.  We got the decoration box out of our storage unit and started putting things up.  We have our Christmas swag out, (instead of a tree, we have a swag) fluffed and hung and we have out stockings hung.  I haven't finished Deebo's stocking yet so as you'll see in the picture the small stocking holder is empty.  I'll get it done on time though.  Since it is Deebo's first Christmas with us we are going a bit slower with hanging ornaments on the swag.  We want to make sure he doesn't pull it down while we're gone.  I'm sure it's fine but it's better to not throw too many temptations at him at one time. 

We also took our annual family picture.  It was a lot of fun since we just got a new camera.  It makes a lot of beeps before it takes the pictures which made it easier for Deebo to know where to look.  I love the holiday season and am so excited to spend time with family and friends.