Ho Ho Ho- Merry Christmas!

Like a kid on Christmas! Yep- I think this is where that saying comes from. As you can see Isabel was pretty excited Christmas morning to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house and eat breakfast and open presents. Aunt Mandy and Uncle Zack were also there so that made it even more exciting!

I think she especially liked the special pancakes her grandparents made her for breakfast. (Zoo animals- the monkey tasted best of course) I was even convinced to let her try a little syrup on the pancakes so they tasted even better. In my family we always have a big breakfast before gifts and this year was no different. My parents made eggs, bacon, pancakes, french toast, toast and juice. It was delicious!
My first pancakes (WITH syrup)- Thanks Grandma!

Oh wow! Is this big present for me? Yep.... actually Isabel got 3 big presents from her Grandma and Grandpa. A pink "push buggy" car which will be awesome to go for walks with when the weather gets warmer. (For now we can just push it around Grandma's living room. That's fun too. Winnie seems to think so at least)
An adorable pink, personalized chair for Isabel. Just the right size to sit in the living room with mom and dad. (Plus it is soft so when she falls off it- doesn't hurt!)
And maybe the most special- a jewelry box with an "add a pearl" necklace. Grandma and Grandpa bought a few pearls to get the necklace started but now any of Isabel's family members can buy her a pearl for any special occasion. When she gets older she can have them all strung and will have a special pearl necklace to wear from her loved ones. What a great idea!
Aunt Mandy and Uncle Zack gave Isabel a pony!
(What girl doesn't want a pony?!) Actually, Isabel isn't quite sure what she thinks about this pony. He makes noises and gallops and she doesn't quite trust him. She eyes him suspiciously from across the room. Hopefully she will warm up to him soon.
All in all, Santa was very good to us this year.
The best part of the day though was relaxing and watching movies with my family. Oh yeah.. and eating .... A LOT. I ate 5 brownies (no I am not exaggerating, I really did!) Luckily, I can make a New Year's resolution to start eating healthy and exercising next week. I can't think of a better way than to spend Christmas with the ones you love. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Christmas Eve in Dwight

Well, we really lucked out because we got down to Dwight and back before the big snowstorm hit here in Chicago. Even so, I was nervous about the icy weather so we took my dad' s big SUV down for our trip. Good thing too- because Isabel's Grandma and Grandpa Leppin and Arkansas relatives SPOILED her rotten and we needed lot of extra room to bring home her gifts. It didn't take her long to find her biggest present under the tree. A brand new Radio Flyer wagon! This will be perfect for trips this summer. She was excited to "pull up" on this box but as usual she seemed to be even more interested in the bow than the present.

Isabel had fun playing with Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Aaron. She even took a pretty good afternoon nap in her Pak N Play!

When she woke up she got to open all of her other Christmas presents.. and boy were there a lot!

Her Aunt Debby, Aunt Belinda, and Uncle Bill got her all sorts of cute new clothes- she will be the best dressed kid at daycare for sure. She also got several musical toys from her grandparents and Uncle Aaron. These are her favorite thing right now because she has learned how to press all the buttons. (and what a glorious sound that makes)

Grandma and Grandpa know that monkeys are Isabel's FAVORITE!

On Christmas Eve we always go to church in Dwight and hear Jason's dad's message. This year it was about the light that came into the world on Christmas Eve. It is always nice to be with our family at church and this time Isabel only had to leave the service once (she gets a little vocal during the message- making a joyful noise I guess) Of course we got her dressed up for church but she was NOT going to smile for pictures no matter what.

After church we came home and put Isabel to sleep and the adults opened presents too. Jason was like a little kid. He couldn't wait to play with his new putter.

I, on the other hand, was enjoying my beautiful new bling bling earrings from my in-laws.

Thank you everyone for the thoughtful gifts! We loved everything. I am so glad we got to spend the holidays with our family and even more glad that the weather didn't ruin it. Love you!

Twas the Night Before Christmas (Eve)....

...and all through the house, not a creature was stirring- not even a mouse. Ok... actually I was stirring. I was frantically wrapping Christmas gifts and packing suitcases for our trip to Dwight in the am. This Christmas season seemed to sneak up on me this year. I usually feel much more prepared. I did find out the hard way that Christmas shopping was not as easy this year with a full-time job and a baby. Next year I will plan ahead and SHOP ONLINE! Ready for bed! Since we won't be home on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day Santa decided to bring Isabel her presents one night early (Wasn't that nice of him?). It was fun watching her try to figure out what to do with her wrapped gifts. She of course was very interested in the boxes and wrapping paper- and a little less interested in her gifts. She got just three presents from Santa (to represent the three wise men who brought gifts to the Baby Jesus). I figure that this tradition might keep the "gift buying craziness" to a minimum in the future- especially if she ever has any brothers and sisters. (Don't worry - the poor girl is not going to be hurting for gifts. She will get plenty from her family and friends too.)

Ha ha! I love this picture because look how JEALOUS Lucky looks in the background. Who knew he wanted a pink laptop, musical penguin, or talking teddy bear? Actually, I just remembered that I forgot to buy Lucky a present this year. Shoot.... I will have to come up with something quick. Poor guy!

There is this street in South Elgin that has the best Christmas light display. It is really amazing. Everyone on the street goes all out (Clark Griswald style) and they play Christmas carols and collect food for a local Food Pantry. The sidewalks are filled with lighted archways and sometimes the neighbors have fires outside and drink holiday cocktails. (I would love to buy a house on this street :) We took Isabel for a walk to see the light display the other night. As usual she was not all that impressed.

I tried pretty hard to take a Christmas card picture for my family members but Bell kept taking off her hat and the headband I made for her. (She HATES wearing my headbands now) And she decided to eat my clever Christmas sign so needless to say the pictures didn't turn out as I had FIRST planned. But still... they are pretty darn cute. To all of our family and friends- We hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

What We've Been Up To...

Finally! Christmas Break is here and I have two weeks off of work! I am so looking forward to spending time with my hubby and my Bell. Luckily, Grandma Kathy took Isabel to see Santa at the mall when she babysat so now we don't have to fight the lines.... You can see that even though she didn't cry- she definitely wasn't all that impressed with him either.

One new development is Isabel "pulling up" more. She uses the chair, ottoman, and her crib to pull up to a standing position now. Only once she is up she seems to get stuck and isn't always sure how to get back "down".

Last weekend Uncle Aaron came over to visit and we went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. Isabel LOVES playing with him, climbing on him, and grabbing his baseball cap. It's funny. I have begun to notice that she is very charmed by all of the men in her life. She prefers her daddy, grandpas, Uncle Aaron, the boys at school etc. Oh great! We could be in for trouble someday if this keeps up :)

How very grown-up. Isabel is enjoying a book and "puffs" at Buffalo Wild Wings. We don't take her out to eat in restaurants very often but she was on perfect behavior.

She isn't "army crawling" anymore. She has finally figured out how to crawl on her hands and knees and now she is even faster than ever.

I like this because she is like a pink marshmallow. We bundle her up every morning before daycare and she HATES it. She takes her hats off within 5 seconds and fights me when I put her coats on.

Isabel came to an after school activity at Wredling with me this week. We had a "girl's night" after school. We made Christmas cards, drank punch and ate cookies. My student's really enjoyed playing with her and although she is starting to develop more stranger anxiety she warmed up to them pretty quickly.

Kathy Rentas had our team over tonight for a holiday party after school. It was nice to relax and unwind. I love my coworkers so much so although a 2 week break from school sounds good, I always miss being with them.

Isabel got a kick out of playing with the kids. She was especially enamored with Ethan. She kept trying to grab his face.

I know we are really looking forward to spending this first Christmas together as our new family. I think about how lucky I am to have my beautiful daughter and my healthy husband and I thank God daily for everything he has blessed me with this year.