Christmas 2011

A quick rundown of our Christmas festivities this year.. I'm bummed because I hardly took any family or group pictures! Imagine that.

We spread out the cheer this year by heading up to see my family the weekend before Christmas. Christmas on a Sunday really threw a loop in the planning! But it all worked out and my brother and sister-in-law were able to come from California for a full week and saved on flights. We had a blast all holed up at my Dad and Step-mom's new house and Evie loved seeing everyone!

The weather was nice enough on Saturday that we decided to hit up the zoo! Great idea and as you can imagine, it was extremely unbusy!

My camera settings weren't great on a lot of these. Sorry!

Evie showing off her sign language for "more"

Our zoo has a great chimp and monkey habitat. I always remembered it from when I was little and it's even better now. And there were two or three babies to see while we were there, which was fun.

 

Fun Fact: this big guy above was laying on his belly, with his face near the glass when we came in. He then proceeded to THROW UP right in front of everyone and then EAT IT. Seriously. So gross.

 

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Evie wore her Christmas jammies for Sunday Christmas at my parents'.. there's just something about festive holiday pj's to me. I love it. And her, of course. And her faces.

This is her Mad Scientist look. It's all in the hair, baby.

As the only child, and arguably the cutest attendee, it's safe to say Evie got a lot of attention. Here she is sitting in the middle of the room, all eyes on her, opening her gaggle of gifts and basking in the attentive glow.

And this was just my favorite moment of the day:

Nothing like walking into the kitchen to discover your SIL, crouched down, digging around in the liquor cabinet and pouring herself a hot toddy right on the floor. :) I think she's feeling more and more comfortable around our family all the time! HA!

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We spent Christmas Eve with my in-laws and my sister joined us for the craziness. All my pictures were of Evie and pretty reddish, so nothing to show for it here! Gah, must work on that. Add it to my Resolutions List, right??

We did manage to get a family pic of the three of us. :) Our sweet little family.

Hope your Christmas was merry and bright!!

Christmas Day 2011

The Aftermath

I love love Christmas, but boy the week after everything is over sure feels like a sucker punch. Like the wind is just knooooooocked out of you and you wake up on the kitchen floor with an annoying headache and that bloaty pms feeling, looking around your house, wondering who let in that dumb cartoon Tasmanian devil and what he's done with your dog.

No? Just me??

Mmmkay.

We had a Holly Jolly Christmas, to say the least. Festivities and cheer and goodness and OH MY the food! Santa and all his helpers were good to us, as we were very very nice this year. I scored my coveted 80's Glam Sharpies and Evie can now play with her own potty and all is right with the world.

Sharpies + Rock Star Planner = Happy Dance.

I randomly found these fun gifts for the girls in my office. Totally wish I had bought one for myself and waaay better than slaving away in the kitchen, making sub-par baked goods.

My mood of choice.

Peckish. Somewhat hungry.

Duh. 

Our office, by the way, is a complete ghost town this week. Seriously, NO ONE is here. Except me. And Pandora. And so we're making the best of it.

This one got to wear her Christmas jammies two weekends in a row, thanks to our celebrations spanning the last two weeks. No complaints here, as she looks particularly fetching in red. Fat Santas not necessary, but welcomed.
 

 

And finally, as much as hubby and I are daily annoyed and frustrated with our dog, Evie seems to love him. She likes to sneak up and goose him and crack up when he jumps.. grab his bone and wander around with it while I yell "yuck yuck, put it down!"... and last night she wanted to get right in bed with him. He tolerates her and gets in a lick when I'm not looking. Yuck yuck. But this was undeniably adorable.

  


Hoping to post a few Christmas pictures before the New Year. Fingers crossed!








 

The Christmas Story

This is beyond precious.

Based on a true story.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Merry Christmas To All

The Wonder of Christmas

   

 

Can't wait for Christmas morning.

Mommy Question {Brusha Brusha Brusha}

Evie has 6 teeth. She's had these same six teeth for a while now.. She seems to be teething and chewing on her finger on the right side a lot lately, but I haven't seen any more pop through yet. 

I've given her a baby toothbrush to "brush" her teeth each night when we're getting ready for bed.. mainly to get her used to the feel of it and let her chew on it. But I haven't actually added real teeth brushing to our routine yet. At her 1 year appointment, our pediatrician asked about what we were doing and gave us a little packet from a local pediatric dentist with a toothbrush, toothpaste and a little info sheet. The toothpaste is Crest for Kids. With fluoride. 

That's bad, right?? Fluoride?

I'm not all organic anything, really, but with Evie, I have tried to be conscious of what products we use. And I'm pretty sure fluoride is no bueno for the little ones. Am I right?? Someone help me out here. 

I did a quick little search for some fluoride-free toothpaste for her, and came across Tom's of Maine. Anyone heard of it??

Okay, I recognize Orajel...

So if you have a little one, what kind of toothpaste do you use? We used the Crest once this weekend, and Evie got all excited and started sucking the toothbrush. I only put a tiny dab on there, and I knew she might do that, buuut not really what I was hoping for.

Any suggestions? Sister has started to rock some morning breath, so I know it's time to get our oral health in order. :)

Stocking Stuffers {My Wish List}

Hubby and I only do stocking stuffers for each other for Christmas. We have a price limit on the gifts, too, and we both really like doing our gifts this way. As much as I love finding the perfect gift(s) for all my family and friends, things do add up! So this works out perfectly for us and we still have a few things to open up on Christmas morning.

I thought I would share a few of the items on my Stocking Stuffer Wish List this year:


Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
by Mindy Kaling

I think both Katie and Jenny mentioned this book recently, and it looks like a funny, light read. I just finished The Hunger Games trilogy, so I'm due for a little comedy.








Penguin Classics Hardcover Books

I frankly want every single book they've put out with these fun hardcovers. I LOVE them. But I requested we start with the Jane Austen books, since they're some of my all time favs.






A pretty necklace from LOFT. 
(Sorry no pic. Too lazy to try harder than rightclicksaveimage at the moment).





Fur-Lined Hoodie from Old Navy.

Why scream "I'm so freakin cozy right now!" when this hoodie can do the talking for you? Am I right? Sign me up. And no, I'm not worried that this won't fit into my stocking. Ball that sucker up and stuff it in there! ;)

Rondell Necklace from The Limited.


What can I say, I'm a sucker for a long, delicate necklace. And it's on sale!











Sharpie Ultra-Fine-Point Markers {80's Glam}

Hello, Sharpie and I have had a long lasting love affair over the years and I'm not about to give that up. These fine point markers would be PERFECT to write all my lists in the new planner heading my way! GAH! So excited. And an 80's GLAM set??? Seriously, right up my alley.



So what's on your list this year? Do you do stocking stuffers, too, or regular gifts? OR BOTH??? :)

A Visit with Santa

You're taking me where???...

I'm having second thoughts. Dada? 

Dadaaaaa!!!

I should have listened to Santa when he said not to let her Evie see him until I was setting her in his lap. 

Oh well. :)

Santa 2011

Merry Christmas!!

A little elf...

Someone got to visit Santa today...

More pictures to come!