Christmas and Beyond

Here are some pictures from our time with family for Christmas (not necessarily in order, since I haven't completely mastered the uploader's way of sorting the photos...). We made Christmas cookies with the kids and enjoyed them with coffee every afternoon. They guys took Hayley and Westen sledding again while the ladies prepared the meal, and then we tried to drag out the festivities as long as we could by letting the kids open one gift starting on Christmas Eve, and then the stockings and another gift after breakfast. We saved all the other gifts until after coffee time on Christmas day, which made for a whole day filled with excitement for the kids. :-)

Rhea getting some Grandpa cuddle time. He is always very thoughtful to cover her head, as he can empathize with her lack of hair. :-) She has certainly enjoyed all the attention she has gotten over the past 10 days.

Lucia is proud to wear her new Big Sister pajamas to bed on Christmas night, courtesy of Aunt Julie and Uncle Mark.

Lucia's highlight was her new tricycle. She has been asking for months: "Where's Lucia's bicycle?!", only to be informed that she doesn't have one. So, FINALLY, the answer to her question has now changed to "In the basement." Much better. :-) And we were surprised at how quickly she figured out how to pedal (though steering is still a little haphazard.)

Both Rhea and Lucia enjoyed the crinkly doll we gave Rhea for Christmas.

Rhea was so into the toy that she accidentally rolled over for the first time (because she was leaning too far.) A week shy of 5 months... I'm sure it will become a frequently practiced skill before long.

Lucia spending some quality time with Grandpa coloring on the giant paper with the new crayons that she got from him and Grandma.

Discovering the treasures in her stocking. Now she asks: "Mama, where's Christmas?" So sad that it won't be back for a long time...

Here I'm getting my hourly fix of Rhea smooches... she is so kissable and rewards us with squeals of delight. One of my favorite sounds in the world.

Here's the picture we took at Pathways Church after the Christmas Eve service. It was fun to all be together!

Hayley, Westen and Lucia painted some pictures between stockings and dinner to make time pass more quickly. Notice Lucia was painting two-handedly. :-)

Sledding

Yesterday, David's parents, sister Julie and her two kids, Hayley and Westen, arrived to spend Christmas with us. Mark (bro-in-law) will come Wednesday night. We thought we'd take advantage of a nice day outside to go sledding at the local park (minus Grandma and Rhea), and it was great! Lucia had a blast, especially since her two big cousins were always close by for mischief. :-)

St. Nikolaus vs. Santa?

So... I've been thinking about St. Nikolaus and the American version, Santa Claus, and what their connection and differences are. I much prefer Nikolaus personally because he doesn't come on Christmas (but on the eve of Dec 6), and thus doesn't distract from the true meaning of Christmas. We've "done" Nikolaus with Lucia the past two years because it's so fun to celebrate little surprises like that with children and because I felt that I could share some of my German traditions with her that way while keeping Christmas ... Christmas. (Below is last year's picture of Lucia discovering her boot filled with gifts.)

Then, last night, she met "Santa" for the first time and somehow already associates the stockings that are hanging from our fireplace mantel with him. Not sure where she picked up on that, since we have never told her about Santa or the chimney, but so is the mind and awareness of a 2-year-old. They remember and pick up on everything.

So then... since I had been thinking about St Nick vs. Santa and we talked about it in our small group too, I googled the connection and found the following, somewhat disturbing article online. http://www.inplainsite.org/html/santa_claus.html I did not like what I read (though it was very interesting), and I fully agree that he is a huge distraction and distortion of the true meaning of Christmas. Here's just one quote from the article:

"Instead of the vulgar Santa Claus, with his 'nose like a cherry, and his little round belly that shakes...like a bowl full of jelly,' let us captivate our children's imagination with the altogether lovely One, the 'dear little Stranger, born in a manger.' Let us delight their fancy with the story of the guiding star, with the Magi and their gifts for the new-born King. Let us inspire our children to give gifts to Him and in His name. Let us make Christmas 'holy ground' in our homes this year'. "

I hope (if you're interested in reading this article) that you'll be inspired, as I am, to refocus with our children on the true wonder of Christmas: Emmanuel, God with us.

Santa

At David's work party, Lucia met Nikolaus, or Santa, for the first time. We made sure to watch some other kids first as they gave him their letters and climbed onto his lap, and later, when it was Lucia's turn, she was very proud (and a bit nervous) to go see him up close! She told me later that she said to him: "Merry Christmas, Santa!" We don't really get into the Santa thing as a family, but she was very delighted to meet him regardless. :-)

Rhea was a good sport, very patient during all the activities including a performance by "Cookee", and both kids were asleep shortly after we got home. Big day for little ones!

Lucia is at the front with her back to the camera, right next to the man taking a picture. She danced to all the songs and was delighted to have been part of a choir, as she called it. :-)

Trying out the subscription gadget...

... so if this really works, I should receive a copy of this post in my e-mail. (Can you tell I'm new to the world of blogging? :-) ) Just checking it out.

Giggles

So... Rhea seems to be a much more giggly baby than Lucia was. Lucia was a bit more serious (and still is oftentimes), though she smiled and had a few squeals too. But Rhea graciously delights us with her belly laugh daily.

First Tooth, Take 2

Rhea's First Tooth!

So the big news from yesterday (Dec 14) is that Rhea has her first tooth! She's not quite four and a half months old. I haven't gone back to check when Lucia got her first tooth, but I THINK it was around the same time. (Ok... so the pictures are a bit small for you to see... I'll try another one.)





Also, Lucia and I have been busy shopping for and wrapping Christmas presents together. She's been a big helper and we've had a lot of fun together! She even wrapped one of Rhea's toys to give (back) to her for Christmas. We'll see if Rhea misses it in the meantime.

Fighting For His Life

Snowman has been struggling out there in the winter weather! We have more than a foot of snow, and our mailbox is barely visible anymore. :-) There's no mistaking that we've moved further north...

The Season's First Snowman

So a few days ago we made our first snowman, and he's been around for quite a while now since it's been COLD! The other day David drove to work in -3 degrees, which doesn't include windchill. BRRR! But we're enjoying the view out the patio doors and our fireplace inside. :)

Here it is... the FIRST POST

Ok... so I finally did it. We now have a blog too, like everyone else in the world, it seems. I've been wanting to do this for a while now because I really like the fact that you can go back and reread anecdotes and see pictures; a treasure for the kids when they're a bit older. I prefer the brevity of Facebook status posts, so we'll see how this goes. But there are too many cute moments in the daily life with a toddler and baby to not want to record (and share) them in some fashion or another. I think this'll be a good medium...