Christmas 2010

Wugs of course made out like a bandit, her Nonna could have outfitted a small army with all those presents. As for me, my Christmas gift arrived about four months ago...the glittery stuff underneath the Christmas tree was just icing on the tippity-top.

All is calm, all is bright

My first Christmas Eve as a new mama, and I am up late late tying a few loose ends, wrapping some presents, and reflecting on all our blessings this past year. There are so many, and I am so thankful. Merry Christmas!

Lunar Eclipse and everything else

The beauty in having a little one in your life is it forces you to slow down, throw your hands up, and say not this year if you try to become too type A in the planning of all the Christmasing.

So here it is. Not this year. Setting it all aside. There, done.

In three hours from now we'll be waking up to look at the moon, because I'll be long gone before there's anything like this lunar eclipse again. And tomorrow for Winter Solstice I don't plan on turning on any lights except for the Christmas tree and candles. I want to slow down and enjoy this.

Day 14 of Advent

Pick out a Charlie Brown Christmas tree and bring it home.



 I want to decorate a tree in the middle of the woods like this someday.

Christmas prezzies for a 4-month old

Shhhhhhhh, don't tell Wugs please.

Combi jumper
Because bouncing calms her second only to the boobie.

Bumpy Balls
Because she puts everything in her mouth.

Wrist rattle
Because she is always moving those chubby arms and legs.

Bijou baby boots
Because look at them!! I want a pair in my size.

Sophie the Giraffe
Because we suspect teeth are a comin'.

Zadyball
Because she needs a bff for car rides.

Trumpette socks.
Because none of her newborn socks fit anymore.
*oops! These are boy socks. I don't care though, I think M will look fab in them.

We also got some clothes and there may be a few belated gifts like a growth chart (okay, that one's more for mama) and wooden blocks. And then there's a special little handmade gift I've been working on which I'll post about later. I know that at this point Mila's only interested in the crinkly wrapping paper but I'm still so excited to be celebrating my daughter's first Christmas. I feel so blessed to be able to say that, too. 

Day 13 of Advent

source

Make gluhwein and watch The Year Without a Santa Claus.

Day 12 of Advent

Make pj's for Mila to wear on Christmas Eve.

 Eesh. Another work in progress. With Marmousch's help (read: Marmousch is pretty much doing all the sewing) I'm trying to make the patchwork sleep sack from Anna Maria Horner's awesome book Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby. When it's done it will look something like the picture. Considering we still must swaddle Mila to get her to sleep, I'm not in a huge rush to get it done by Christmas Eve like I had originally thought. Not pj's exactly but I'm hoping a nice transition from swaddling to regular jammies.

Day 11 of Advent

Bake Christmas cookies with Marmousch.

Now Marmousch has baked her fair share already but I have yet to do any Christmas baking. What can I say, there's only so many hours in the day and I've got a delicious little girl who eats tissue paper and giggles when I blow belly raspberries on her. Baking will have to wait. Here are some cookie recipes I've bookmarked for next year (plus the chocolate marshmallow cookie recipe by clicking on the picture).


Molly's Mini-chip Meringues
Nutella Thumbprint Cookies
Chocolate Candy Cane Sandwich Cookies
Chocolate Puddle Cookies
Limoncello Macaroons

Day 10 of Advent

Make a stocking for Mila. 

Marmousch sewed up one that sorta looks like this one, with a few changes. The snowflake making is giving me headaches. I'll post pictures when it's done.

Day 9 of Advent

Mila meets Santa.

Turns out Steve has high standards about what Santy should look like. The things you find out about your spouse when a child comes into your lives...

One-hundred

I just want to stop time and live in a love bubble with her. Someday she'll be embarassed that I wrote that but she'll just have to deal. Oh how I love our girl.

Mila, 2 days old

Mila, 100 days old

Day 8 of Advent

Walk to the bookstore and pick out Christmas books for the Wugs.


I got The Little Match Girl (I forgot how incredibly sad it is!) and Steve picked out The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

p.s. One year ago today I found out I was pregnant.
:)

Day 7 of Advent

When your baby and husband are fast asleep, settle in with a cup of homemade chai tea and start working on Christmas cards.

Day 6 of Advent

Watch a Christmas movie. Husband gets to pick.

He picked Rudolph, the old-fashioned Burl Ives version.

Day 5 of Advent

Make homemade marshmallows, for all the hot chocolate you're going to be making this month.

Day 4 of Advent

Go to the Christmas parade.

Wear your daughter in the front-facing carrier and overhear a little boy say, "Look at the kangaroo!"









  look at those cheeks! I die over them every day!

Day 3 of Advent

Make chocolate spoons. 

Just melt, dip, and chill. And stir into your morning coffee.

[source]

Day 2 of Advent

Walk to the chocolate shop to buy a chocolate panettone.

Advent Calendar 2010

I saw this in webland last year and loved it...little did I know then that I would have a real live perfect baby by then (we wouldn't find out until a week later), and therefore a plethora of baby shoes. Mila graciously loaned her shoe collection in the name of advent. Inside the shoes? Fun stuff we're gonna do each day this month...because it's Christmas.

p.s. Last year's calendar.

Her Thanksgiving threads

Because tomorrow it's all about Christmas.

Booties, bonnet, and dress were mine when I was baby (thank you for saving them Marm!). Capelet is from periwinkle bloom.

3 months

Three months. 1/4 of the way to one year. My baby. My baby. It makes my heart hurt to think about those early days from the hospital and compare them to now. You were so patient with us then and you still are.

We are starting to see a shy, happy personality peek through. You're less and less serious these days, and our favorite pastime is finding ways to make you smile and squeal. So far sure bets include "airplane" on my knees, farting noises, silly dances ending in jazz hands, looking at the other baby in the mirror, and the hamster song. Lately you've been giving me these incredibly loving, lingering gazes followed by a coooooooo that stops me dead in my tracks and makes me want to just pull you close and hold you forever. It's like you think I hung the moon. Well, you are my everything, too.

You love being stood up and will easily bear weight with our support, and you aren't toppling over quite so fast when I sit you up against pillows. Of course you're still constantly moving, my long and lean baby. We were alarmed to find a bald spot on the back of your head but a quick google search showed it's actually quite common, no doubt a direct result from your 180-degree Linda Blair turns towards sounds. I thought you were aware before...little did I know. I read that your vision is completely in focus now and it shows. Maybe that's why you fight your naps.

This past month you experienced two big holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving, and well, you spent the bulk of them eating. You were eating when trick-or-treaters were coming to the door and during our chili dinner, you were eating when Santa came 'round the corner during the Macy's Parade on tv, and you were eating when Nonna said grace at the table for Thanksgiving dinner. Breastfeeding is one of my favorite things about motherhood so far. It was worth the stubbornness to get to this point. Just like you were worth the wait.