sailing along into the holidays

Dear friends, I can't believe its been a month already since I posted and I missed the cool date by a few minutes (12/12/12).  I'm sitting in the quiet of my house, dog is snoring and Aven is asleep and Abe has wandered up to bed after falling asleep on the couch.  I am enjoying the shadows of the Christmas tree and twinkling lights illuminating the cool evening and early morning moments.  It will not be this quiet a month from now holding a newborn baby and adjusting to life with two kids.

Had a doctors appointment today and as much as I am getting anxious to have this baby I am a little scared too.  My due date is only 3 1/2 weeks away and there is still so much to do between now and whenever she enters this world!  The Christmas tree is bare underneath, the meal plans for hosting my family to complete, the bags to pack the plans to make, oh so much to do.

Just wanted to take a few moments to catch you up on the last month.  We have been trying to spend more time together as a family.  It has been really special seeing Aven embrace the Christmas season and her excitement about the wonder and magic of Christmas.  She doesn't even know that she'll get presents or how lucky and blessed we are.  She loves the white twinkle of the trees, the ornaments that decorate our tree and her room, the fun music and the sprinkles on cookies.  She lights up and gets excited about the wonder of it all and I think that is why kids can really remind you of how magical Christmas is.  I have also been really trying to enjoy having this little amazing person in my life before another one enters and to hold onto the moments with her only.  She is so smart and captivating and there are so many little things she does that I don't ever want to forget.  She is so sweet and sassy and fun and playful and I know soon I will have baby brain and be sleep deprived and focused on nursing a new little one.

Some of my favorite things that Aven is doing these days:

• she always wants to know people's names- in the grocery store line she will ask the checker "and what is your name?"  and then of course she'll volunteer her own too.  When new people come to our house she asks what their name is and introduces them to the house and the dogs and tells them her name.  She is not shy and is so friendly and outgoing with everyone, it warms my heart and makes me happy to see so much joy exude from this little person
• she is the sweetest caretaker- for a long time she has loved taking care of her babies but the ways in which she does it are so instinctual for her, she carries all sorts of babies and stuffed animals around, wraps them up, cares for them, shushes them to sleep, sings them songs in her bed, snuggles with them, picks them up when they get booboos and kisses them and generally always has at least one she is taking care of - I think she will be a helpful and loving big sister and I can't wait to see the way she will dote on her new little sister
• giving- Aven is always so giving with those around her; she shares her cookies, her toys and never really seems to be too possessive of her things.  When friends come over she wants to share and play with them and isn't concerned with having "her" toys to herself.
• conversation- it is fun now that Aven is so verbal to actually have a conversation with her in the car driving home asking her about school or about what she did at a friends house, she gets so animated in telling the details and stories of her day.  She is very opinionated and articulate so she can really explain everything that happened in detail.  She is also very observant and notices all kinds of small details that I pass over.  Not only this but she remembers them later.  We were at the grocery store and she was asking me, what is the yellow and black thing Mommy?  It took me quite a while to realize that she was taking about an antennae topper that was Mickey Mouse.  Now every time we go to the grocery store she asks me if we'll see the Mickey Mouse again?  What a memory!

Life is busy and having a baby in the midst of the holiday season feels a bit crazy but it is also keeping me a little distracted too :)  It is fully fall (and almost winter) with mostly rainy days and too many hours in the dark each day but in 9 days that will start to go the other way and I can't wait.  I wonder if we'll see snow this winter.  

Nothing terribly new to report, just musings on everyday life and mother hood.

these are a few of my favorite things...

a beautiful handmade scarf from my dear mother-in-law for Christmas with a darling little flower- thanks

Aven's first truck

Green Toys-Recycling Truck made of 100% recycled milk jugs, non-toxic and made in the USA- I want her to have a variety of toys

darling little Hazel Atlas Eggnog cups from my friend Kari for Christmas

another ridiculously cute handmade hat from Grandma to Aven- a little big for now but she'll be drop dead cute when it fits!

Abe's Bible Action figures from childhood- yes please! Most likely Simon Peter, Jesus (in his royal robes of course) and Samson. Can't wait until he has to explain these to Aven.

My sweet girl Ethel on Christmas day, just patiently waiting for some yummy scraps to fall on the floor and watching the babies play, laugh and scream.

Did I mention how talented my mother-in-law is? Here is Aven in her Bumbo with a handmade bib that doubles as a washcloth- so cute.

watching Eleanor share the limelight with babies-Asha was offering her present to Eleanor to help her open it, very sweet

watching the funny things kids do- cousin Asha carrying around someone's slipper at Christmas- who knows why it was so intriguing but it was

of course my little Aven patiently waiting for her Christmas meal in her vintage high chair, so cute!

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Hope your holiday was filled with some of your favorite things. Blessings to you in the coming new year.

It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.....

Well, the official start for many is the day after Christmas. It is the day that used to be acceptable to start selling Christmas decorations and start preparing your home for the holiday cheer. Our season was jump started by about 3 inches of dusty white coating the ground on Thanksgiving. It was a beautiful day. It warmed up and melted that evening and all was back to new the next day. In our house, we didn't bust out the decorations until this last week. Abe and I got a Christmas tree at Youngstocks Farmstand here in Bellingham. While I will admit that it isn't as fun as trudging around in the snow searching for the perfect tree or even going to a tree farm and using their dull hacksaw to cut one down ourselves after wandering the aisles, we do enjoy the nostalgia of getting a tree (as opposed to the fake tree). It was a chilly Sunday evening but we got our complimentary free coffee and wandered around looking for an economy tree. One that would be cute and not too sparse but one that fit our budget too. It was pretty cute because I told Abe I had brought the camera and that I knew it was sort of cheesy but I wanted to have a photo taken with our tree. I honestly thought he would sort of make fun of me but instead he said, "yeah, we are capturing family memories." It was sweet.

The tree sat bare for a few days until my Mom and her husband, Bill, arrived. While we were all supposed to decorate the tree together, Abe said he'd "supervise" which apparently meant fall asleep on the couch while we decorate. Oh well, the lights were strung up, the ornaments hung including many handmade ornaments from my childhood. In fact, there are two simple construction paper candy canes with glitter that I made when I was who knows how small that have survived all these years. Nothing fancy. I do remember hanging them every year growing up though. I get really excited about decorating and someday would love to decorate the whole house! Last year my friend Kari and I came across an antique store with vintage Christmas Post Cards. They were so cute and I loved reading the messages on the back. Some were sentimental, sweet and sappy and some were cordial and plain. I selected two that were postmarked 1908. This was the year that my house was built so in my mind it was as if these were postcards that could have been received by the original owners of the house.

We had an early Christmas with my Mom and her husband and were generously showered with gifts, mostly for Aven. She was thoroughly entertained with the packaging and had to put every single piece of paper in her mouth. It was actually pretty entertaining. She got some Green Toys "My first Stacker," lots of cute books, some snack cups for traveling, baby food storage containers and an adorable plush fish bowl with assorted items that can be put in and taken out and that make fun noises when squeezed or touched. We had many ambitious plans to bake and cook but things take longer than they should and you end up changing the plans. It was so nice to see them and wonderful for Aven to interact and play with the grandparents.

Yesterday brought our annual Christmas Party. We usually do it open-house style to accommodate the large number of invitees. This year we had a great group. Lots of yummy snacks and wonderful people. I made an Olive Oil Citrus Cake from this book and it was super moist and yummy, highly recommended book & recipe. Always good to have friends over and have the house filled with laughter and voices, it makes me happy to have a bigger house to accommodate these sorts of things.

Today was the quiet after the storm. The house was already cleaned and decorated and there were enough leftovers to nibble on throughout the day. Aven was fussy this morning from her extremely interrupted sleep schedule last night but when she wasn't she was an absolute doll. She is starting to wheel herself in a circle and when she can get enough friction, she'll push her bum in the air and try to push forward (these are the precursors of crawling). I don't think she'll be quite there for Christmas but soon after I bet she will.

Well, the sights, the sounds and the smells of the season are about us. Hope yours is shaping up nicely and that you are spending enough time relaxing and having fun and not stressing about that Christmas list.

Happy holidays to all of you.