Tis the Season

Here we are, it's December 26th, and Christmas is over. I've been stressed out for the past two weeks over getting things ready, beginning new traditions, making sure things are perfect for our little Maddie and you'd think I would be relieved that I can relax now. But now there are new toys that need homes, decorations that need to be put back in their homes and a freakin' tree that needs to get out of our house fast.

Although we got to this day and this is the path we took....

On Christmas Eve Maddie and I played in the snow. We got ourselves all bundled up and took a little sled ride around the house and golf course.





She looked miserable as could be all bundled up and not a way to move. Her hands weren't even all the way in her mittens but she didn't care. She loved being pulled around the yard in her little sled. If I stopped even for a moment, she arched her little back and let out a yelp as if to say "Mama get this sled a moving."



We baked and decorated our cookies for Santa. Alright, I decorated the ones for Santa, Maddie ate hers.







Then she had to try Santa's too. She just wanted to make sure they tasted alright for the big guy.







After Maddie went to bed, Santa did come.



And it was a good thing he came late because our baby girl awoke bright and early at 4:30 a.m. Yes, that is right our baby who, on a regular day, sleeps a full eleven or twelve hours and on some mornings I have to wake her at 7:00 so we can get going. 4:30 a.m. I think she had a feeling that something great was waiting for her.











Our little Maddie O. got a kitchen and she is loving it! She's been in that kitchen cooking up a storm.

Christmas Day continued on with family and thanks to modern technology Meme and Papaw were able to participate via Skype.





Madison doesn't understand the reason we celebrate Christmas, she will, I will make sure of that but it will be a few years down the road. She doesn't even understand why she keeps getting gifts when we visit each family member's house but I think she is liking it.







Once again we had another enjoyable holiday that was made special by our family. Spending time with one another is what makes it all so worth it. Yes, I'm exhausted and still trying to recover from that early morning wake up but it's worth it. It's always so worth it.

Cheers!

Stressmas Time

It's not often that I admit it but I am this time....I'm stressed out. I have put this huge burden on myself to make Christmas ultra special for Madison. I want her to know and understand the true meaning of Christmas and that it isn't just receiving gifts and sitting on Santa's lap. I want Madison to have the desire to give and to find the joy in giving. I want to create traditions for her that she will one day carry on with her family. I want her to be able to utter the phase "When I was little..."

I know it seems ridiculous to try to do this when she is one. I mean come on, she's really not going to remember anything about this Christmas but I will.  Therefore, I feel this need to begin traditions now so I can tell her of the things we've being doing at Christmas time ever since she was born.  I'm stuffing my stress deep down into my stocking and forging on because we've got memories to make.

We decorated our tree last weekend when Maddie and I returned home from Florida.











But now our tree is rebelling. Wednesday evening the darn thing fell over. All three of us were in Madison's room cleaning out the aquarium and we hear this thud. Ryan checked and sure enough the tree was lying horizontal on the floor. Ornaments, water and pine needles were all over the living room. Needless to say I didn't even attempt to take a picture. Ryan and I were both so annoyed that the freakin' Christmas tree fell over and created a mess for us to clean up. Then on Friday, the freakin' lights on the tree stopped working. So, now we have a dark tree leaning up in the corner with ornaments only half way up because our toddler keeps pulling them off.  She's a bute!



On a positive note, Ryan and I did get all of the presents wrapped up today. Maddie has only unwrapped two of them thus far. Only six more days to go until Christmas and I'm sure the "Unwrapped Present" count will rise.







Madison has received two of the coolest gifts prior to Christmas. The first one is a little people nativity set from her Nana and Pap.



The second is a recordable storybook from her Great Grandma Golda, Maddie calls her G.G. She read the entire book and recorded her voice while she was reading. It is so cute and such a great keepsake for Madison.



I'm anxious for Christmas morning. I can't wait to celebrate the season with our family. Also, I'm a little anxious about getting this freakin' tree out of our house.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

Maddie and I are home. We are back from Florida and back in the comforts of our own house. I've got to admit you really appreciate these things when you are traveling with a one year old baby. Ryan and I don't go out much anymore. We find that things are much easier when we just stay home. We have everything we need for Maddie O. and she has all of her things to keep her occupied. So, traveling by myself with our sugar booger proved to be a true test of my patience. After a self assessment, I think I did good.

We enjoyed our week long trip visiting my parents in Naples.













Mother Nature definitely wasn't on our side during this trip. She dropped some unseasonably low temperatures on the sunshine state. We had to trade our swimsuits in for hoodies.







During our visit we were able to celebrate my dad's birthday with him. Madison helped him open his gifts....sort of.



Madison is a true outdoor girl. If she fussed even a bit we would just take her outside and she was good to go. As soon as the patio door was slid open she would shout "Weeeee!" We spent a lot of time perched on the patio, where the wind was blocked and watched Maddie have a ball.





Madison also found a friend in Florida...herself. She has seen her reflection before in mirrors and windows. She'd react by pointing and smiling. This time was completely different. She was laughing, babbling and cracking up at herself. At one point she even gave herself a kiss.



I found a friend in Florida too. She moved so I had to find her again. We did and I also got to meet her little one, Alexandria. Celine and I met while working at an Italian restaurant while attending college. We had lots of fun while working and lots more fun after work. She is a dear friend and I often wished we lived closer together. Especially now so our little girls could see how much fun we are.





During our trip to Myrtle Beach Madison wanted nothing to do with the sand so I was a little anxious to see how she would do when put back into the same environment. This time was much different, she didn't even care that she was in the sand. She was more concerned with finding sea shells and handing them to her Meme. Meme was given a handful of shells but I'm not quite sure what happened to them.





So, yes it was chilly but we did manage to enjoy the beach everyday. I loved watching our tiny gal on the big open space, crawling around and both of us loving it just the same.







And the question here is....do I let her keep going or do I stop her before she reaches the chilly water?



Of course I let her keep going...these are great moments.





After all of the crawling on the beach, it does tucker a little one out.



There were a lot of moments with our Maddie O. during our visit with Meme and Papaw. Madison showed us her personality time and time again.









I now have a huge love affair with my new camera. In the 6 days we were gone I took close to 700 pictures. I love having these moments documented. Digital photography is awesome.





While we had a grand time on our little trip we are glad to be home. Maddie missed her daddy and I sure did miss my husband.

Now, there is snow a falling and a tree that is needing to be trimmed. It's really beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.

Until next time....