Christmas 2015

The most notable thing about Christmas this year was the weather. It was weirdly warm, springtime warm. Humid air, temps in the 60's and 70's, trees budding, daffodils coming up. Just weird for Christmas. The weather did make all of the running around so much easier, and the outside decorating. It is much faster getting out of the house when no one needs hats, coats or gloves. I made a point this year to look at the calendar and schedule in the decorating, tree trimming and cookie baking so it wasn't all crammed into the last 2 weeks. It worked out really well, and we were able to enjoy the preparation for Christmas. Our advent wreath and calendar got excited attention especially from Johanna. It was also a lot of fun to share our collection with Christmas books with Johanna who was really able to appreciate the stories this year. And each evening of Advent we sang "O Come O come Emmanuel". Hanna had it down by the end of the season.

Our annual cookie baking was a lot of fun. The girls were helpful and we had a plan to knock out the 40+ dozen cookies. Johanna was able to bake with us and the sisters helped balance the line of baking fun and mess making. The sugar cookie decorating is always their favorite part and they turned out beautifully again. Jim added Star Wars cookies to the variety and then helped Johanna add color to her tray of cookies. Our Advent also included a couple of viewings of Star Wars the Force Awakens.

 We got the house ready for hosting the day before Christmas eve, so the morning of our family Christmas Eve celebration we were able to slide right into celebration. We lined the cousins up for the annual picture, the big kids set such a great example for the littles that it went smoothly and quickly. They are taking up way more space then they used too. The table was over flowing with good food. Jim made a beautiful deli meat tray and we filled the crockpot with meatballs. There was plenty of food and treats as well. We were waiting for my parents to arrive to eat, and finally my dad arrived a bit flustered. My mom had gotten all ready and gotten to the door but decided at the last minute that she wasn't up to it. We would see her on Christmas Day instead. We said grace and the adults and little kids went through the line first and then the teenagers came up form the basement and made a huge dent in the food.

The younger kids did their gift exchange and it was fun to see the kids get excited to give a gift. New this year we added a teenager yankee gift exchange, where they randomly pick and open gifts or steal someone else's already opened gift, that took place at the same time as the little kids gift exchange. They had fun together. Then the adults sat down for our yankee gift exchange. It was a great afternoon. Emma described this as her favorite 24 hours, noon on Christmas Eve through noon on Christmas Day, the best of food, family, Mass, celebration, and presents.

We made it to church with the Gaithersburg Jauquets in time to get a whole pew for our crew and we celebrated Mass with beautiful music and moods. After Mass we relaxed into our immediate family comfort and after some food we gathered in front of the tree to open the Colorado gifts and ornaments. The girls were so pleasant and Johanna took turns very nicely. It was just a lovely evening with happy children.

In the morning the kids all gathered in our bedroom and we played the alphabet game and sang "Joy to the World" before going in to open presents. They always have something unwrapped so they start in on that first, then we take turns unwrapping gifts. Including the sister gift exchange. This year Hanna gave Emma the sister photo pillow. Emma gave Megan water color pencils and a coloring book. Megan gave Hanna Anna and Christoff Barbies and she sewed a pillow with Maria (from the Book of Life) sewn on it. Rachael made and hand painted a day of the dead necklace for Bridget, and Bridget made Rachael a Doctor Who tee shirt with a stencil and bleach, plus a tardis ornament. It was fun to see them put the time and love into their gifts for each other.

We shared breakfast of egg and potato casserole, cinnamon rolls and pineapple.  It down-poured most of the day but still didn't drop below the 60's. We lounged around till afternoon and watched the movie Ant Man together, before heading to Joe and Magaly's for Christmas dinner with the family. I love the Christmas season and feel so blessed to be able to celebrate it the way we do.

Bridget turned Nine!

Bridget Rose has snuck yet another year under her belt. I know I am looking but it somehow seems I blink and she is older. Bridget is an amazing peaceful child who knows how to be happy right where she is. I know in our loud, intense household she flies under the radar sometimes, but she does assert herself and she lets us know if she feels overlooked. She is an amazing balance of not needing the spotlight and shining all at the same time.

Third grade has meant new teachers to get used to (both her teachers are kind and competent), and independence on the bus. Most mornings Bridget crashes through her bedroom door at 7:30AM, doorknobs are tricky you know. And she walks with heavy feet till she comes to sit on the sofa. I think she wakes up there and after a few minutes transitions to her morning routine. Bridget gets her breakfast and makes lunch and gets dressed with almost no direction. She is a gift. sometimes she runs back in from the bus stop for her glasses but never misses the bus. She has been getting reading assistance at school and we have been working in "Team" to make sure she come up to reading at grade level. Her whole grade just got devices and I am hoping this will allow her to listen to some things, so she doesn't fall behind, and she can work ahead in areas that are easy for her. The specialist who is working with her, raved about how motivated and sweet she is.

Bridget is enjoying ballet/tap class and her brownie troop. Most commonly you will find Bridget laying on her stomach playing with toys on her floor. Or listening to an audio book from her nook. Bridget is a gifted snuggler and is always happy to spend time one on one. Get her going and Bridget will tell you detailed ideas and stories. Bridget has been regularly saying that she would like to be an art teacher when she grows up. She is creative and wonderful.

We celebrated her birth with pancakes for breakfast, and after school we went to Olive Garden for dinner. We brought desert home and after she opened her gifts we all grabbed spoons to share the treat. Bridget is such a breath of lightness and sweetness. We have been gifted by her life and I hope she knows how treasured she is even if I blink too often.

Inside Out with Johanna

This year Johanna had to wait a few weeks for her birthday party. We held it the weekend after Thanksgiving. Magaly was hosting for her 4 children with Nov/Dec birthdays and we added Johanna in the celebration. She approached me about themes for the party and Johanna said she wanted a "Sadness" party. Magaly was thrilled because Sophia had asked for an Inside Out party. It's a Disney Pixar movie, about the emotions in the head of a 12 year old girl. The movie has 5 emotions as main characters: Sadness (Johanna), Disgust (Sophia), Anger (Martin), Victor (Fear) and Joy (Claudia). It was a perfect fit. 5 birthdays and 5 characters. Hanna had expressed interest in the character when we had gotten a book from the library and discovered that Sadness was her favorite color blue.

Magaly is a master party thrower and puts a lot of effort into building the theme into every aspect of the party. The movie has many parts that are about memories (visualized as round colored spheres that match the characters main color) and Magaly incorporated them as well.  Johanna loved it. We made and brought a string of pennant with all of the characters on it and added it to her people sized posters and crepe paper streamers. She made a dessert for each of her kids to look like their character and all I had to do was bring a "Sadness" cake for Johanna.  Johanna helped me mix and bake the cake and then I did the decoration.

The party was a lot of fun, the food was delicious, the pinata was a hit, she was excited to receive a Sadness doll that says phrases from the Movie and beamed as we all sang "Happy Birthday".  She is trying to memorize them all. Most importantly Johanna had a fantastic time.