No sleep, messy house, packed trash bins, chocolate EVERYWHERE, and the scent of pine and spices fill the air (thanks to a lovely YANKEE candle we have!) ~ all components of a busy holiday season. Blogging almost overruled sleep a few times but since sleep was already at a bare minimum, blogging took a back seat. So here's an overview of our 2nd Christmas season together as a family. (You might need a cup of tea and a comfy chair for this lengthy post...)
Holiday Prep
I first blogged that we got our lights up before December 1st -- really nothing short of a miracle in this household. Then Kristina and I worked feverishly to clean "her" house and decorate. Whew -- one house down, now to start the "big" house!
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| Thoroughly cleaning our furniture - with oven mitts! |
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| House now decorated with garland, bows, ornaments and pointsettia plant (hidden). Ready for guests! |
School "Holiday" Program
I requested the day off from work a few months ago because I didn't want to miss Kristina's class perform at their annual Holiday Program~ and as a special treat this year, Jon was able to take an early lunch break from his FedEx frenzy and make it to the 11am performance on December 16th. Also in attendance among the camera-flashing/video-toting parents were Grampa and Nana (love their patience as parents push and duck to get the best shot of their kid!). I so wished that Grammy and Poppy could have been there...but I called them via my iPhone and let Grammy listen to the entire performance. Ahhh, MaBell -- the next best thing to being there!
Santa made a special guest appearance and although Kristina would not sit on his lap, she did stand to talk to him and did let Jon get closer than I could last year. Definitely progress!
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| The 3-4 year old Class: Kristina is the blondie 2nd from the right. |
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| Rocking out to "Jingle Bell Rock" |
"Let it Snow" video -- with an appearance by the Rockettes!
The "Wiggly Wiggle" video -- shakin' their groove thing!
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| Clinging to daddy but this is the closest she has ever gotten to Santa Claus! |
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| Me and my little singing/dancing star. |
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| So happy that Grampa and Nana could make it! |
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| Kristina and her boyfriend, Keegan |
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| and her teacher, Ms. Misty... |
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| ...and her BFF, Gaby! |
Meeting Santa Claus...in person at the Northridge Mall!
We prepared Kristina for meeting the jolly old man for days practicing what to tell him in regards to what she would like for Christmas. She really seemed to open up to the idea and made us so proud when she sat on his lap, told him everything she would like and then smiled. I nearly cried....ah, just the small, simple things in life make me cry. (Hmmm, maybe it's that lack of sleep, too....)
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| Smiling for the camera but won't take her eyes off of Santa who is just arriving! |
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| Kristina waving "hi Santa" but he was busy with other kiddies... |
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| Kristina rattling off "I want a big box with a pony inside and a house for Barbie." |
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| And Santa replies "You have a yard big enough for a pony???" |
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| "Ohhh, you want a toy pony. Ho, Ho, Ho!!!!" |
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| Our angel and Santa together...a dream come true! |
Christmas Tree Hunting
Rain fell from the skies for 6 days straight and in Southern California, this is a phenomenon. It poured, and poured, up until December 23. Unfortunately, we hadn't yet gotten our Christmas tree and knew that if we wanted a real tree, we'd have to venture through the rain and get a soggy one. So we did...and wouldn't you know it --- the heavens looked down upon us and the rain stopped for 10 minutes just as we pulled into the Home Depot lot to get a tree. (Really, we're talking constant rain so this 10 minutes is no exaggeration.)
Since Kristina had fallen asleep in the car, Jon looked at the trees for a few minutes, chose two, and then Kristina and I got out for the final choice. Kristina said "
That one" and no matter how much Jon tried to convince Kristina that the other one was better, Kristina won out. Yes, this little girl has daddy wrapped around his heart in so many ways!
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| Decisions...the bushy Douglas Fir or the not-so bushy one...? |
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| Decision made...the bushy tree. |
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| Our 8ft tree for $40 (we think the Home Depot guy had pity on us for venturing out in the rain and he priced it lower than normal...we tipped him well!). The yawn says it all! |
Christmas Cards 2010
I really thought I'd get our cards out early this year. I found some cards online in October through
http://www.facesofsiberia.org/, an organization that focuses on providing assistance and supplies to children's hospitals and orphanages in the Sverdlovsk region of Russia, specifically Ekaterinburg -- where Kristina is from!
The greeting card "artists" are orphans which touched my heart in a very deep way. I wish I could have bought a boatload of the cards but instead had to supplement my supply with some from our favorite store, Costco, featuring "us." (see photo at end of post, the photo that appeared on our Costco cards...) Unfortunately, by December 22, I collapsed from exhaustion as I licked my final envelope while still having some names appear on my list. Please forgive me if you did not receive a card -- my intentions are to do better in 2011!
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Left Card: The Silver Hoofed Reindeer, artist Natalia, Age 12, Berezovsk Orphanage
Right Card: Russian Happy New Year, artist Viktoriya, Age 12, V.P. Solnyshko Shelter |
Prepping for Santa's Arrival
For days on end, we watched "
Rudolf, the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas." For the first time, Kristina started to understand Santa's story about living in the North Pole with elves who make toys for
good girls and boys and travels the world on a sleigh led by reindeer, including Rudolf. On Christmas eve, Jon and I still had a TON of things to do in order to prepare for Santa's arrival and Kristina helped by getting cookies and milk ready for Santa, as well as some peanuts for the reindeer. (
Ok, so reindeer don't eat peanuts, shhhhhh.)
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| Holding back from eating the cookies left out for Santa! |
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| Daddy and his little girl...all set for Santa's arrival! |
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| With our tree now dry, Kristina puts the first ornament on...our Russian Angel! |
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| Job well done...now the rest will be done by Santa! |
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| Oh my gosh...a shot taken shortly after Santa left! Now the tree awaits a little girl... |
"Santa Claus was here"
Kristina slept with us on Christmas eve for 2 reasons: 1) we LOVE having her with us and don't mind having her snuggle up against us throughout the night, and 2) we wanted to wake up at the same time she did so we could see her initial response to the tree and gifts.
At 9am (about an hour before her usual wake-up time), Kristina popped up in bed all wide-eyed and said "
Santa Claus was here. It's time to wake up!" Jon and I only had a few hours of sleep but dragged ourselves out of bed, aching muscles and all, to witness Kristina's reaction to Santa's visit. Last year it took about 3 days to open gifts but this year, about 90 minutes. Kristina did not break out the scissors this year to meticulously open each gift...she has now mastered the art of ripping gifts open in less than 20 seconds flat.
There were so many wonderful gifts under the tree including a bicycle that Santa delivered on behalf of Grammy and Poppy, a computer from Aunt Diana and Uncle Sal, and a Tag reading system from Auntie Erin and Uncle Jim/Jimmy and Andrew (to enhance the Tag system Kristina got last year from Aunt Diana and Uncle Sal). Was Kristina overwhelmed? Yeah, we'd have to say so. After about an hour, she just lay down on the carpet for a few minutes but then found herself going under the tree for more goodies.
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| A shocked little girl notices the peanuts and cookies are gone! |
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| Reading the note from Santa...thanking Kristina for the cookies and milk. |
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| "A bike-sickel!!!" Words cannot describe the excitement...priceless. |
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| A princess bike for our princess. "Thank you Grammy and Poppy!" |
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| "A big box with a pony...just what I wanted!" |
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| Came with a mommy pony, too... |
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| Searching the tree for more gifts. Kristina was able to determine what was for whom (knows her "J"s, "L"s and "K"s)! |
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| Daddy got a beautiful frame saying you'll always be Daddy's Girl. |
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| Opening up her computer and playing with it while still in the box! |
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| That's one stuffed stocking for a little girl! |
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| Santa didn't forget about us... |
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| Wardrobe change #1...cute sweatsuit from Grammy and Poppy. |
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| Me and my baby girl! |
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| Wardrobe change #2 (thanks to outfit from Nana Jo, Erin's mom!). Love the Barbies, Grammy! |
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| My special gift: Lladro angel. |
Christmas Day with the Family
After a quick bikeride and attempt to look presentable, we headed over to Jon's parent's house to spend some time with the family. (Aunt Sadie and Bob...you may recognize the dress!) Uncle Bryce, as well as cousins Griffin and Alex, were already there and Kristina wasted no time in getting Nana and Grampa to "unveil" the big gifts: the 3-level Barbie Townhouse (hey, I had one when I was a little girl!) and a special baby craddle -- handmade with love by Grampa. Definitely an heirloom to be handed down from generation to generation!
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| Our newest form of work-outs...just keeping up with Kristina on her bike! |
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| Nana and Grampa unveiling the handmade baby cradle. |
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| And Kristina looks on as Nana has something else to unveil... |
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| Wow...a Barbie Townhouse (complete with jacuzzi, flushing toilet, and working doorbell)! |
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| Grampa, the cradle artisan! |
Nana put together a wonderful dinner of ham with all the fixin's and desserts to leave us on a sugar-high for weeks. Gifts were exchanged and suddenly a clean house was overtaken by wrapping paper, ribbons and bows.
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Kristina knows where Nana keeps the chocolates...
(P.S. I LOVE these shoes..."there's no place like home".) |
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| Opening up gifts with cousins Griffin (L) and Alex (R). |
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| A quick family picture before wardrobe change #4 for the day (so she could go bike riding). |
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| Just a cool shot that Cousin Griffin took with his new camera... |
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| Taking to the roads with cousins in tow. |
By 8:30pm, our angel was on a sugar-high/excitement overdrive and we knew it was time to wrap it up. Kristina fell asleep quickly on the way home, something we expected. After making a few short phone calls, we were all asleep by 10pm. Jon woke up the next morning with Kristina and let me sleep in...what a gift: 14 hours of solid sleep. Ahhh, a wonderful gift that can't be found under the tree!
Merry Christmas to All
from the Deary Family!
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| Our 2010 Family Christmas Photo |
