Advent Activities

Christmas has officially come and gone, a whirlwind of a weekend! We've attended our last party and reality is setting in as we try to get back to "real life." We took the tree down this afternoon (so bittersweet but it was on it's last legs, shedding needles if you did as much as glance at it and honestly, we really needed the space back). We are now are in the middle of a major reorganizing and rearranging ordeal in attempts to make space for new Christmas treasures and create a change of scenery (I've been feeling the need for decor change and to get rid of stuff--here goes round 3 of purging since Emma was born!) Out with the old, in with the new I guess. Really, we didn't need anything (except for maybe the chocolate which I've already almost completely consumed) but it is fun to have a few new items that we would never ordinarily purchase for ourselves.

Anyway, as I'm sure is the case for most people, I feel like this Christmas season came and went much faster than I would have liked and I want to jot down some of my favorite happenings from the past month so I can look back and remember.

It was really fun having a nearly 2 1/2 year old during Christmas time. Isla was brought so much joy to every activity! I loved driving around after dark with her in the back seat pointing out all the Christmas lights. "Look at those lights, Mommy!!"

Graham took her Christmas shopping at the mall once and forgot the stroller so the two of them walked all the way around Bellevue Square and apparently she just loved it. She got to help pick out some earrings for her Grandma Crozier. Graham sent me a picture of her in front of a Christmas tree in her fuzzy white lamb coat, crazy curls flying everywhere, shopping bag in hand, smiling so wide her eyes were completely closed. She looked like a little snow bunny and the picture just oozes sweetness.

We got Isla a small baby doll and her reaction when she opened it was just priceless. "A new baby for me, Mommy!" It didn't leave her sight all day and has since replaced her beloved Ducky as her bedtime companion. Wow, that says a lot.

Then there was the time Graham tried to "help" me with the Christmas cookies. He would have cut out all angel sugar cookies if I hadn't walked in and urged him to add some variety! Then there was the frosting disaster. He didn't scrape the sides of the bowl (because the recipe didn't say to) so there were large clumps of powdered sugar throughout. Then he thought it looked better if he didn't blend the food coloring in all the way and frosted them all uneven for a "textured" look. The end product looked like there were curdled chunks of spit up on all the cookies but he told me he thought they looked like a Van Gogh painting. :) I needed the cookies for a MOPS event and so smoothed the frosting as best I could and dumped on a ton of sprinkles to try and hide the chunks. We had a good laugh over it!

I know this is going to sound funny but my favorite gift from Graham this year was a giant bag of Sour Patch Kids. I used to always buy sour gummies and sneak them into movies when I was a teenager. Graham knew this about me and so bought me a big bag for an "at home" date night. I think it really spoke to me because a) he remembered that in my mind, movies and Sour Patch Kids go together and b) he doesn't really like them so this was something he got purely to indulge me.

It didn't happen often enough but I LOVED sitting in front of the Christmas tree, drinking coffee out of my Christmas mug while doing my Advent reading.

Mexico and the time spent with my family was cherished--only wished it could have been longer (more on the trip later!)

We spent a lot of time explaining the Christmas story to Isla. It was heart warming to see her begin to understand and retain what we told her. Graham really tried to simplify it for her. I'm not sure exactly what he told her but at one point we asked her where Jesus was born. Her answer: "a bucket!!"

We attended our church's Christmas concert in early December. Isla was too old for the childcare provided so she got to go into the service for the first time. I thought it'd be fun, especially since Graham was performing. The congregation sang a few carols all together and Isla had a great time dancing and clapping as we sang. When we sang Angels We Have Heard on High, she started singing right along!! I had no idea she knew it!

Of course a couple days later, we had background Christmas music on while we were eating dinner. All of a sudden Isla exclaimed "It's Mommy's song!" We listened closer and realized Angels We Have Heard on High was playing. Confused, we asked her what she meant. Her response: "Man singing about Mommy's Day! In ex Kelsie's Day--oh!" Too cute.

I'm sure there were many more memorable moments but it's getting late so this will have to do!