Christmas Recap 2014

Dear Em,

This Christmas season felt a little bit crazier to me than years past. While you & I rocked our Christmas shopping & crafting quickly with plenty of time to spare, we were hit with a few speed bumps. In the middle of special moments with our family & friends, sometimes it was hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that it was Christmas. My mind was always thinking ahead to the next thing. I was trying make sure my car was fixed (btw, over a month later, it's still being worked on...sigh), fit in appointments with an electrician, squeeze in an appointment with your pediatrician & a rounds of antibiotics, & still find time to pack. I felt like the whole month of December was about trying to squeeze more in.

It taught me an incredible lesson. Silly little things are going to happen during the holidays & life in general. It's up to me to be mindful of what's important. It's up to me to be in the moment. It's up to me to remember the true reasons for the season.

Perhaps I could practice being a little more like you. The December craziness & your most recent ear infection didn't stop you from finding joy around every corner. We hosted our friends in our PJs. You were thrilled to share gifts & play games with your very best friend. In your tired & feverish state, you sobbed when it was time to say goodbye.

Your fever had just begun when we celebrated Christmas with Daddy's family. You had been cranky & clingy the night before. I knew you were coming down with something, & sure enough you woke up with a high fever. We ditched your Christmas dress in favor of soft & comfy PJs, but you didn't let an ear infection or 102 fever stop you from celebrating.

Aunt Andrea had flown in for the weekend, & we skyped with Uncle Lowell. You smiled from ear to ear as you passed out everyone's Christmas gifts, like an adorable little elf. You helped us all unwrap our gifts, & there was no shortage of "ooohing & awwwwing" from you. You shared special moments with each of us, even taking a moment to dance to Taylor Swift with Uncle Lowell. You radiated joy & love throughout the night.

We celebrated our Christmas the day before we left for our two week trip to North Carolina. Although it wasn't actually Christmas Eve (& we had an electrician over our house to try to figure out why we had lost power in half our house), we still fit in our Christmas Eve traditions of baking (store bought this time) cookies to leave for Santa, unwrapping our Christmas PJs, & reading Christmas books before bed.

When you woke up Christmas morning, you came and snuggled in our bed. We watched a few Christmas cartoons before heading downstairs. You were thrilled to find matching Bitty Baby outfits from Santa underneath the Christmas Tree. "AHHHHH! OH MY GOSH! Santa you are the BEST! This is the best Christmas ever," you proclaimed as you bubbled with excitement. You tried all the outfits on while Daddy made us breakfast.

Daddy's favorite way to do Christmas is to rip open all the presents, unveiling all of the surprises in one wonderful moment. I prefer a slower approach, opening one gift at a time & enjoying it before going on to the next. We found a place somewhere in the middle & had finished opening gifts by early afternoon. Afterwards, we watched movies & played games & baked the cookies from scratch that we hadn't had time to bake the night before.

You tucked your Bitty Baby into bed that night before we tucked you into bed. This would typically be the time that Daddy & I would sit with glasses of wine by the fireplace, reminsicing the precious moments of the day. Instead, I was packing & getting ready for our next Christmas adventure.

I woke up on Christmas morning in North Carolina, excited that my whole family was under one roof. It had been a year since we were all together at the same time, & it was such a wonderful gift to be together for Christmas. We all got up slowly, & Daddy was wowed by the fact that you weren't anxious to open gifts. You were content to be in the center of Nonnie & Papi & Aunts & Uncles.

When we all sat together in the family room, you again handed out all the gifts. We each took turns opening presents. Rather than just tearing into one & another, you excitedly took the time to admire each one of your gifts & give thank you hugs. I proudly smiled at the gratitude you showed with each present you unwrapped.

After all the gifts were open, I felt like I could finally let go & relax (I read three books while in North Carolina, & it was amazing). We all did. Each of us played with a game or read a book. You reveled being surrounded with so many playmates. It was so nice to spend the day just enjoying being together as a family.

The holiday season has come & gone, but it's left me with a lasting impression. It's left me with the goals of being more mindful & present & grateful, even when life throws curveballs our way. It's left me with the hope that this year I can choose to see the good rather than focus on the crazy. Just like you this past Christmas season, I will choose joy.

I love you so,

Mommy

Our DIY Pinecone Christmas Trees

Dear Em,
You did so much crafting this holiday season. We made six shell heart frames & tons of Christmas tree pinecones. You were so excited to craft together in November, but when I told you we were finally finishing our last crafts in mid December, a look of relief spread over your face. You were ready for some Christmas movie down time.

The idea for the Christmas tree pinecones actually came a year ago. We went for a walk in a park in North Carolina & found giant pinecones littered everywhere across the park grounds. I remarked how much they reminded me of pinecones from the Redwood Forest in California & how they would be great to use in making Christmas crafts (which is probably because we had just made these). Your Nonnie agreed, & so the three of us spent the rest of our walk at the park collecting pinecones. We tried to pick large, straight ones. There were so many to choose from, & we ended up returning home with a big bag full.

That bag sat in our basement until a couple months ago. Not knowing exactly what kind of Christmas craft to make, I turned to Pinterest. If you type in "Christmas pinecone crafts," you will find endless ideas. I pinned a few ideas that would work with the giant pinecones we had & then asked you which idea you liked best. You chose to make glittery Christmas trees with a gold star on top.

We used:
- Large Pinecones
- Small Wood Stars
- Gold Paint
- Mod Podge (spray & regular)
- Gold & Silver Glitter
- Paint Brushes
- A piece of cardboard to catch the paint & glitter
- Wire Cutters (if you want to trim the bottoms of the pinecone)

While you painted the stars gold, we enlisted your uncle Jared's help with the pinecones. Some of them were crooked, & he trimmed the bottoms a little so the pinecones would stand a little straighter. Note to self, teenage boys (& maybe most males) do not enjoy making Christmas crafts like you & I do. Jared pretty much hated me 90% of the time I enlisted him to help out with our craft. Sorry, Jared.

While you painted the stars independently, you & I glittered the trees together. Using paint brushes, we generously covered the pinecones in Mod Podge, trying to get every crevice (we probably could have used spray Mod Podge & it would have been easier but then you wouldn't have been able to help as much). Once our pinecone was covered in sticky Mod Podge, we generously sprinkled a mix of gold & silver glitter (creating a champagne glitter look) all over the pinecone.

Later, I sprayed Mod Podge thoroughly all over the pinecones to seal the glitter onto the pinecones. After they all dried, I used a glue gun to fasten the gold stars to to the top of the pinecones. You & I both loved how they turned out. I mean, when you take an adventure at the park & add Mod Podge & glitter (it's still all over the house, poor Daddy), what's not to love?

I think our "trees" are such fun holiday gifts for some of the special people in our lives. I love them so much, we took a bunch for our home (since we made more than twenty, we were able to keep some for ourselves & still gift them to many of our friends & family & your teachers). I love the natural & festive elements they bring to our holiday decor. Looking at them & knowing that my almost five year old & I (& Uncle Jared, sorry Jared) made them together...I think they are going to make me smile for years to come.

I love you so,
Mommy