Christmas

Lexi was definitely more aware of Christmas - including the idea of getting presents - this year. She is also more aware of the Christmas story and helped play the Holy Family in the Christmas Eve early service at our church. Lexi was the donkey that accompanied Mary and Joseph (and Baby Jesus aka Natalie) to Bethlehem. As Lexi didn't want to wear the provided donkey hat, Uncle Andy was kind enough to fashion her a hobby horse out of cardboard/chipboard from the recycling bin. It was quite a hit at the service and with a little coaxing she managed to walk up the aisle with it and then sit quietly in front of the congregation with Mom and Dad. Natalie also did a great job and slept through 95% of the service with only a little jiggling to keep her calm.

While interested in the presents, Lexi didn't spend much time checking out the presents under the tree in advance or asking if she could open something early. She certainly got lots of nice things - a good assortment of clothes, books and toys. Next year, we want to try and reduce on the number of things she gets as we sometimes feel overwhelmed by all of the stuff we own.

Santa brought Lexi a scooter. This was a much discussed purchase as Lexi had been requesting a Dora kitchen after pouring over the toy catalog that came with one of the Sunday papers before Thanksgiving. We decided to not go with that as we were worried she would grow out of it soon (she is almost 4.5 after all). So far she has been pleased with the scooter and hasn't asked at all about the kitchen. She fairly confidently rides it though doesn't do the trick where you build up speed and then coast.

Natalie - not unexpectedly - hardly noticed the gifts for her at all. In fact, Mom and Dad didn't even get her anything. She also received several toys that I think she will find interesting in the months to come and books to enjoy.

We didn't have a white Christmas and Lexi declared that it couldn't be Christmas if there wasn't snow. I do want to take her ice skating as she is interested in trying to go again this year.

For New Year's we are going to a Lutheran family camp for a couple of nights. It's an hour away from DC and we return home on the 1st when Lexi, Natalie and I will fly out to SLC to visit Miriam and family (including my parents who are still there). I am really looking forward to it.

Playing nicely together

This video shows Lexi playing nicely with Natalie.. mostly. Also gives you an idea of Natalie's facial expressions/reactions to us.

Gingerbread House Day

Today was the day the PK classes at Lexi's school made gingerbread houses. There was really a lot of candy for them to put on the houses. You stick everything together with marshmellow fluff. I don't know what you normally would use marshmallow fluff for but it is a sticky, gooey substance. Last year Lexi didn't even eat the house; it just sat on the counter at home and then got thrown away. As you might be able to tell, it's pretty easy for the roof to slide off...

Trying out the bottle

On Saturday, we tried out Natalie with a bottle - or rather, Stephen did, while I stayed out of sight. It took her a bit but once she figured it out, she did manage to get her full meal in. That's good to know as I start to mentally gear up to go back to work. I have all the papers together to get her signed up for day care this week. First day care day/day back at work will be January 17th. It will be a slightly short week with that Monday being a holiday.

Natalie is really smiling and reacting to use a lot which is fun. Lexi still wants to just kiss her and touch her face. She doesn't seem as thrilled as we are when Natalie smiles at us.

Lexi's Winter Concert

They had the winter concert this evening at Lexi's school. Every grade level sang; pre-k only sang 1 song while the rest sang two. I was kind of surprised to see the religious songs on the program but the principal said it reflected the whole community. They also had readings explaining other holidays at this time of year like Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc. I thought Lexi sang very enthusiastically and did the motions vigorously. She has been singing their song - Winter Wonderland - around the house for weeks now so I know they have been really working on it during music class. Afterwards, she told me that she likes to sing.

I managed to get a fairly decent video except for the part where I was trying to look at Lexi not through the camera and my arm dropped down. Don't worry - I quickly brought it back up. Lexi is in the second row from the front on the far left hand side.

Natalie was quiet throughout the concert watching all of the people. The gym gets really crowded with family for pre-k 3 through 2nd graders. I made it there early enough to snag a seat.

Let's Go to the Movies..

Lexi and Stephen went to a movie together yesterday. We think it might be the first movie in a theater that Lexi has been to. She was glued to the screen the whole time - so I guess she liked it! She did seem rather excited about it when I asked her about it after. They went to the see the Muppet movie. Stephen was interested in seeing it so it was his choice. Interestingly enough, there weren't many kids at the movie; mostly other adults like Stephen who remembered the muppets from childhood.

Lexi has been having more fits lately. We are trying to be more consistent in disciplining her - what the consequences are, what she can get away with. Not sure if our consistency is helping much yet but I hope it will.

Natalie has seem rather needy the last couple of days. Or at least, she wants to be held a lot and if she has fallen asleep and you lay her down, she would be awake very shortly. We managed to go grocery shopping this morning without her being too fussy. She quietly rode in the sling looking around the whole time.

Natalie's 2 month old stats

Natalie had her 2 month old appointment on Thursday. She is now 12 lbs 2 ozs and 24.5 inches. I forget what percentile that makes her weight but she is in the 98% for girls her age. She is smiling a lot these days and her favorite place to sleep is still curled up next to/on someone. She can go 5 hours without eating in the evening but we haven't got the timing down as nicely as I would like. I still have 6 weeks left of maternity leave - it doesn't sound like much all of a sudden. I will definitely be ready to go back to work but still have several things I would like to get done before then.

She is basically over her cold - only a little coughing her and there and the doctor says that it is not in her lungs which is good.