Christmas 2012

I was SO EXCITED for the holidays this year, and I anticipate that to grow as Avery gets older and begins to understand and remember the magic and traditions that make Christmas so special. And we sure did A LOT to ring in holidays this year! We had at least 5 Christmas parties this year, and we baked cookies and listened to A LOT of Christmas music and drove around to see the lights and drank hot chocolate and watched Christmas movies and read Christmas stories...OH MY! I enjoyed every minute of the whole season and I can't wait until next year (though I am very happy to get my house back in order and pack all the stuff away for another year).
This year was extra special because it was Harper Joy's first Christmas and she was at the perfect age to enjoy most of the fesitivities. Also my brother and sister-in-law had a baby on December 20!! My niece, Penelope Louise Feldt was born and 3:01 pm and weighed 7lbs 12oz. Corey and Lauren are the most excited parents ever and she is a lucky little girl to have chosen them to be her mommy and daddy. We wish they were closer so we could watch her grow, but Alex and I were so happy to get to meet her on her second day of life. We can't wait to see her again soon!
Enjoy (a lot) of photos of our Christmas!

Decorating the tree

Visit with Santa was a tear-free success!

My babies

Ugly sweater party

Harper all bundled at our playgroup Christmas party

At the Newport Boat Parade

 

My sweethearts

Penny Lou!!

Opening gifts at Oma's

 

 

Christmas morning at home

 

 

 

 

Christmas dinner at Pat and Al's

Harper and Daddy

 

Jess and Jason and their funky shorts

 

 

 

 

Harper is 7 months

What!?! How did that happen?? She is racing toward being one year old! Yikes!
Well Harper continues to be my sunshine and is growing up so quickly. She is wearing size 2 diapers, 9-12 month clothing and weighed in at 18.5 pounds and is 28 inches tall.
Harper is pulling up every chance she gets which is nerve-wracking as some items fall over on top of her. She can scoot pretty well on her belly, pulling with her hands and pushing with her toes to get from A to B, in addition to rolling all over as well. She is SO smiley and continues to be her big sister's biggest fan and best audience. She screeches and yells and experiments with her voice as often as she can, and so far it is still pretty adorable.
Harper LOVES to eat! She eats just about anything we offer her from apples to zucchini and most foods in between, We are still breastfeeding as well and that continues to be enjoyable for both of us.
Next up, we are about ready to move her into a convertible car seat and ditch the infant seat as she has almost outgrown the length maximum.
She still has blue eyes though a darker shade than mine, and her hair has stayed brown so far.

Thanksgiving 2012

This year was the same as any other, except we have a new participant in the family festivities, Harper Joy! We went to Oma's for dinner which was delicious, Aunt Kathy and Oma really outdid themselves. I made a sweet potato dish that was pretty yummy. Harper had squash and oatmeal and enjoyed watching Avery run around with Steven, Anthony and Hailey. There is definitely never a dull moment when those kiddos get together. Avery didn't really eat much of the dinner, which was surprising, but I think she just prefered to play with her cousins. After dinner and dessert we headed up to Lake Arrowhead to spend a few days with Alex's family.

We had a great time in Arrowhead, and the girls did pretty good with the drive.

We were able to get a decent family photo taken in the backyard (our beloved Bailey dog even snuck in the picture on the left, not the chocolate lab, that is Shirley)

Now we are ready to celebrate Christmas! Cannot WAIT for the holidays this year!!