Saturday, January 2, 2016

- Away in a manger... -

...lah tee dah, lah tee dahhhh, and that's as far as we got.

I would've never thrived as a Native American because the story-telling aspect of oral tradition is FAR from my strong suit, BUT...with good-hearted mothering effort I made an attempt this year to sit down with Harper and dub down "the Christmas story" into infantile terms.  She got this awesome nativity set as a baptism gift from her Godparents...
...and I thought it would be the perfect learning tool to start forming her Christian identity by explaining the life of JC.

I was flipping through a kids' Christmas picture book we had [so as not to forget any big details of the story, obviously] and going on and on and on and onnnnn about Mary and Joseph's trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem...

...finding no room in the inn...

...Mary giving birth to Jesus in a stable...

...Jesus laying in a manger while the animals kept him warm...

...the angel announcing to the shepherds that a Savior had been born...

...when finally I glanced up and noticed the angel had been plucked off his perch on the stable and the wise man's camel was getting an unsolicited slobber shampoo.  Not to mention the Baby Jesus figurine was no where to be found [later uncovered in a wad of dust bunnies under the couch] and oh em gee I thought we were gonna have to cancel Christmas.
*sigh*

I guess her interest piqued early on during the long-winded explanation of Roman Empire's tax census. 

Maybe next year. :) 

But seriously, thank you Blake and Laura for this awesome gift!! We have wise men and animals strewn about the house because Harper carries them everywhere, and I'm currently eying Mary across the kitchen table on Harper's highchair with dried pancakes crusted to her veil.  

Oh, sweet Mary, pray for us!

And Jesus, hang in there... We'll get your birth story across to our offspring before next Christmas! ;) 



- Fa-la-la-la-la...la-laaa-la-laaaaaa -

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Just kidding.

We may not've scored a White Christmas this year, but Ding Dong Merrily On High, this sure was a Holly Jolly Christmas and we'll be singing its praises for dayssss to come!!!

O Holy Night at Christmas Eve Mass! Harper got a "B-" for behavior during church [excessive squirming and shoe kicking + ingested a whole tub of graham cracker chunks to minimize squawking + pulled three sequins off her dress as I pretended to not notice but was internally screaming OH EM GEE What Child Is This? ????......though she stayed well above a "C" courtesy of no meltdowns and thankfully no pooping].  We even got to meet our new little friend Zella afterwards!  These two could be a dangerous combo in a few years [but right now, Do They Even Know It's Christmas?] ;)  Sort of sad that these are the only two pics I have of Harper in her Christmas dress... :( 
...but off with the dress and on with the party! O Come All Ye Faithful; it's time for the first round of family and food and fellowship and fun!
Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer?  No way; she's right here! Great Gram loves her little Santa Baby! 
Up at the crack of dawn because Christians Awake: it be time for breakfast and presents and more Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree! 
Oh snap, It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas up in hurrrr...  I think Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town! 
...Correction: Santa Claus has BEEN to town! Holy schnikes.
Merry, Merry Christmas Baby.
As Harper ripped open gift after gift after gift, Brian just stared down lovingly like, "All I Want For Christmas Is You!"  Ha...ha...ha...slow laugh...
Then Here We C[a]me A-Wassailing to Christmas #3...
Merry Christmas Darling! :)
MORE PRESENTS?!? Zomggg, joy joy joy joy Joy to the World!!!!!
Feels so great to always be Home For The Holidays! 
Good Christian Men Rejoice about whaaaat??? Oh, it's Christmas #4!
I Saw Three Ships..... Jay to the kay, I saw three hundred million gifts juuuust for me! :)
Daddy, Do You Hear What I Hear? That puppy sings!!!  And Mary, Did You Know that [aside from all the presents] we still do love and honor your little baby boy?! :) 
Harper be like, "I Wonder As I Wander.....could there possibly be any toys left at the North Pole?"
And then...after THREE jam-packed days of fun...

...finally a zonked out baby who gave her Mommy and Daddy a peaceful, Silent Night. :) 

This is definitely The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!  Hope ya'll remembered to Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas! 



Friday, December 18, 2015

- JOY -

Joy joy joy joy JOYYYYY.

This is the most joyful Christmas season ever, and here's why:

This beautiful little angel gives us so many reasons to smile all day, every day! We are so thrilled and lucky and blessed and truly, wholeheartedly grateful that God entrusted this Little Miss to our care.  Loving every second of parenthood...especially during this magical season as we watch our daughter observe and awe and wonder! xoxoxo :-* 

So! 

Sending JOY from our home to yours! 

Merry Christmas, sweet family and friends!

- Santa Bebe -

Harper met Santa last weekend! 

And let me preface the rest of this post with a couple pertinent pieces of info.  Inherently, Harper is obsessed with long flowing locks.  She is a ruthless little hair ripping troll, and as soon as I realized this dude wasn't the REAL Santa, I immediately panicked that she would be demoted to the "Naughty List" for de-bearding Mr. Claus in front of a room full of happily believing children.  But I'll ruin the rest of my story by fast-forwarding to the end and letting you know that that very luckily and shockingly didn't happen.

So whatever, we were at this holiday party eating and mingling and Christmas-ing with all of Brian's family and friends when Santa walked in with his bag of toys. Right away my heart sank as I realized we forgot Harper's list at home: 
#momfail #wewillhavetosnailmailit

Luckily, Santa was very forgiving; he quickly penciled her onto the "Nice List" and she got in line to sit on his lap. :)  In the meantime, I was secretly hoping for one of the classic tomato-faced + sobbing infant-meets-Santa pics; but instead, she LOVED him!  [Although come on, what's not for an infant to love about a hairy squishy animated character dressed in a soft aberrant suit?  Word.]
Even in light of forgetting the list, Santa brought Harper her very first Christmas gift: a little baby that laughs and cries and says "Momma" and "Dadda."  She has barely put it down since that day.  Hello, little mama in the making! :) 
Harper's cousins with Santa! 

Thanks for organizing this event, Aunt Stephanie! It was a hit for sure!!!


PS --- Dear Santa, The authentic "Wish List" is coming via USPS priority mail express, so keep your eyes peeled! See ya on Christmas Eve! ;) 



- Trimmin' da treeee -

Just a three-second trip down the lane of memories today: 
*tear sniff heart heart heart* 

And now back to real time.

Someone posted a link to this video on Facebook the other day, and a tiny little chamber of my OCD heart infarcted when I acknowledged the reality of this being our last calm "adult" Christmas [until at least like 2040 when all our babies are soaring out of the nest or something].  ...NOT AT ALL saying that I won't be thrilled to watch my kid[s] learn about Jesus and presents and the North Pole and giving and Santa Claus and Bethlehem and just believe in and experience all the magic of the season, BUT.......I do love me a nice set of not-kid-proofed delicate decorations. ;) 

Stifle yourself, you damn Type A Grinch.

Anyway...

We have been married for three years now and we're going three years strong in our habit of throwing up the Christmas tree + decorations on Black Friday; three fo' three baby, so in my book that means I can officially establish this ritual as a "tradition."   Annnnd we had some extra little hands contributing to the tradition this year!  By the time all da' trees were trimmed, all three of us were sparkling from from head to toe.  And Harper continued sh*tting glitter in her diapers for a couple days, SO!...that's definitely a successful decorating session if you ask me.

Merry decorating and Merry [early] Christmas! :-* :-* 

I am so in love with Harper's awe and wonder; it really is incredibly fascinating to experience life through a baby's eyes... <3

And to wrap this up, here's PLENTY more Christmas joy I will gladly subject you to...
  • Annnnd digging through the archives for Christmas 2012 [which no one likely gives a rat's @$$ about]

Ho ho ho. 

xoxo



Tuesday, December 1, 2015

- And make that... -

THREE! 

Threeeeee years and twenty days full of nothing but mushy-gushy head-over-heels googly-eyed passionate LOVE! 

...Jay kayyy, of course.  

I'm a little late on this post, but the thought of our third anniversary going down the drain without a mention made me shudder.  Truly, though, this little relationship coined "marriage" is so much greater than I ever imagined it could be.  A chosen best friend now STUCK with me for the rest of his life.  Muahahah.  Brian may not've understood "for better or for worse" three years ago, but I think he is starting to now...  In fact, in this VERY moment, my heart is smiling from apex to base at the sight of him washing out a disgusting blown-out baby outfit [chunks of baby poop for daysss!].  Hashtag marriage and families.  This is what it's alllll about.  ;) 

ANYWAY! The baby's crying and the house is a disaster and it's time for baths and bed.  Cheers to three years and many more to come! 

And in case you were wondering, Brian..................

...it's still a yes. <3

*****

Throwback to our actual anniversary celebration:  Brian made homemade spinach and feta-stuffed chicken breasts and we enjoyed a candlelit dinner for three!  It's amazing how our love grew exponentially stronger after that sweet soul in the high chair came along.  :)


Other fun lovey anni posts!