Christmas 2013

We had a very nice trip to Utah to visit family for Christmas this year.  We left San Jose around 11:00 a.m. on Friday since Paul was able to get off work early.  That was sooooo nice because it made it so we could get ahead of the traffic leaving later in the afternoon or evening.  We contemplated stopping somewhere in Nevada once it got dark but because of our early start and the predicted bad weather for Saturday we decided to just push through and got to Farmington around 11:00 p.m.  We were glad we did because although the last couple of hours were dark and there were some less than ideal roads, it was nice to be safe and sound at home that night and know we didn't have to do any more driving the next day.

 

Instead, the next morning, Clara's cousins showed up and they spent the day rolling out cookies with Grandma Cece and playing. 

 

The girls were sitting up on the counter to help and they kept sticking their feet in the cookie dough as it was getting rolled out.  Ick.  Fortunately, I had made a serendipitous mistake by leaving out a cup of flour so the cookies turned out awful and super crispy and I was able to remake them and roll out new ones that night after the girls went to bed and they never knew any difference.  We just threw the bad ones away (which my dad grumbled about for days because he likes crispy sugar cookies better than the soft ones and he said he would have eaten the "burnt" ones, haha).

We also went to my aunts' house in Bountiful so the girls could watch Great-Grandpa Johnson's train go around the Christmas tree.  They were fascinated.

We were all commenting on how Clara (2 1/2) is as tall as Emma (4).  Emma is on the small side for her age though (in the 10th percentile).  But it is really weird seeing them look so similar in size when really Clara and Lily are so much closer in age at only 3 months apart.

Sunday we had church and did a lot of cooking/baking in preparation for my mom's annual Christmas dinner for family in the area.  I don't even know how many adults there were, but it was a LOT.  There were somewhere around 30 people or so.  She made amazing chicken cordon bleu with three layer Christmas jello, fresh rolls and everybody else brought salads and dessert.  The little girls looked so cute in their Christmas dresses and I was really hoping to get a picture of everybody in their Sunday attire but that idea got vetoed so everybody changed.

We enjoyed just spending time together as a family on the 23rd and the 24th.  On the 23rd I went to the gym with my aunt and dad and sister in the morning.  Renita and I walked on the treadmill and she let me "coach" her through a hill and walking/jogging workout.  Then in the afternoon, Paul, Jennie, Ry (Jennie's husband) and I went and got pedicures.  I was really bold and went with a bright red color packed with gold glitter by OPI called "The Spy Who Loved Me" and it is pretty much my favorite nail color I have ever chosen for my toes.

I got a picture of our double date on my phone and afterwards Ry said he should have confiscated mine and Jennie's phones before we sat down because he knew something like that might happen.  I actually had a guy do my manicure this time and was cracking up because there was a football game on a television mounted to the ceiling and he kept turning around to watch plays and would seriously just forget about me for a few minutes at a time so everybody ended up waiting for me at the end because they all had women doing their pedicures so they were finished quite a bit before me since the guy fell way behind.

On Christmas Eve, Jennie, Jessica and I went to the gym for a 9 a.m. step class.  It was packed but so much fun.  I sweat like crazy doing step classes.  Jessica had to leave for work after that but Jennie and I stayed and did a 10 a.m. Zumba class afterwards (we are crazy, I know, but it actually felt really good and I have never done Zumba before).  Jennie has become really dedicated to exercising and does Zumba on a regular basis so I thought it would be fun to try it with her.  I did okay although I have to admit that I was super self-conscious a lot of the time (I just cannot shake what my momma gave me the way Jennie and lots of other girls in the class can, haha) but I would definitely do it again.  I was pretty stiff for a few days afterwards from the back-to-back workouts but it was one of my favorite things about the week.

For Christmas Eve dinner my mom made a brisket (the same one I served for the ward Christmas party last year and at our Halloween party this year).  Emma (4), Clara (2 and 7 months) and Lily (2 and 4 months) did a good job sitting at the little table that was set up for them.  They are seriously so cute together and Clara just adores her cousins.  She hero worships Emma and wants to do whatever Emma is doing.  We always refer to them as being neopolitan cousins because of their different hair colors. 

Afterwards we did the traditional opening up of Christmas pajamas.  The girls were all very interested in helping Adelaide and Adelaide was fascinated by the wrapping paper. 

Then Emma and Lily and Adelaide opened up sister gifts and they each had a doll that Jennie had made for them that they opened.  Jennie has started a tradition of making something for the girls each year (last year it was blankets), which I think is such a good idea.

So we let Clara open one more gift - the quilt that I made for her.  She had seen it tons before so it wasn't like a huge surprise or anything, but it was wrapped up and so she was excited about it.  I had planned all along for it to be her big Christmas present but I didn't want it to be from Santa because obviously I wanted the credit for that one.  :)  I plan on posting better pictures of the quilt later.

The girls all got gingerbread themed jammies this year (and my mom picked out some really cute ones for all the grown kids too) and we tried to take a cousin picture on the couch.  The two are the best we got. 

Then Clara and Emma and Lily put together a plate of cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer.  Clara and Emma carefully carried the plate all the way from the kitchen to the living room together and were super serious about this task. 

Then it was time for bedtime kisses all around and lights out for the little girls.  Jessica said that she cuddled with Emma for a little while then told her she was going to go upstairs to take care of some things and Emma was like, "no Jess-Jess!  You have to go to sleep NOW so Santa can come!"  Such a smart girl. 

 

We all stayed up, of course, and had fun setting things up.  Santa brought Clara that purple balance bike and helmet that she had been dreaming of.  Paul bought it used on Craigslist for half price, then sanded it down and painted it purple with Clara's name in gold letters on the body because she has been adamant about getting a purple bike and Stryders don't come in that color.  He is such a good dad.  Clara's other big present was her red umbrella with rainboots and a rain jacket.  This was a good decision because I ordered it online and a few days later it rained and Clara started going on and on about wanting an umbrella.  She told me blue but I'm pretty sure that didn't end up mattering to her and I had already picked out the red one to match her boots and jacket.  She also got a set of ABC plates from Pottery Barn Kids that I picked up on clearance for an amazing deal, bristle blocks, some Toy Story and Cars figurines to feed her obsession with both movies, Candy Land, and quite a few books (some were from my mom).

Here was the whole scene for all the girls after Santa's visit.  The cousins got a train set and food for their kitchen along with lots of books, slippers, and other toys.

True to form, I woke up quite a bit that night (I never sleep well on Christmas Eve).  The girls, however, did awesome (other than Clara falling out of the cot set up in our room one time - she didn't even cry, she just said "how'd that happen?" in surprise and I helped her back in) and slept in until probably around 7:45.  They were so cute looking at all the toys Santa had brought to them though and I think everybody was very pleased.  I know this post is getting awfully long so I will let the pictures and this video speak for themselves.

After spending an hour or so playing with the Santa gifts, we made breakfast (caramel nut rolls, buttermilk biscuits, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, ... the works - Casebolt breakfasts are amazing).  My aunts, grandparents, and uncle came over for breakfast, then we all opened presents together afterwards.  With 12 adults and 4 kids, it took quite some time because we tend to pretty much do it one at a time so everybody can see what everybody else got.  Clara was cracking me up everytime she opened a box that had clothes in it because she would get so excited and beg to try it on right then and then and I kept telling her no.  It wasn't that she didn't care about the toys and games that she got (she loved those too and got some really fun things) but she was in heaven over each new dress, pair of shoes, or piece of jewelry. 

I don't have a picture of it but I made a quilt for Paul too.  It took me months to finish because it was pretty intricate and I thought for sure that he knew I was working on it, but it was a total surprise and I think he was really pleased.  He even got a little choked up about it (which he pretends to deny out of masculine pride).  I'll take a picture and post it along with one of Clara's quilt soon.

At one point I was holding Adelaide and Clara came up and just snuggled into me and talked to Adelaide.  Clara loved being around Adelaide and was so cute with her.  And I just adore Adelaide and am pretty sure the feeling is mutual.  Whenever I walked into the room, Adelaide's face would light up for me and anytime I talked to her she was all smiles.  It just made my heart melt. 

Clara and Adelaide's identical expressions in this picture crack me up.

I got to see my brother Seth for the first time in years on Christmas afternoon and it was nice, although way too short of a time since Paul and Clara and I were only there for a little while after Seth got there before we had to leave to drive down to Alpine for Christmas evening with Paul's family.  Opening presents with Paul's family was pretty chaotic but that is fun in its own way.  I'm not sure what everybody else got, but Clara was pretty happy with some fancy plastic Minnie Mouse heels that light up when she walks.  Paul got new fishing boots and I got a microphone and wind blocker that attach to our camera, which I have been wanting so that I could get better audio on my videos.  We have been testing it out and it makes such a humungous difference - I wish I had had it a few days before Christmas for all of the videos I took.  I will have to do some more videos soon and post them to show how much better the sound quality is now.

Clara's stripey dress was a gift from my mom from J. Crew and the necklace she is wearing is the picture below is an Eiffel Tower charm, also from J. Crew, that I bought for her.  Last year or the year before we gave a matching one to Kayli for Christmas.  Clara adores it and wants to wear it all the time. 

We spent the rest of our vacation sledding, going down to BYU campus (SO much fun - seriously, we had a blast), visiting friends, watching movies, and hanging out around the house.  It was another wonderful Christmas season and it is hard to believe it has already come and gone by so fast.

Resolutions for 2014

I never blogged about New Year's resolutions last year, which is sort of a bummer because I like looking back on them and evaluating how I did.  Or how I didn't.  My guess for this past year is pretty lousy.  Oopsy.

Anyway, for 2014 here are the resolutions I am thinking about:

Physical
- Run a legitimate race like a 10k or a half-marathon.  One where I actually pay an entry fee and get a t-shirt or something like that.  I did really well this past year working on my overall fitness and have consistently been going to the gym 3-5 days a week the entire year (not that I lost a lot of weight or anything in 2013 - I lost some but I have an unfortunate tendency to feel like I can eat anything I feel like just because I put in some mileage or did a kickboxing class that day).  I haven't done tons of racing in the past and I know I am crazy slow, but still, I like the feeling of race days.  I like being with other people, feeling athletic, and being a part of something.  Not sure when and where and how I will accomplish this goal, but 2014 is the year I am going to make it happen.  Maybe I'll even get really gutsy and do two races. 
- Get some control over my sweet tooth.  I'm not about to "give up" anything but I'm going to scale back on desserts.  I started down this road last year and did great for the first three months of the year before backsliding.  What seems to work well for me is to save the sweets for the weekend.  I don't know why I seem to think that every meals requires some sort of dessert to be complete because it totally isn't true and I know that, but I don't live it.  Time to make that lifestyle change and stick with it.

Spiritual
- Read the scriptures daily.  For reals though.  Not just like, "oh, I'm going to do this" and then I bail on it because I find myself going to bed late or on vacation or whatever.  I plan to do it Every. Single. Day.  I set this goal every year and then do okay for a while, then slack for a while, then get really good again, etc.  It is a vicious cycle and we all do it, but I always feel more patient, happier, and more capable of handling the stresses of life when I am studying the scriptures on a daily basis.
- Go to the temple at least quarterly.  Before Clara was born we made it every month for a long time, but we have really struggled to get to the temple since she has come along.  Maybe we can find a group of friends in similar situations (parents who struggle to get to the temple because of young kids) and work something out to help each other with this goal. 
- Do family home evening every week.

Financial
- Revamp/overhaul our budget and then stick to it for at least 3 months. 
- Set better savings goals as part of that budget.

Mental
- Read 2 books each month.  At least 4 books this year have to be non-fiction.
- Be a better patron of the arts.  Go to at least two musical/theatrical/operatic/symphonic productions in 2014. 
- Develop a talent.  Enroll in a photography workshop or practice the piano and/or guitar on a regular basis or write more.  The sort of thing that requires learning and stretching and challenging my mind.  I'm still brainstorming this and how I want to accomplish it.

Personal
- Print blog books for 2011-2013.
- Keep a journal.  Even if it just a little something in addition to this blog.  Somewhere that I can record more of my personal feelings than what I put on display for the internets and blogospheres. 

Family
- Do date night with Paul at least twice each month.  We did a pretty good job with this last year thanks to an arrangement with our neighbors to swap nights for babysitting but I want to make sure we keep it up this year too.  I don't know that we can commit to weekly date nights what with all that is going on for us right now but if we can do more than twice per month that would just be a bonus. 
- Plan special family outings once a month (vacations count or going to the movies or a picnic in the park or going to the beach or something like that - just something that is different from the routine that we all do together). 

For Clara
- Learn to count higher than 12 and to recognize the numbers 1-10 by sight. 
- Figure out how to "ride" her purple balance bike that Santa brought her for Christmas.
- Start a new activity in addition to gymnastics - maybe soccer and/or ballet after she turns 3. 
- Help out with household chores.  She is already good about helping to set the table and clear the table so I think we are going to add in unloading the dishwasher (at least parts of it), picking up toys (we probably should have started focusing on this one a lot earlier), and maybe some others (not sure what chores are exactly best for a 2 1/2 year old to 3 1/2 year old but I'm wondering about teaching her to wipe counters or sweep the floor - all suggestions would be appreciated if other people have had success implementing chores for tots.)
- Continue to work on foundational reading skills (i.e., recognizing letters and the sounds they make).
- Learn how to properly hold scissors and crayons/pencils.

I think that all of the above is good for now.  I might add to this list as we go on in the next couple of days but I figured I would post this now in case I just don't get back to it.

Oh, and I do still plan to blog about Christmas and post photos, etc.  It is just going to have to wait a bit since we are still too busy enjoying our vacation time to bother with uploading pics and such.

December Happenings Thus Far

How is it December 10th already?  Are we seriously just 2 weeks away from Christmas Day?  Jeepers - please tell me I am not the only one who feels like it was just Halloween. 

 

We have really been loving the Christmas season around our house this year.  The advent calendar that I posted about a couple of weeks ago has been a big hit as far as getting us organized and having some Christmasy fun every day.  I have even been listening to the Christmas station on the radio (not normal for me - I typically like it quiet while I drive or I will listen to an audiobook but background music just isn't my thing) and Clara has been LOVING it.  She can sing Jingle Bells, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and Silent Night.  Except she refuses to let me video her doing any of it.  Seriously, I keep trying and she keeps stopping mid-song to say "no take a photo, mom" and I can't convince her that is not what I am doing.  Or she gets really silly and starts singing nonsense words and doing jibber-jabber to thwart my efforts at documenting how adorable her version of Silent Night is.  I will keep at it. 

 

We were really happy with how our Christmas cards turned out this year.  I thought I was getting a deal ordering them the week before Thanksgiving when they were 25% off plus free shipping but turns out a few days after Thanksgiving they went to 30% off, then a few days after that they went to 35% off.  So I should hold out longer next year.  I took our photo while we were in Yosemite using a tripod and the self-timer.  I just arranged Paul and Clara on the quilt in a field in Yosemite valley, then I would run back and forth until we got something we liked.  I posted some of the runner-ups back here, but honestly this was probably the 2nd or 3rd shot we took. 

 

The day before Thanksgiving, we always take Clara to the mall to meet Santa Claus.  It is so much less crowded than after Thanksgiving so we don't have to wait in line or anything.  Clara has been DYING to wear her "pretty, sparkly gold Christmas dress" for weeks and weeks now and was so excited that she finally got to don her finery to go meet St. Nick. 

I took a little video while we were off to the side waiting our turn.  Clara loves bike rides and we have a few friends who have balance bikes for their kids to help them figure out coasting and balancing before introducing pedals, so we thought it would be a good idea for her for Christmas.  When we casually mentioned that maybe she could get a bike for Christmas, she latched onto the idea and elaborated, explaining that Santa would bring her a purple bike.  She has stuck true to that color for the most part (gold was thrown in the mix a couple of times), so Paul found a used Stryder balance bike on Craigslist for less than half the price of a new one and he sanded it down, primered it, and painted it purple just for Clara since there were no purple balance bikes that we could find.  We are hoping she will be pleased.

Clara goes to meet Santa Claus from Amy Nash on Vimeo.

Clara did great meeting Santa Claus.  She held my hand walking up to him, but then told him her name and how old she was when he asked.  Then she willingly sat on his lap for a picture and cheesed it up for the camera.  I was floored when I put her picture with Santa from this year next to her picture with Santa from last year.  She has grown SO much.    I mean, seriously, can you believe these two photos are just one year apart?!  She went from a baby to a big girl overnight, I swear.  Everybody always says how grown-up Clara looks, and it is totally true as much as I hate to believe it.  She is barely 2 1/2 (as of November 19th) but in this picture she looks more like a 4 or 5 year old to me.  I think it is her crazy long hair and the fact that she has always been a thin little thing without as much baby fat as other kids her age that make her appear so much more grown up.

This photo of Clara and Santa having a conversation is my favorite one.  I was back behind the photographer looking at the shots he had already taken of her cheesing it up when we noticed Clara and Santa having a heart-to-heart (presumably about her behavior over the past year and her Christmas wish list) and I am so glad we caught a picture of it before the magical moment was over and he had to move on to the next child in line.

 

On Friday after Thanksgiving, we drove up into the mountains and picked out a tree to cut down, then on Sunday, we decorated it while listening to Christmas music.  Clara was a BIG help.  My mom and sister were there still too and they would hand Clara a red ball or a candy cane and she would load up a branch.  Then we would redistribute. 

 

This past Friday, I took Clara to see the Nutcracker.  It was her first exposure to ballet and she is in love.  I picked out a couple of Nutcracker books ahead of time and spent the week before the ballet reading them to her so she would be familiar with the story line and hopefully be more engaged.  She loved that the main character shares the same name as her.  I really love this version by Alison Jay, which has a good balance of text to pictures (plus, I am just a sucker for Alison Jay's art):

We went to a 10:30 a.m. matinee dress rehearsal performance that is put on each year for school-age children.  It is a full production and they mentioned beforehand that there could be technical difficulties that they might have to stop for, but the only problems I noticed was that the Sugar Plum Fairy came out for the second act with black sweat pants under her tutu over her tights (presumably to keep her legs warm?) and she skipped a bunch of leaps and spins, which was disappointing for me because my favorite part of the whole production is the pas de deux between the Sugar Plum Fairy and her cavalier in the second act and they mostly just walked through that number while spotting all the lifts rather than actually doing them.  But the kids in the audience didn't notice or care.

Clara did AMAZING.  She was tired when we got there because we had left the house early that morning to drive my mom out to the Oakland airport and had already been in the car for 2 1/2 hours, then we waited outside in the cold for about 40 minutes before the theater began seating people (we did duck inside a couple of times to warm up, use the restroom, and purchase an ornament of Clara holding her nutcracker).  But our seats were very good - maybe 13th row, just left of center - and Clara was happy to be back in her pretty Christmas dress.  The only things that were difficult for Clara were sitting in her own seat and staying quiet.  She sat on my lap for basically the entire show and she literally narrated the whole thing.  She was good about narrating quietly and it WAS a production for kids so its not like she was the only kid I heard during the show, but she kept up a nonstop commentary of what was happening.  She pointed out when Clara was sad that her Nutcracker was broken and explained that her godfather had to get his tools to fix him.  She went on and on about the Mouse King having a swordfight with the Nutcracker prince.  Afterwards a grandmother in front of us turned around and said that Clara's play-by-play of the onstage action had really made the production special for her and that Clara had "brought her so much joy." 

 

Every night since we put up the Christmas tree, we have been doing Clara's bedtime routine in the living room.  We turn off all lights except for the ones on the tree, then we sing Christmas carols together before we say prayers and read stories, then tuck her into bed.  I remember doing this with my mom growing up and it is special to me to see Clara so mesmorized by a brightly lit Christmas tree as well.

 

My sister mentioned that one tradition she has started with her girls is giving them a Christmas box at the start of December with little Christmas coloring books, advent calendars, Christmas pajamas, and other fun little things in it so they can enjoy them throughout the weeks leading up to Christmas.  I loved the idea but didn't have a chance to put things together before December started.  But I found this red polka dot nightgown at Pottery Barn Kids and knew it would be perfect for Clara since she is so into dresses these days.  She adores it and I think that the tradition of new pajamas at the start of December in addition to new pajamas on Christmas Eve sounds like a pretty good one that we might keep. 

I found this chalkboard decoration at a boutique store in Los Gatos with my mom.  I wasn't going to buy it until Clara noticed the stick of chalk that was dangling from the ribbon attached to the chalkboard and started chomping down on it (it was in plastic and in her defense, did look like candy).  The shop owner noticed the bad behavior and I felt guilty just putting it back with a noticeably broken piece of chalk (silly, I know, since chalk is so cheap, but you break it, you buy it, right?) so I bought it.  Fortunately, I actually think it is cute idea and looks nice hanging from a knob on Clara's door or in the living room.

I have more photos of other Christmas things we have been doing (and will surely have more in the next week or two) but I didn't want to wait until after Christmas and end up with one massive post, so this is just the start of our holiday fun.  We are feeling very much in the Christmas spirit around here though!

Clara-isms of late

I was pouring milk to go with our pancakes for breakfast and Clara said, "umm, chocolate milk feel me better?"  She uses the phrase "feel me better" pretty often, especially if she is sad or hurt.  For example, if she is crying she will sob out "mine blankie feel me better" or if she bit her tongue (happens way too often) she will say "a apple feel me better" or "ice cream feel me better". 

For about 2 months from 30-32 months old, Clara would wake up every morning and shout "It's morning day!" rather than just "it's morning."  I think this came about because we talk about the days of the week and she caught on to the fact that we go to church on Sunday and we go to gymnastics on Monday.  She hasn't been saying it anymore and I miss it.

Clara uses the phrases "mine tummy rumbling" or "mine tummy quiet" to explain whether she is hungry or full. 

Literally every day of the week Clara and I have a conversation about how we only wear our church dresses on Sunday when she begs me to "peez wear mine pretty church dress, mama?"

She calls me Mama more often than mommy.  It came from the Llama Llama Misses Mama book.  That book has been amazing for us because Clara used to get super clingy and freak out during separations (going to nursery was a horror for probably 6 months and we were always afraid for our babysitters) but now she is totally okay when we go out or drop her off at nursery and always says "you came right back to me!" when we pick her up or the morning after date night because that is what Llama Llama says when his mom comes to pick him up from school.  Incidentally, it is the book that Clara knows better than any other book and she will sit down and "read" it by flipping page by page and reciting the correct words for the correct page, even if she flips the pages through out of order.

Easily Clara's favorite movie is "Cars" and her favorite line is when Mater is teasing Lightning McQueen about liking "Miss Sally".  Clara gets a grin and says "you love 'er, you love 'er, you love 'er!" on a regular basis then starts guffawing and tells us that is what Mater says.

Clara pronounces the word "bottom" at "bop-pin".  It's a weird thing because she can say her "t's" and everything - I think it is just the way she hears it.  We've been working with her on this one and in the past couple of days it has improved to "bought-TUM!" complete with two separate "t" sounds in the middle. 

At church this past Sunday an old man stood up at the pulpit and addressed the congregation.  At one point, he mentioned that he was 92 years old.  Clara perked right up at that and turned to me to exclaim, "mama, I'm 2 years old TOO!". 

Clara will periodically run down the hallway yelling "I'm TOTALLY FREAKING OUT!!".  It's from a new PBS show called Peg Plus Cat and I die trying not to laugh every time she does this.

Clara is singing more frequently now, though still not tons.  Happy Birthday is her very favorite song (shown in the video below on both my birthday and her half birthday), but she also sings a hilarious rendition of "Jingle Bells" (I have GOT to get it on video before Christmas is over or before she changes it) and I sometimes randomly catch her singing "I am a Child of God", "I love to see the Temple" or "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". 

Birthday Song from Amy Nash on Vimeo.

And here is one more Clara video for good measure (from just before Halloween).

Clara telling stories from Amy Nash on Vimeo.