Holiday Review 1

Christmas Season has come and gone, and we are still trying to catch up on cleaning and organizing after the Holiday Season. We got a real tree (a must for Jari) that smelled great and did our best to decorate. Between chasing Charlotte, work, and social gatherings, I finally decided I should post a few pics of the holiday season.

Seeing how Charlotte has really struggled with the idea of another baby (saying things like "kick the baby" rather than "kiss the baby"...) we decided that maybe we should start the transition to her new room early. To do so we needed a bed. After much debate, we decided to skip the toddler bed and go straight to a bed she can use for a long while. Jari found a plan on Ana-White.com for a platform bed and the week before Christmas we got started on the project (with a few minor changes to the design for stability and style).

Here is the almost finished headboard. This was a growing experience for me as I never took woods shop in high school and the plans from Ana-White were not as detailed as someone like me would like. However, I did learn to use a pocket hole drill and can now say that the Kreg Drill Jr is one of the best tools ever. 

Erin came to visit and arrived on the night Jari had planned a social gathering for cookie decorating and caroling (to deliver the cookies). It was lots of fun. Thanks for the help, Erin.

There were A LOT of kids present. Jari gave them some frosting and food coloring. They added every color they could so the kids' table resulted in various shades of brown and green for frosting. Charlotte did not do too much decorating, but did enjoy the company of other kids, and, of course, eating the cookies.

The one nice thing about Las Vegas is that at mid-day, it is warm enough outside to enjoy the park. We have a small playground next to our house which Charlotte enjoys. She has become quite proficient and climbing the stairs and going down the slide by herself. 

While I worked with 2x4's, Jari and Erin spent time learning some new skills of their own. They made some lovely pajama pants for Charlotte and me. Lots of fun. Thanks, ladies.

On Christmas Eve's day, we went to Red Rock National Park and did some hiking. Charlotte had lots of fun pointing out all the "Huge Rocks!" We did a fun 1-mile hike along the face of the red rock, I jogged back to get the car, and we enjoyed a quick ride around the rest of the park. 

Here is a family photo taken by Erin. It sure is fun to get out of the city and hike a bit. 

Christmas morning finally came and Charlotte had fun going through her stocking and presents. She did a lot better this year than she did last year. Here she is finding crazy straws in her stocking (she loves to drink her milk with either a straw or 1 drop at a time with a spoon).

Typically, young kids enjoy the boxes that the presents come in more than their presents right? That was only partially true this year. Oddly enough, this pillow (for her bed) was one of her favorite gifts. She laid on it for a while and returned several times to lay down, each time sighing and saying "ohhhh..." 

We did stain the bed, then assembled it in Charlotte's room. I was glad we shortened the headboard by 8 inches or so. In the end, it worked out as the headboard fits just under the window now. Her first night was rough. I found her the following morning 4 feet below the foot of the bed on the floor with her face squished up against the wall. She does much better now, staying in bed all night. 

There are two food traditions from home that we have not let go of 1. Aebleskivers on Christmas Morning (with sausage and eggs) and 2. Ribbon Jello. If you are not a jello fan, I suggest you give this a try. Erin, who is not a jello fan liked it and asked for seconds. So there is hard evidence of how amazing it is. To make it simply select 4-5 flavors (I like lime, lemon, orange, and then either strawberry or raspberry), 3 oz packages. Mix up the lime with 1 cup boiling water and then divide into 2 parts. In the first part, add 1/3 cup yogurt and mix well. Place in fridge for 30 min, leaving the other jello on the counter. After 30 min, take the remaining jello, stir in a few tablespoons of ice water, and pour on top of the previous layer. Place in fridge and in 30 minutes repeat the process with your next layer. So easy and SOOOOO GOOD!

Here was a surprise. Bottled water with my name on it from fredspot.com And no Erin did not have it specially made for me. It is actually a brand. I wonder if FredSociety.com sells this...? Just kidding. I just wanted an excuse to link the world to my lifelong frat group. :-)  

Rebecca made some nice bib-like covers for Charlotte which are way better than traditional bibs. Charlotte loves them and makes sure to remind us that Tia Pete gave them to her (Tia = aunt in Spanish, Pete of course referring to Petrie)

New Year's Eve. Our first year married together brought a loss of power right as I was getting ready to cook. As a result, we had only a cheese ball that night. For the next three years, we decided to turn off the lights, light some candles, eat cheese ball and play cards on New Year's Eve. This year we broke from tradition by making a delicious 7 layer bean dip and left the lights on. We then went next door and had more snacks with our neighbors and let Charlotte run around and play with the other kids. We missed our cheese ball but the dip sure was delicious.