More Christmas Memories of Harper

I just looked over my Christmas posts and realized I did not give Harper fair representation on her first Christmas. Perhaps it is because I want to forget some of the memories...that sounds harsh so let me explain. Harper was having a terrible trip. She was not happy and she cried and she screamed. Neither of us were sleeping. I could not figure out what the issue was and it left me wondering if it was something I ate, over stimulation, exhaustion from weekend after weekend of traveling or if she even knew what was upsetting her. I tried to reason with her (please please please let me hold you AND sit Harper...I will hold you all day and night if you will just let me SIT!). She did have her moments when she was happy. I think we all turned our focus to her when this was the case because we wanted it to last (and so did all of our ears)!
Happy girl with her Aunt and Uncle...I believe I said "this almost looks like it could be your daughter" right before I snapped the picture.

She played on her play mat while Great Grandpa entertained her. Did I mention she was a little upset? Great Grandma has held her fair share of babies with five kids of her own, 10 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren so she knows what she is doing.

They figured each other out eventually. I believe they had a special conversation about the name "Florence."

Harper was the best and happiest while we opened up presents. All the noise of paper and squeals of joy kept her entertained. She saved her best smile for one special person...Ruby - THE DOG! Ruby has the softest coat that I have ever felt on a dog and Harper loves to touch it! Got to love it!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! This is what Baron and Harper saw first thing in the morning! Lucky kids, but do you know what Baron was most concerned about?

The COOKIES! He wanted to make sure that Santa came and ate them. It took him a few minutes to notice the new toys.

He was one happy kid!

Harper loved her first Christmas too! She watched her brother open gifts and she layed on the floor playing with tissue and wrapping paper. She held on really tight to one of the rattles that Santa brought her.

For those of you who love "The Christmas Story" this picture will make sense. It was a great laugh and only Grandpa Holstein could pull it off.

After hours (litterally) of gift opening, we helped (very little) Lynn prepare a wonderful and traditional Christmas dinner. This is the only group shot we were able to get. I think it should be next year's Christmas card ;)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

It is early Feb. and I am just posting my Christmas Eve post...boy do I feel behind!! It is time to catch up though because alot has been happening in the Holstein house.

Back to Christmas Eve. My memories of this Christmas Eve are so fond that I know I will not be able to do them justice, but I will give it a shot.

Baron started his morning by teaching his great grandpa how to use an iPad. It amazes me what he can do with this piece of technology. It also scares the heck out of me! Then the kids ate breakfast with great grandpa.

I see similarities in Harper and her great grandpa, do you? I think it is in the eyebrows.

Later in the day, Nathan set up an old train set. It is really cool - in fact we played with it last Christmas too. Baron loves it and Harper liked it too. They sat her in the middle and her little head was so busy turning to follow the train. It was pretty comical.

My favorite part of Christmas Eve is going to church. I don't care if it is a Catholic Mass or casual reading of the Christmas story...just as long as the story is told and we sing Christmas songs/hymns. We all put on our best attire and went to Mass this year. I was concerned about the kids being quiet and they both did a great job. Baron did sing "Baa Baa Black Sheep" during a prayer and also shouted "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY JESUS!" but overall for a soon-to-be-two-year-old it went better than anticipated.

After Mass we tried to take a group picture...

And tried again...

Tradition, tradition, tradition! That is what the theme of Christmas was this year. I loved the mix of old and new traditions. One that I will continue with my kids (once Grandma is done, of course) is giving the kids Christmas PJ's on Christmas Eve. Here is Baron opening his with Grandma.

And Harper opening hers with mommy.

Another tradition is the opening of the Christmas Eve bags. Baron and Harper each opened theirs. I find it hilarious that Baron is not in his PJ's yet, but Alyson and I had them asap! The Christmas Eve bag was filled with wonderful imaginative play items including a rabbit in a hat puppet and a string puppet. I should mention that this mom and dad equally enjoy playing with the toys that are given to their children!

The final tradition of the evening (at least for the kids) is to put out cookies for Santa. Baron carried the cookies to the fireplace with extreme care, but still managed to spill them 2 times. Good thing his dad was carrying the milk! I could not believe how wide awake this kid was at 10:30 at night!

The traditions continued and we stayed up putting together toys from Santa, wrapping the final gifts and eating the cookies that had been spilled twice. Setting up the gifts for the next morning and imagining the excitement I would see was an amazing new tradition for me. Grandma Holstein worked so hard to make this a special Christmas for everyone and it showed. In fact, once everything was in place I took a picture of the full stockings and the tree. I was looking for it in my picture file and it wasn't on 12/24/10...because we weren't finished until well after 1am! We had talked about all the years past of excitement on Christmas Eve and this was definitely another one to put in our memory bank!

The Look

I first saw the "Look" at the Pullayup fair.

I saw it again at Snowflake Lane.

All along I thought this was the "Holstein Look." I was wrong. It is the "Lauwereins Look!"

After the airplanes and a nap...

Baron read one of his favorite books with Aunt Carly.
Convinced Grammie to let him open a present..

and was pretty excited about what was inside. The good part is that they were Pez candy and he just liked the lunch box and candy holders. He didn't even know there was candy.He did manage to get his hands on some candy when he helped us make this gingerbread train. He was showing us how he filled the back of the train full of candy!

So much fun in one day!

Airplanes

Baron loves airplanes. We walk at a park that must be part of the PDX airport flight path so every time I hear "airplane, airplane!" We point and talk about them and Baron says "Hi Airplane people!" Nathan decided that a good activity over Christmas break would be visiting the Boeing Museum of flight with Great Papa, Papa, and Uncle Tyler (aka - a boys activity). I wasn't there, but I heard that Baron was very excited the entire time and he didn't stop running the entire time they were there. I believe it because he took a 3.5 hour nap once they came home. Here are the highlights (and the pictures that aren't blury because of a little boy who couldn't stop running)!
Hanging out with Uncle "Tarly." This is what Baron calls Tyler. It is a combination of Aunt Carly and Uncle Tyler. However, he can say Aunt Carly very clearly...silly boy.
In another plane with daddy.

In a plane all by himself! I love the smile - it looks a little mischievous.

Baron sat in this plane with another little boy he didn't know, but they shared a common interest so they made friends!

Group shot - Baron, Great Papa, Daddy, Uncle Tarly, Papa.

Checking out an old Air Force One with Great Papa.

This picture made me laugh so hard. It was the last one in the series of pictures from the adventure. Dad looks exhausted and Baron looks guilty. Love it!

Seperate Activites

While Baron played a game called "Happy Birthday Baby Jesus" with his 3 piece nativity set (Baron named the game and I thought it was cute so it stuck)...

Harper started digging in the garbage on the counter looking for something to eat (or so her dad claims!).

I guess whatever keeps them busy while we pack is a good activity to me!

SANTA!

We visited Santa today. It was the same Santa we saw last year. He is so nice and good with the kids, but that did not matter because Baron wanted nothing to do with him. This picture was snapped within seconds of putting Baron on his lap.
Harper on the other hand looked pretty comfortable...

for a few seconds, but then decided to join her brother in the chorus!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Tummy Time

Tummy time is more enjoyable when you have an older brother to entertain you! I missed the best picture when Baron was kissing her forehead. He didn't even know I was watching and I guess that is how I know he really loves her!

21 Weeks

My little 21 week old baby girl. Where has the time gone? The last time I wrote about you/to you was when you were 15 and a half weeks old. Things were very different just a few weeks ago. You used to sleep through the night...you no longer do that. I see your face at least once if not twice during the night. It's okay - someday I will miss this stage and your dependency on me. However if you want to give me a Christmas gift, sleeping through the night would be the best gift ever! You love to suck on your hands (in these pictures you really weren't sure about the mittens I made you wear on our morning walk). You giggle, but only if something is really funny or we get the tickle spot at just the right time. You kind of like toys, but mostly just like to give them a look that says "all you do is rattle and make noise - annoying!" You reach for the toys and I wonder if you are looking for the off switch. You still love to be held and have discovered that hanging out in the Moby wrap is your favorite place again. I guess to put it simply - you are my unpredictable child. You are my surprise - and have been since day one. I never know what to expect. Just so you know, I like things planned so this is a big adjustment for me.

Snowflake Lane

After celebrating a very important Birthday, we headed out to enjoy one of my favorite holiday events - Snowflake Lane. If you are in the Bellevue area between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, this is a must see. We were a little late. The drummers had started playing and the "snow" (soap bubbles) had started to fall from the sky. Baron was in awe as soon as we arrived.
There was so much to see that he wasn't sure which way to look.

I love this picture. They both have that look of wonder.

The look was permanent on Baron's face for quite some time.

Until he decided to bust a move with his Aunt Carly to the song "Let it Snow." Thank goodness grandma was holding on to him so he didn't fall off the ledge.

And the grand finale...a peppermint tootsie pop!