It never cease to amaze me how quickly Christmas comes and goes. So much gets pack into a month and there's so many feelings that go with it all that can't be captured in words. Hopefully the pictures will spark some of that when we look back on it.
We got some presents from some our favorite people. Our respite worker (Ms. Mary) has become a favorite fixture in our home for everyone, especially Bubby. He will grab her hand as soon as she comes to go swinging in the back. Pumpkin always is darling with her and so she's become an adopted Grandma of sorts, bringing story books or small toys from the dollar store. We love her!
The Harrisons are a couple I visit with often and has always been so kind to make candy trains for us at this time of year. This year she gave up blankets as well everyone loved them!
We found some unique light shows around the valley and went out in our PJs to enjoy them as a family.
Kent's siblings and their families came to our home for the Christmas Eve party. We see each other so little so there's always some catching up to do.
These two are such hams together! We just wished they weren't on the other side of the valley because they love each other so much!
Sitting around waiting for the big man in red to appear.
We finally had a tiny little one for Santa's lap and heard the good news of Jess and her baby to come. Just Bug-love and Pumpkin sat on Santa's lap this year and Santa felt the need to make her Christmas wish come true by giving her a Paw Patrol stuffed animal.
Pumpkin's response to her gift was perfect delight, on everyone's part. She won't be this little much longer so I love seeing the magic that it is when wishes come true.
These guys are too big and cool for Santa but they sure had fun playing games together.
Christmas day is always a joy. In general we've tried not to make it about big things, most of the kids get their presents for each other at a second hand store or dollar store. We do try to make it about thoughtfulness, something they know the other person will enjoy. This year Bud was particularly thoughtful and it showed in how his gifts were recieved. It warms my soul to see this sensitive side finding expression.
Snuggles are always the best!
A surprise gift of slippers, even a Pokemon themed one for Bud which has seen a ton of use since.
After the chaos everyone settled into books and puzzles.
It was Ms. Mary's birthday so I had prepped a cake, a rather sad attempt at a chrismas tree, and we stopped by in the early afternoon to surprise her. We got to meet one of her sons that we hear so much about and help to get Chloe her dog dressed for the day!
Things were fairly quiet and content post-Christmas. So much satisfaction was found in their new art sets that the spent the remaining hours on that. We started a 500 piece puzzle as a family on the 29th and finished it in 4 days. Pumpkin won some tickets to go to the movie theater so I went with 3 of them to see Mary Poppins which we loved.
Park days with friends filled the in between times. Bud got a kick out of digging tons of holes with connecting tunnels. Somehow he got everyone into the fun.
We also celebrated our Baba's birthday. Kent bought his own Cannoli cake from a special bakery not too far from his work place. We place it in our fridge and somehow Bubby got to it and decided to redecorate it. I asked if he wanted a new cake and he said, "Are you kidding? this is the stuff memories are made of!" so we piled the remnants onto a plate and plugged in some candles!
It was a wonderful holiday filled with laughter and fun. I'm so blessed to have this crowd to grow old with!
Our little sassafras of a pumpkin has turned four on us! In so many ways she seems so much older than her age, from her eye rolling and, "Mama ... seriously?!" to her helpful ways around the house and her strong desire to do school work.
She's a royal as royalty comes and often feels the need to 'oversee' work and give her approval. This has it's plus and minus side. She's thorough in her job but if you don't do things according to expectations she'll be sure to tell you, no matter your age! She loves princesses, Elsa and Anna are her current favorites and pictures must always be taken with them. She also loves any Disney music and will carefully retell the part of the story that the music is from. The other day Keila was helping her shower and i walked in to hear them declare loudly, "I am Leora of Montierth, you will board my boat and restore the heart of Tafiti!"
She's definitely a charmer. She loves to give hugs and will freely do so to anyone she deems safe. There's an elderly couple I see about once a month. Her husband isn't doing so well in health and because of hearing loss doesn't often interact. When I show up with my Pumpkin his eyes light up and she runs over to give a hug and chatters incomprehensibly to him. He smiles and nods and she sings him a song or does a little dance. It warms my heart to see how she brightens someone's day.
We were just coming back from our DC trip and had planned on doing her usual 'bunny-clouds-rainbows-flowers and butterfly' cake. Big sister had to give her the bright idea of a Paw Patrol cake, something she had never considered. She was hooked and I was left scrambling to make something out of fondant. As you can see my cake topper looks a little stoned!
Dinner out as usual with just Kent and I. We had friends come over to help us eat cake and she even got a present from Ms. Mary, our respite worker who she's adopted as her personal playmate and grandma!
She's such a lively little soul, making friends everywhere we go. Here she is at a homeschool park day playing with pretend in a rocket for hours and hopping in line to make a carmel apple with very little help from anyone. That independence is such a blessing to me as I'm often tending to Bubby. She's grown use to it, either seeking help from big brother or sister or doing it all on her own. In that way she's grown far more confident than her peers.
With homeschooling she expects to be included. She takes pride in practicing her 'writing' and playing with letters and numbers. She's bright and eager which makes her wonderful to include in any new games we try and teach Bubby. Often we hear her cheering him on to 'write one more letter, just like me!' and clapping loudly when he does so. I think as the years go by she will continue to push him to achieve more simply by being herself. I'm sure she'd like to be a big sister with how she interacts with all the little ones, and yet in many ways she has always been in relation to Eli.
She's such a doll and we love having her a part of our family. I wonder where all her spunk and spirit will take us in the coming years. Happy Birthday my pumpkin love! We're so grateful you're a part of our family.
