Thursday, December 31, 2009
We interrupt the Christmas photos...
...with a link to an article on infant sleep, including a comprehensive list of books and articles regarding sleep, "sleep training," and babies. If you have been following my "Why Do I" series, check it out!
Labels:
"Why Do I",
babies,
parenting
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Christmas Day at Gramma's
On Christmas Day in the afternoon, we headed to Atlanta to do more celebrating at Gramma's house!
Cecilia, Caroline, and Chris got matching American Papist t-shirts from my brother Tim - now they can all match!
My brother Stephen, my mom, and Cecilia open gifts. We gathered in the living room around the tree and had some snacks - artichoke dip and crackers, and Southern Comfort Sour. My parents, Stephen, and Tim had not opened gifts yet, because Stephen had flown in from Kuwait on Christmas morning, and they decided to wait until we arrived in the afternoon. My other brother, Mike, came with his wife, Crystal, the next day.
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Okay, so the first picture above is supposed to come second, but Blogger is acting funky on me and I can't move it for some reason. The girls opened up gifts from Gramma and Grampa - Madame Alexander dolls (basically like American Girl dolls). Each doll matches her new owner in eye and hair color! It took lots of patience and scissors for Uncle Stephen and Daddy to remove the dolls from their boxes!
Tim had found this elementary school diploma from a teacher for his "Good Ideas" a few days before Christmas, and my mom thought it'd be a nice joke to put it in a frame for him. What grade did you get this in, Tim? I thought it'd be funny to get him the fireplace DVD from the Target Dollar Spot (it just shows a fire burning in a fireplace on the screen and loops so you can see if for hours) since he was laughing about it at Thanksgiving - it is an option on my parents' TV (meaning they don't have to put in a DVD from Target! Don't ask me how it works; I don't get the new TV technology at all!), and he was making fun of it then. Would have been another fun gag gift... along with a bike helmet. ;-P
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Stephen gave Mom a Kindle! I hadn't seen one up close before - they are very neat!
Caroline gets some help from Grampa with this gift from Uncle Stephen - it was a nice globe, which will be wonderful to have over future years of homeschooling! Of course, when Caroline saw it, she said, "Hey, this is not a toy!!" Gotta love the tact kids have before they hit about age seven, ha ha!
The Second Day of Christmas, the Feast of St. Stephen, Nadolski Christmas Round II (with Mike and Crystal)... here's a wide shot of the merriment. That's Tim behind Caroline, who is sporting her new pink slippers from Gramma along with her red dress. Grampa is helping Cecilia with a puzzle from Mike and Crystal.
Stephen gave Crystal a new chopping knife... last year, he gave her a nice chopping block/cutting board made from bamboo that she said was "too pretty to use." So he told her bought the knife for her so she'd have to use the cutting board! Ironically, she'd finally caved in and cut something on it pretty recently!
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Stephen and Dad out on the bridge in the dreary December weather. Hmmm... they have a garden hose, a baking sheet, a beer, and a beach towel... what could they be up to???
Stephen does his thing with the grill... yes, it appears that he is cooking the aforementioned beach towel. If you were not at this gathering, I bet you are somewhat curious now, huh?
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Mike got in on the action of opening them - did you know there is a special knife made for oyster shell-opening? I like how in this shot, the stockings are visible in the background.
The oysters were very good... even Cecilia agreed! She ate two of them! Crystal and Tim wouldn't try them, of course. Caroline wouldn't try one, either - she usually will try most anything. Chris and Mike just had one or two each... so most were eaten by Stephen, my parents, and me.
Happy Birthday to Jesus!! I made a kahlua cake to take to Atlanta to be baby Jesus's birthday cake so we could share it with everyone. I forgot candles, though. All my mom could find in her kitchen was a "zero" candle - go figure. It was appropriate enough, seeing as when Jesus was born, he was zero years old!
The effects of jet lag... Mike and Crystal have been doggie-sitting for Dutch while Stephen is in Kuwait, and they brought him to visit his master. How loyal he is... what you don't see is Dutch greeting Stephen briefly before chasing a cat and running around the house excitedly. And whining at Mike when he thought he was being left when they were preparing to go back home. Loyal creatures, hmmph!
My dad seems very happy with his new weighted hammer from Stephen! I don't think he's had a new hammer in all of my life, now that think about it...
The girls (and their girls!) with Gramma!
Caroline helps Gramma with a gift from Uncle Mike.
Christmas Oysters... a new Nadolski Family Tradition??
Just in time for the Christmas season...
Mary breastfeeding baby Jesus. Perfect for Catholic attachment-parenting mothers at this time of year!
h/t to DrMomma at Peaceful Parenting
And do take the time to read through the comments at the above link... there is some good info regarding, interestingly (as it is a breastfeeding post), infant circumcision in Biblical times.
Labels:
breastfeeding,
Christmas,
Mary
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Christmas Morning
The presents awaiting discovery by the littles
Cecilia's stocking (I made both stockings last year)
Caroline's stocking
I was excited to get her this castle... I had thought we'd get it for her birthday in a few months. But then we received money from great-grandparents who in the past have bought gifts themselves rather than sending money, so we had to shuffle around the gifts we'd already purchased and make more purchases, and we ended up being able to go ahead and get the castle. I almost couldn't find it... they were all sold out on each website I looked at other than the ones selling it at and above retail price ($100 and more!). I got really lucky in finding this one being sold new in its original shrink-wrapping by a private seller, just about a week before Christmas!
Labels:
Christmas
Christmas Eve!
Eggnog and goodies after dinner!
We lit our Christ candle before dinner and kept it lit throughout the evening
The girls opening their gifts... matching pajamas!
Cecilia opening her box
How cute!! All ready for bed!
They also talked to "Santa" on Daddy's ham radio and heard a Christmas book before bed.
Labels:
Christmas
Last Week of Advent
Caroline enjoyed it the whole time!
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