This morning, you were slow to get up of course after being up late the entire break. But once you were awake, you did get dressed, brush hair & teeth especially after I reminded you that we are working to earn our surprise for tomorrow (I got you a Disney Advent Calendar book, which will start tomorrow). In the car on the way to school, you wanted to call Daddy. When he answered you said “I’m sorry Daddy for not waking up for kisses before you left.”
When we got to school, you really didn’t want to go inside. You cried for a minute and Ms. Amber texted me that you were happy and having your snack at the table a few minutes later. I picked you up and you were happy to go to my office because I had to finish a closing. You love to color with Sharpies and use my clip board. We played tick-tac-toe while we waited. Bianca also played some games with you. You were so good and patient. I told you I was sorry, I know it’s boring here and you said “it’s ok Mama. Finish your work!” You are such a sweet girl.
We called Daddy on the way home. You told him, “look, we are on a busy street too!” When we got home, we had dinner and played for a little bit. We headed to your room to read 5 Santa books in bed, then Polar Express. You were extra wiggly. Even though we went to your room at 8p you weren’t asleep until after 9:30p. I was really trying hard to get you more rest tonight!
You came to my room around 2am crying hard saying you were scared. I’m not sure why this started in the last week or so that you are so upset. You calmed down quickly and fell back to sleep. I went in and woke you up at 9am.
When you got out the hush puppy beanie babies you said “oh my gosh look at this! A reindeer basset hound… Are you kidding me? And a Santa basset hound!” You couldn’t get over it lol! After playing Polar Express and with your stuffies for a while, we made handprint ornaments. I had to make you put a shirt on so we could finally take a picture where you weren’t naked!
Daddy showed you the Google Earth cam & you asked to see Antarctica. Then he showed you Siesta Key, Rick’s Cafe in Jamaica and New York City. When he showed you where Broadway was, you said “that’s like Broadway the dog. That building has the same name!”
You played outside with Harold and then helped me water plants. Ingrid Walker, a friend of mine, moved in two doors down this morning. I was out front talking to her and of course you ran out to see what was going on. When we went back inside, we added some more decorations to the Christmas tree. You helped me put a few more ornaments and some snow all over the tree. The snow definitely confused you & you asked why we were putting it on. But once it was on, you thought it was really pretty. Now, it’s perfect!
Daddy left to run some errands & we ran to TJ Maxx. On the way you said “I’m starving!” I tried to feed you some lunch several times before we left, but you kept saying no. You asked for a burger, so we went to Burger Fi for a burger and milkshake! You wrote your name on the back of the page you were coloring and your Gs are now perfect. Just like that! You struck up conversation with the couple next to us who had a dog that you HAD to pet lol. The wife told us she was an elementary school teacher for 30 years and she swore you were 6 or 7 years old. She couldn’t believe you were only 4.5 years old! You asked them questions about their dog, a Havanese, and told them all about Harold. You told them my dog has much bigger ears than your dog! When we left you thanked them for letting you pet their dog.
We headed to TJ Maxx (finally) and you sat in the shopping cart with your legs crossed. I was dying…lol. On the way home, you asked if we could watch Wreck It Ralph because you couldn’t remember what the girls dress looked like. So when we got home we watched it. We took a welcome gift down to Ingrid’s house and you were happy to pet Benji her dog. We took a couple laps around the block, you walked the first lap then took your scooter for the second lap. We saw Ingrid again walking Benji and she came in to get some of the veggie soup I made for dinner. You showed her your Polar Express train and had her play with the Rudolph toys. As soon as she left I tried to take you to bed but all of a sudden you were staring lol. So you ate a bowl of soup and then we went to bed. We read Polar Express and you were asleep two minutes after we finished.
This was a fantastic Thanksgiving break. I’m so grateful I got to spend so much time with you. It was fun, relaxing, rejuvenating and a great time to reconnect. It has been fun getting ready for Christmas and seeing the excitement in your eyes!
You came to my room at 6am, snuggled up next to me, rubbed my face, said “Mama, I love you so much” and fell back to sleep until 10am! I don’t think you have EVER slept in that late! You played with your Rudolf toys and the Polar Express train. Daddy put the lights on the tree while we played. I’ve never been much of a homebody, but your love for home days is really starting to wear off on me! I love being home with you and especially at the holidays…it’s so special!
Putting your baby in her crib for a nap
We made pizza on the Green Egg for dinner and you ate half of mine! After dinner, we decided to take Harry for a walk. I told you to get your shoes & you said “I need to put my hair up and get my Elsa braid…everything is just a mess!” I was cracking up laughing. You wanted to take your bike. You told me “be careful going into the garage because I don’t want you to get hurt.”
When we got home, we decorated the tree. You told me at least 15 times how much you love decorating the tree. Me too sweet girl. Although I love everything I get to do with you. It’s nostalgic as I have flashbacks of my own childhood and decorating the tree with my Dad, at the same time as I am consciously present to making these life long memories with you. We had fun and the tree was beautiful. Believe it or not, I broke 3 or 4 ornaments and you broke none!!!! It was 9:30p so we raced to the bathroom, then read Polar Express. After we read, we snuggled and you were out in 2 minutes. I love you so much!
You woke up at 4:30a, came to my room and climbed in bed. You had a bad dream and were crying that you wanted to change beds because something was very scary in my room. You took Daddy back to your room to go back to sleep. He sat in the chair & you laid in bed and fell asleep quickly but not for long. He got you back to sleep & he fell asleep in the chair. Then around 8am you woke him “yelling” wake up, wake up, wake up! You both came into our room and laid back down for a few minutes, although you were not looking for any more sleep!
Carlos came to clean so we jumped in the car to get our Christmas tree. On the way you said “goodness gracious my neck is killin me!” We met Aunt Deb and Fed there and they brought Broadway. I’m not sure if you were more excited about Fed, Broadway or the tree lol! After choosing an absolutely perfect tree, we went to fancy breakfast. You told me “I am going to be the goodest girl!” You already are sweet girl….you are sooooo good!
When we got home from lunch you helped us decorate the house for Christmas. We ate breakfast late and skipped lunch. You asked for a charcuterie board for dinner and you tore it up! You didn’t stop playing with the Polar Express train and you loved taking the Rudolf people for rides on the train.
Supervising Daddy decorating
When the tree was delivered, you chatted the delivery guy up about Little Mermaid & asked him if his daughter saw Little Mermaid Live. You said, “it’s like the regular Little Mermaid but not a cartoon!”
We went to bed to read Polar Express then you wanted to read more. I told you it was almost 10p and we needed to go to sleep. You started to whine. Then immediately you started to sing “he sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake” and rolled over and went to sleep. All I have had to do all week is sing that when you aren’t listening and you shape up really fast!!! It’s not like you are far off to begin with.
You came up to snuggle with me on the couch when you finally woke up around 8:45a. I couldn’t believe you slept that long because you went to bed so early. You celebrated your dry night pants and then jumped in my arms, curled up and said you were cold. You helped me make pancakes for breakfast and then you went off to play. We watched the Macy’s Parade and FaceTimed with Chrissy and Baby Olivia. You were playing on the couch said said “Mom. Come look. Harry likes umbrellas now!” holding your open umbrella over him while he was sleeping on the couch.
You helped me stuff the turkey, helped Daddy put it on the grill, then we played Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Aunt Deb and Fed arrived and you ran up to Fed immediately to hug him and to ask if he was ready to make turkey cookies. He helped you trace your hand, cut out the hands and cut out your cookies. I think you ate more cookie dough than actual cookies lol. You kept telling me to look the other way, go find Daddy, etc anything so you could sneak another bite. Aunt Deb told me that her & Fed saw the idea for turkey hand cookies so long ago on TV. The tried them and had fun, so they have continued to do it every year. I’m so happy they shared this tradition with us. I hope this continues forever. The holidays are so much more meaningful with you in our life.
We ate and then decorated cookies. You had a lot of fun doing it. Fed brought his bike so we took 4 laps around the block. You insisted on lots of races and kept saying “the goal is to totally smoke my Mom!” You stopped at one point, jumped off your bike then asked Fed to stop because you wanted to hug him. When we got back you snuggled with him on the couch and we watched some of Ferdinand the movie. We went outside to have pie by the fire. Fed brought a dice game called Story Cubes and we all had a lot of fun playing. When they left, I took you to bed & you fell asleep in two minutes. This was one of the best Thanksgivings I can remember. The food was good and the company was amazing. We had a fun, laid back, casual day and I loved everything about it. I will never ever take you for granted. I’m so grateful to be your Mom and I love you more than I could have ever dreamed possible. Although this year has been really crazy, this year is ending with a lot of wonderful things happening. I can’t wait to break ground on our new house and continue to build new traditions there.
You were so excited today to have a “Home Day” because you don’t want to nap at school. We watched Frosty in my bed and then took a shower. You ate oatmeal for breakfast and Aunt Deb stopped by to drop off pies and the turkey for Thanksgiving. She brought you a turkey cupcake & you wanted to drop the oatmeal like a bad habit for it lol!
We played lots of games on my bed. You used your shopping cart to bring Sorry, Life, Sequence, Connect 4, etc and we played them ALL! I finally got you to agree to have some lunch. You asked to “eat lunch outside because it is such a beautiful day out there!” So, a naked picnic is what we had! When we finished lunch I asked if you wanted to go to Whole Foods. You said “No. Let’s have the groceries delivered bc I wanna stay nakie!”
You eventually got dressed because we decided to take Harold for a walk. You opted for a flannel, long sleeve, Elsa nightgown, no panties, a princess crown, Elsa braid & rainboots! Quite the combo lol. You asked me to teach you how to pick up dog poop…so I did. I don’t think I’m getting out of that job any time soon lol.
We stopped by to visit Grandma Weezie & deliver a couple of gifts to her. She gave you a Thanksgiving book. You were working in your workbook and a little disappointed it wasn’t a coloring book. I reminded you to be grateful and instead you said, “thank you for thinking of me!” You told Grandma Weezie all about how Fed is coming over tomorrow to make turkey cookies and that he’s the cookie expert! “Fed is a good cooker of those!”
We headed to Whole Foods to pick up groceries & had a Facecall with Ms. Sandy. We even took her through the rainbow car wash – you couldn’t wait to show her!
When we got home you were starving so I made your dinner. Shortly after, Daddy came home from work and we ate dinner. After dinner you wanted to watch A Bug’s Life. You snuggled up in his arm and then before we knew it you were snoring by 7:20p! Apparently, home days are exhausting lol! He put you in bed around 8p. I prepared all of the food for tomorrow so I can play with you more tomorrow and just warm things back up. I’m excited for you to help prepare the turkey. I’m looking forward to creating holiday traditions with you. Especially this year, you are so excited for the holidays and so into it. Seeing the season through your eyes is absolutely magical. I only wish I could freeze you in this moment in time. I know it is going to fly by and I can’t slow it down or stop it!!!
You woke up at 4:30a and said “Daddy your butt is cold. Mommy’s butt is always warm!” You snuggled up with him and said “Mommy is soft and cozy.” You finally fell back to sleep around 5:15a. I woke you gently before Daddy left because you were so sad that you missed him yesterday. You followed him into the garage and stood on the running board of his car to give him extra kisses. I was so bummed I didn’t have my phone to take a picture. You asked him to wave with both hands out of the roof. You think it’s a little dangerous and very funny, so of course he obliges.
When I picked you up from school, you had a little meltdown and Ms Amber helped get us back on track. You quickly recovered and started counting rocks with her. She held out her hand and asked you how many rocks she had, expecting you to point and count. Instead you just looked at her hand and said 3! She was telling me most Pre-k kids can’t do that yet. She went on about how off the charts smart you are. I am so proud of you and I’m working so hard to help provide the boundaries you need to help you grow into the amazing lady you will become. This job is so hard but indescribably amazing.
You were starving so we got pizza at il Panifico then ran back to my office because I had to finish packing up my stuff. You chatted up Romo and Lisa while you ate your pizza.
You watched frozen sitting on Daddy and snuggling next to him. He loves it when you cuddle with him and of course the opportunities are less and less to do so. We got about half way through and then we had to head to bed. You climbed into my arm, we listened to Christmas music and you were out in 20 minutes.
You slept in so long that you missed Daddy. When you woke up you were looking for him and you were sad that he was already gone. I hate feeling like I’m rushing you in the morning. I struggle with letting you grab all the extra sleep you can with balancing trying to get to school on time.
We Facetimed with Ms. Sandy on the way to Gymnastics while you ate your snacks. However, once you were in class, you didn’t really want to participate. You sat off to the side for at least half the class. I’m not sure what’s up with that because you have always love gymnastics. You kept coming out of the class telling me you want to leave. Even when I reminded you that you are really close to moving up to the 5 year old class, but we need to have good listening ears, you still didn’t bounce back.
We went to Detweiler’s to get more rambutans and Grandma Noot came over for dinner. Of course the second we go home you were running around naked. We ate and played, then you biked the block with Daddy (the only way to finally get you dressed too!!). You guys ran into Ms. Moe, dropped Harry off and did another lap on your scooter.
While we were getting ready for bed, you told me to don’t want to do gymnastics anymore. My heart broke. I asked why because you are so good at it. But you didn’t have a reason. I hope that you don’t mean it. I know we have been off schedule and you are getting back to normal, so I hope this doesn’t stick. If it does, of course I will respect your wishes…I guess I have to get used to your growing independence since you seem unwilling to stay little forever! At times like these, please be patient with me…I’m still learning too! I adore you and I just want the best for you. You deserve the entire world…
This morning, you came to my bed at 5a. I woke up around 6:45a, but I laid in bed next to you until you woke up at 8:45a because you needed to get some good sleep! I’m hoping we can get back on a good schedule now and make sure you are getting plenty of rest. We played a little, you picked your dress and new boots to wear and then we had to go to meet Deborah Nelson for breakfast on our way to Port Charlotte for more Santa photos!
We had a great experience with Santa. He read The Night Before Christmas to you and asked what you wanted for Christmas. You told him a big girl pink bike and a blue microphone for Mom and Dad (you want us to have matching karaoke microphones like yours!). He showed you the globe to see if you knew where the North Pole is and you told him we are going there on the Polar Express train! He has been at the Polar Express the last two years and he was super sweet there as well. I can’t wait to see the photos. Daddy has been teasing me about how many photoshoots we have done but I can’t help it! Each opportunity was different and captured you so well. I can’t freeze the time and keep you little so I’m bound and determined to capture every moment!
Of course on the way back to the car when we finished, you started asking to ride home naked lol. We had lunch when we got home. You wanted to watch Madagascar so you and I ate upstairs while Daddy watched football. I ran some errands and you wanted to stay home with Daddy. He sent me a picture of you in your princess crown looking just so perfect! You came out of your room with your unicorn bag and said “school was great today!” like you had been in class lol.
We made dinner then played for a bit. We headed to your room to read books at 8p because I wanted to get you in bed early. We read some of your Pixar 5 minute stories and then you did a few kids Lingos. I said, “ok G, I’m tired, time to lay down.” You said “me too Mama.” and you curled up next to me and you were snoring in just a few minutes by 8:45!
I woke you up for gymnastics at 8:15a and you were still sleeping hard. As soon as you opened your eyes, the first thing you said was “are they still here?” asking about Aunt Karen & Kyle. I said “no, honey. They had to leave already.” You immediately started to cry. I was trying to take your picture and you put your hand up and said “no pictures. Not until early afternoon !!!” I was cracking up laughing.
We headed to gymnastics. You were tired and not super into class today. There were two coaches out today so there were a few classes put together. You came back out of the class 3 times saying there were too many people in there and it was too crazy. Toward the end, you wandered off to the big girl class & you were pretty excited about that!
Daddy headed to work and you & I went to fancy breakfast. You chatted up the lady next to us of course. When we finished, we went home to play. You were so excited that tonight is Saturday sitters that you put your jammies on as soon as we got home! Because you haven’t slept much I wanted to be sure you got a nap. Around 1p I asked you to come with me to go pay the photographer for our Santa album. I knew you would pass out shortly after we left and she lives in Mill Creek so I knew we would have plenty of time to sleep. You slept 1.5 hours. We came home did a koala crate and FaceTimed Ms. Sandy.
You showered with me and asked me “so, Mom, what are you doing tonight?” I said Daddy and I are going to dinner with Dave and Cindy. You said “oh yeah you told me that!” After your shower you wanted to watch Disney+. Daddy came home and then we had to get ready for Saturday sitters. You kept coming out of your room asking me if you could wear or bring things that you aren’t allowed to take to school – crowns, jewelry, flip flops, toys, etc. I kept saying “yes, sure, of course” and you looked shocked. It was like you were searching to find something I would say no to lol! When we dropped you off at school, you were so excited to run in you definitely didn’t miss us lol. When we came to pick you up, you had a Spiderman tattoo, candy & some gemstones stuck to your cheek! You had so much fun! Shortly after we got home we headed to bed. You wanted me to scratch your back, but you kept squirming. I finally got you to lay still and you were out in 5 minutes!
