Friday, December 27, 2013

Christmas 2013

The photo was actually taken Christmas night when we realized we hadn't gotten any good pics of the kids in their Christmas pajamas.  I managed to finish sewing these pjs on Christmas Eve in time for the kids to open them as their one present that night.  I had a lot of other sewing projects planned for Christmas that didn't get done but at least I was able to get these finished.  

Here we are opening presents Christmas morning.  We took more videos than pictures.  We started with stockings.  In our house, Santa fills the stocking and all the presents are from other people (mom and dad, grandparents, etc).  This is what Cora believes, according to what I've overheard her tell Elijah, so we decided to go with it.  No reason to convince her that he brings other things if she's happy with the stocking alone.  They always love the little trinkets in the stocking so it's a good excuse to get some really fun little stocking stuffers.  I have mixed feelings about Santa's role at Christmas anyways so I don't mind minimizing his part a bit.
 Playing with Elijah's new train set Daddy brought from Ikea last summer and saved for Christmas.

 Their big gift this year that they both love is this cute little kitchen from my parents.  Their faces say it all.
 Ryan and I got them some accessories for it and I have plans to sew more - aprons and hot pads, chef hats, more felt food, etc.
Our Christmas was wonderful, except that Cora got sick.  About halfway through opening presents Cora started moaning and groaning and we realized she had a high fever and gave her some tylenol.  Once that kicked in she was back to her normal self until early afternoon when it wore off again. Once she got another dose she was happy and played until around dinner time when she crashed on the couch, half asleep and moaning.  We had the whole family over for dinner, which was fun except we were afraid of getting her cousins sick, especially Marcus.  The rest of us ate and enjoyed a face-time with Elise and Eric's families, while she rested on the couch. Then after dinner we realized she was running a dangerously high fever so Dad went to his office to get her a shot with antibiotic/fever reducer in it.  She was not very thrilled with this extra Christmas surprise, to say the least, but once it kicked in she was happy again for bedtime.  That is, until she woke up crying an hour later because she had wet the bed for the first time in her life because of all the fluid we made her drink before bedtime. She had a mild fever the rest of the night but by morning was almost back to her normal self.  

I wanted to get a better pic of Elijah in his cute pajamas so I tried again the morning after Christmas.  I am so proud of these pjs but of curse, Elijah is not the biggest fan.  That always seems to happen when I make something I really like - the kids don't like it.  I think I need to cut off the sleeves to make them short sleeved and cooler.  I generally try to sew only what I know they will like, even if it means sewing something not totally my style, like Cora's birthday dress, because I don't want to spend my time on something they won't wear.  For Cora it has to be super girly, and for both of them comfort is the most important thing - no tags, itchy seams, etc.  I can't wait to do a little sewing for a baby with none of her own opinions about fashion.  (Although of course I still always try to keep comfort in mind)

 I told Elijah it was breakfast time so he rushed to the kitchen to make me a breakfast - after stripping off his pajamas of course.  "Breakfast" was a lovely porridge with tomatoes, kiwis and mushrooms. ;) Yummy.
Overall this has been a wonderful Christmas season.  We feel so blessed this year, especially to have Mom home with us instead of sleeping in the hospital like last year.  We missed my family this year but are so lucky to have so many ways to feel close to them, with texting pictures back and forth, talking on Facetime, etc. We have been surrounded by so much love and most importantly, the spirit of Christ this Christmas time.

We didn't do Christmas cards this year but want to take this opportunity to wish all of our beloved family and friends, especially those who are far from us, a Happy New Year.  We love you all!

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