This is why we help…one small wag of a tail is all we need! Please watch and share…
Christmas Day is almost over, but we had a nice one. We all slept late then got up and got the day started with some toast. Anya’s been sick with a stomach virus the past 10 days so toast is one of the 4 things she can eat right now as part of the BRAT diet – bananas, rice, applesauce, toast. She doesn’t seem to like applesauce today so that’s really 3 things she can eat. Its been a strange 10 days with her and this virus, but we think she’s over the worst part now. And luckily none of us have caught it.
But I transgress…
So, I will transgress further to Arwen’s birthday. She had a good day. Loved her cake (see photo below) and her favorite new toy seems to be the car her Auntie Rena gave her. See photo below. She also loves the mailbox that Granny and Pop gave her.
Kim, Jake, Sonya, and Les all participated in celebrating her birthday with us with cupcakes, chips, dip, cheese and crackers and since her birthday was so close to Christmas we went with a snowflake pattern and a cake with snowflakes and deer! It came out to be very cute.
Back to todays events…
Anya received her 3 gifts from Mommy and Daddy which included a digital camera (which she loves), the Leapster 2 game system and a Pet Pals game, Monopoly Jr. and from Arwen she got the Play Doh Ice Cream Swirl Shoppe. Arwen got some stacking/nesting blocks from Anya, and from Mommy and Daddy she got a piggy bank, a Lightning McQueen ride on Car, and a click clack pet world that took forever to open!
Travis gave me a fondue pot and Daughtry CDs. I gave him Atari boxer shorts and an indoor remote control helicopter.
Not too shabby…
Now for randomness…
Our family Christmas present is going to be a flat panel TV we hope. We have discovered a few sewer problems though (again) and are praying our money won’t have to go to repairs. We are working on Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover and are loving the ideas behind his book, but as we are just getting started its hard to pretend and accept that you have no credit cards. The end result there will be very good though and we are following through with his plan.
I’m sure we’ll still get our TV, we just may not be able to get the TV stand I wanted right now too.
We re-financed the house with an excellent new rate and signed all the paper work this past Monday.
Chance got a long green stuffed dog for Christmas.
I actually made some good peanut butter kiss cookies for once.
We made coconut fried shrimp together for dinner.
Arwen was running a fever until about 2pm today from the teething.
She has 5 teeth now.
We had no power for about 3 hours last night on Christmas Eve.
I desperately miss my best friend Serena and her family.
We love playing the Wii again as we now have Wii Sports Resort.
Arwen’s close to walking.
Travis is still the love of my life and we are doing great. Looking especially forward to our 10 year Anniversary in February.
Life is good. We have many, many blessings.
Enjoy the photos…
Its been so much fun watching Arwen the past few days. Hard to believe she’ll be a year old on Thursday! Today she was playing with a scarf off of a stuffed snowman and we proceeded to watch her take it over to the Christmas tree and hang it on a limb. She took it right back off again, but I just thought that was really cute. Anya and her are really beginning to play a lot as well. Anya even requests to play with her when she wakes up in the morning and from her naps. Anya loves to play with Arwen, she gets frustrated at times when she doesn’t really want to share toys, but that’s just part of learning for both of them. I try not to be too hard on Anya as its not always fair to her either, but its easier to try and help Anya understand the concept of sharing at her age versus trying to explain it to Arwen.
I went Christmas shopping today and I am almost done. I had a budget for all my shopping this year and I’m happy to say that I’m staying under it so far. We really try to make sure we stick to our rule of 3 presents each for the girls and a few small things for their stockings. The 3 presents are in honor of the 3 gifts that the Wise men brought to Baby Jesus, and in keeping with the spirit of the season, we always relate the story to Anya (who understands it now) and it works really well we think. This way she doesn’t get an abundance of gifts and she knows we give her the 3 presents because we love her and because its one way we celebrate the birth of Jesus, even though its not her birthday.
We also attended Travis’ Company Christmas party last night and it was a lot of fun. Anya got to make Christmas ornaments with the other children there and I got to have adult conversation and we all enjoyed a wonderful meal.
Stay tuned for pics from Arwen’s first Birthday experiences later this week and an update on the condition of Travis’ ankle, knee, and hip.
There is no Christmas tree in my house yet but thanks to Bath and Body Works oil diffuser and Fresh Balsam scent, my house sure smells like a Christmas tree. We are going to either get a real tree this year or buy a new artificial tree. I really want a tree with LED lights. They are so bright and pretty to me.
I can’t wait to start setting up the tree though. Arwen is going to have a ball with that! I’m sure she’ll be all about trying to figure ways to climb the tree as she has started trying to climb the sofa!
Anya just keeps changing her mind on what she actually wants for Christmas this year. It goes from wanting Splatster, to the Lulu Fur Real Cat, to the new Disney Princess castle to the Polly Pocket Roller Coaster Resort! We are keeping with our tradition of 3 gifts for each girl from Travis and I and I’ve already got two of Anya’s gifts so now I just have to narrow it down from the many choices above! Arwen’s pretty easy right now to shop for though so she’s all but done.
As for what I’m getting Travis, I have two things in mind. Hopefully, I can find them! Shopping this weekend and next is the plan for me!
Hopefully, we can find the tree first though!