How has the end of the year flown by so quickly??? It feels like Halloween was just a couple of weeks ago, but truthfully, so much has happened since then!
Dave & I enjoyed a fantastically fun night with our pWnhACKzORz in early November. Just to emphasize our level of nerdy-ness, there were 9 of us there, 4 tvs, all playing video games at once. We had a whole lot of fun and stayed up much later than normal, so Ella spent the night with my parents. This also happened to be the night Ella decided she could no longer be contained in any bed with sides. She kept climbing out of the pack & play, so she slept with Grandma. The next night at home, Ella kept climbing out of her crib. So we have taken the drop side off of her crib and voila! Instant big girl bed. Ella has done really well sleeping in her “new” bed, with just a few exceptions. We’re very proud of her & hope that this growing up continues to potty training soon (no pressure).
Thanksgiving was spent in St. Louis this year. We had a very tasty lunch/dinner (supper?) at my grandparents’ house. We all enjoyed seeing lots of my family, especially Uncle Chris! Although, we were all relegated to the “kids” table. Doesn’t having a mortgage let you move up to the adult table? I made a cranberry/apple/orange chutney sauce that turned out really yummy as well as pumpkin chocolate chip cheesecake (also tasty). We didn’t get to see Uncle Kerry at Thanksgiving because he was in Germany visiting Amber! More about his trip in the future.
Last weekend, we put up our minimal Christmas decorations. We got a tree (a real one!), put lights & ornaments on. We still don’t have a tree topper…I can’t find one that I like! We have stockings & a holiday wreath, but that’s about it. And actually, our pumpkins are still on the porch from Halloween. Lame, I know. They’re not rotting yet. At least I don’t think so. Dave also took some family photos of the Hardens, a great first step into expanding his photography repertoire! Check out his & Sara’s photography site here.
Christmas is only a handful of days away! I really need to start shopping. It’s very hard to shop with a 2 year old. She is just too busy! Ella is continuing to amaze me every day. She learns new things very quickly, and though she tries my patience quite often, she is so cute it is hard to stay angry for long. Dave & I have an ongoing dialogue about what to get her for Christmas, though one for-sure item will be a doctor kit. I want to get her things that she will like for a long time, not just a few days. Any suggestions??
Finally…yesterday morning my friend Katie & her husband Mark welcomed their baby boy, Owen Max! We are all SO EXCITED for them & can’t wait to meet their newest addition.
Happy Holiday Season!
