It's Beginning to Look a Little Like Christmas

It's amazing what little Christmas decor I have. I didn't realize this until I pulled all two boxes out, hung everything up in 2 minutes and realized that I should probably get a few items to decorate our house. This lack of festivities is mostly due to that fact that we haven't had our own place since our newly married years in Utah. Yes.... crazy, absurd, unbelievable, but blessings have been had with not having our own place as well. So attempting to decorate while the house is still being fixed up from moving in, working a lot, a new calling at church, nursing and being a mom to a sometimes sassy three-year old, Christmas shopping and baking has been quite the feat. I am not complaining, in fact I do enjoy most of these things...yep, even the scary 15 1/2 year old drivers and the sometimes sour three-year old. I guess what bugs me is that I can't decorate how I envision. I don't have the time this year to make awesome Pinterest ideas and won't allow myself to spend that kind of money on decorations that are only up for a month. So after Christmas sales it is @ 50%-75% off. I don't like clutter but I would like to bring out some ideas I have next year.

Our tradition with the tree is that the kids get an ornament every year and labeled just for them. This has always been a fond memory of decorating the tree and finding "my" ornaments. Reina has already felt special in this tradition when she finds her ornaments.

I planned on finding a pattern and making matching Christmas stockings, just like we had growing up. I haven't seen any yet, so I found some random stockings at Goodwill that weren't exactly the same pattern, but I really like their old-fashioned uniqueness and go well together! Stockings are always hung in order from oldest to youngest (technically I'm older but Daddy looks older with his beard anyway so he is the Santa stocking). I even have two more I happened upon so I can have two more kids before I have to hunt again.

So this is exactly what it looks like. A picture of a tree on material. Inexpensive, simple and easy to store, perfect for me.

My first nativity....can't beat $6. Now if I could just find a stable.

My step-sister, JoNel makes these Santas. My step-mom, Connie Jo has hundreds of her daughter's creations on display. Luckily, I have a few. These are my favorite decorations and would love a hundred more. 

Reina helping make delicious Lucia cookies.
 
Merry Christmas!

Eleven

 Our little guy is eleven months old! I think it is hard for us to believe this because he is TOO SMALL to be nearly walking! He can't officially walk all by himself, but he can stand all by himself and push walkers, toys, laundry baskets...anything light enough. Paul recently pulled out Reina's hippo walker/riding toy. He looks like a little old man pushing a shopping cart...and I do mean little. We look at him and say, "You're too small to be standing. You're too small to be walking." I am hoping that he is like his grandpa Guinn and uncle Bryan who were small but then grew in high school.

Since our move into our own house (post of all THAT will come after Christmas), he hasn't really been himself. First, with all the clutter, we've had a few mishaps. A large mirror was leaning against the wall in preparation for hanging. We were bad parents and were busy as our children knocked the mirror over and landed on top of them. Luckily I had placed an empty box in front of it (had a feeling to do so even though I knew there was no protection with an empty box). The box held the mirror up enough for our kids to have space and keep the mirror from breaking. Phew! Mother's intuition or what you wish to call it. Luckily Baelor was absolutely safe and had no idea what happened. Reina was just a bit shaken.

Showing off that he can walk on Thanksgiving (notice the gauze wrapping)

Second incident. We were getting the kids ready for bed. Our house was/is still in disarray. Reina's bedside lamp was on the floor (no table yet) and he grabbed the lamp and burned his hand bad. Not enough to go to the hospital but he screamed for at least an hour and a half as we tried everything to soothe a burn. This is agony for me as there is nothing I can do to take his pain away. I wanted to trade and take his pain upon me. I hate to see my children suffer.

He has not been sleeping well since the move. Partly because he is getting in a ton of teeth all at once. Four on bottom and three on top. Then to top that off he has a bad cold. Burned hand, uncomfortable mouth and a cold make sleeping a struggle. Oh, and he's transitioning to only one afternoon nap a day! I don't have good sleepers and am a little jealous of those who have the 3 hour nappers and long night sleepers. At night he wants to nurse NONSTOP and wants something (me) to chew on. He wants to nurse all night and since the move has managed to sleep from about midnight on in our bed.

We have always used a pacifier to soothe him and for us it has been a savior. But, since the whole teething thing, it's a "no-go". Only bouncing and mommy. I'm tired. He's tired. We'll survive.

He always gets a kick over his sister Reina. She is the light of his life and he is always happy to see her. We love to hear them laugh together.

Baelor loves to move and get into everything...pulling folded laundry out of the basket, getting into the xbox and dvd player, playing with the heater, toilet, garbage can. You parents get the idea. It's funny because when he climbs the stairs he gives you warning what he is doing...a squeal or holler to let you know. What a little smarty-pants.

He apparently can't stand formula anymore. So for liquid my mom (who takes care of him when I'm working) has resorted to pears and a little cow's milk.

His favorite food is probably cabbage soup and pears. Baelor will "say" thank you after about the 4th bite with a little "Ahhh". I've given him a sippy cup of water. He'll drink a little but finds more joy out of pinching the rubber sippy tip. I don't let him do that so he doesn't get any ideas.

He is at that age where he just fits in with the rest of the crowd at Mummi's daycare center. I'll walk in and almost miss him as he blends into the bustle of playing.

We can tell he has such a good sense of humor. He likes to make people laugh by making silly noises and faces, and likes to maul. As I am writing this he is starting to get over his nasty cold, teething ordeal and we are hopeful to have our easy-going baby back again.

Baelor still wears 6-12 clothes, depending on the brand. Carter's seems to run small, Gymboree big, and Old Navy just about right. He wears size 3 diapers and poops about once a day.

His hair is stilling showing as blonde as ever, and his baby blue eyes aren't going anywhere. 

I only snapped a few pictures this month as my time has been consumed with lots of other things. Although this cute picture is of Baelor with a chocolate mustache. He was going crazy with excitement and we didn't know why until we saw his chocostache!