More Annika

Sorry, this is kinda a long one...

#13 Things That Make Me Smile... :)

#13. I guess I got behind on this a little, been a little busy.

I noticed Nolan singing, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," this morning. I love his version. When he came to the part of, "good tidings we bring...," he said, "good tithings we bring to you..."

Annika's First Doll

Annika loves her new Precious Moments doll! She loves to give her hugs and kisses and gets so excited when she sees her. When I ask her where her dolly went, she'll look around until she spots her and starts to get so excited. She loves taking off the dolly's hat and messing with her hair. Hmmm. :) I even found a few clothes that fit her from dolls I had as a little girl.

Christmas Day

Well, we pulled off another Christmas! Hahaha! It was very simple and quiet this year, but we had a good time together. We played lots of games all day, something we don't seem to have the time to do regularly. Nolan really enjoyed it! After several oopsies, I'm surprised Nolan still believes in Santa though. We've convinced him that Santa borrowed our wrapping paper and we got to be his elves and help wrap presents with him. Oh, and Santa has a few pieces of missing parts of toys in his sleigh...but Nolan doesn't mind. I'm so grateful to have a boy who is so easy to please.

For Christmas this year Nolan wanted a VCR. :) Our old one finally hit the dust sometime earlier this year and Nolan has been wanting to watch several of our videos. Well, we found one at Goodwill for $4.00 that so far is doin the job. He was so excited to get one! It was the last gift he opened.

I'd say, the look on Nolan's face says it all as he opens the gift with the VCR in it. Santa remembered!

Christmas Eve

We had an exciting, adventurous Christmas Eve this year... it started out normal.

We went over to Adam's parents house for Christmas Eve dinner and festivities. There was quite a large group this year, around 45 people or so. One of the most favorite traditions is Adam's Mom reading Twas the Night Before Christmas, while everyone forms a circle (which gets to be quite a challenge with 45 people) and is holding a wrapped present (which, most of the time is some sort of candy). Everytime the word "and" is said, you pass your present on to the next person. Finally, at the end of the story, after having passed your gift on several times, you open up the one you end up with. Nolan really loved it this year, last year, he hung on to the same present the whole time and wouldn't pass it on. :P Annika loved it too! She shook everyone and the ones that made the most noise were her favorite.

For dessert every year is rice pudding. One of the bowl's has a piece of almond hidden in it. The person with the lucky bowl wins a prize.

Well, after leaving to go home, we stopped by the gas station to fill up first. The car wouldn't start up again though. The car kept making a click click noise everytime Adam turned the key to try to start it. So, here we are stuck in the ghetto part of Sacramento, late on Christmas Eve, with two kids that thankfully fell asleep, at a gas station. Adam called his brother to see if he left his parents yet, so he could come jump start us, since the gas station was fairly close. He came to our rescue, and started us up again and told us it was probably the alternator, so we might not make it all the way home. He was right. The only thing that worked besides the engine was the headlights, no other gages. Glad it wasn't raining. Glad we didn't need to defroster. Glad I wasn't alone and the one driving. Glad this didn't happen on the way to Arizona... :P Anyways, after driving a ways, the headlights started flickering on and off until finally they didn't turn back on. We got off the freeway, on Watt Avenue, trying to make it to Adam's other brother's house without getting pulled over for no headlights. :P We made it to the light, and when adam stopped, the car turned off. He got out to wave everyone around us, and called his brother to have him come help push us out of the way, since they lived just a ways past the light. Well, we got out of the way, Adam's brother got us home before Christmas (barely), and got the car fixed! YAY!

#12 Things That Make Me Smile...

#12. We had a beautiful, sunshiny day today. It was a nice break from all the rain. We went on a much needed walk to get out of the house. I don't think it'll be a white Christmas this year, but that's fine with me.

#11 Things That Make Me Smile... :)

#11. I love my baby girl so much! Her cute little smile is so contagious! :) I turned my baby into a little girl today...not sure if I was ready for that, but the bangs were always in her eyes. I miss the whispy ones already, but she looks cute with them cut too.

Before:

After:

Hmmm, for some reason, she looks like mom now to me. Hahaha. I can't figure out what it is. Is it just me? Maybe it's just the haircut, I dunno.

#10 Things That Make Me Smile... :)

#10. I love this little nativity scene. We got it a couple of years ago and Nolan is in charge of how this one is arranged. All of our other nativity scenes I like to stay untouched once they're put in place, but this one Nolan can arrange it as much as he likes. He switches it up every day, but always has everyone facing the baby Jesus, including the bird on the tree. :) This year, the tree had an accident and broke in half, but it's glued back together for now.

#9 Things That Make Me Smile... :)

#9. Nolan couldn't figure out why he was having trouble zipping up his coat...hmmmm.

While We Were Waiting...

While we were waiting for the Christmas Program to start...

Nolan's Kindergarten Christmas Program

This was Nolan's Kindergarten Christmas Program. All the kids did so well and new all the words! Can you tell which one's Nolan? Just look for the boy on the front row with the red shirt and antlers. He's kinda hard to miss... (not sure if this works, so let me know if not).

These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Things...

Annika loves to be on her feet. She's at the point where whenever I try to get her to kneel into a crawling position, she'll buckle up her knees so she stays standing. She's a smart girl. She walks all around holding on to things.

Annika doesn't say much other than "gaga," or different versions of that, but she understands quite a bit. Nolan got these balloons the other day at a party and Annika is fascinated with them. She gets so excited whenever we walk into the room and there they are. She'll make her "gaga" sound in the back of her throat and look at them and than back at me until I say, "balloons." Than she'll repeat her way of saying it over and over. Than I'll say "yay," and she'll clap her hands. Than it starts all over again...a million times a day!

Another favorite is the Christmas tree. I'll say, "pretty tree" or "pretty lights." Than she'll say the same sound she does for everything else. No matter where we are in the room, she'll stop what she's doing and look at it whenever I say, "pretty tree." We normally go back and forth between this and the balloons.

This is Annika's favorite toy because she can stand while playing it. :) Whenever I say the word, "play," at any time she looks for this and stares at it until I bring her to it to "play."

Annika loves this big blue ball. She loves to be rolled around on it. Whenever I ask her where the ball is, she'll look all around until she spots it.

Last night while we were playing after Nolan went to bed I asked Annika where Nolan was. She spotted his hat on the back of the couch and grabbed at it and started playing with it. She knows that's the hat Nolan wears outside on cold days.

This ducky book is a favorite of Annika's as it also was with Nolan. As you can see from the picture, it is well loved. :) Annika loves the little animals on each of the pages. When I ask her where a certain animal is, she'll turn the page until she finds it. She starts spinning her wrists and ankles and gets so excited about it. When we're sitting on the recliner, I'll ask her where her duck book is. She'll make her excited noises and look over the chair and down on the floor where it is kept.

#8 Things That Make Me Smile... :)

#8.
Nolan: "Mom, I'll tell you a secret if you make me a breakfast burrito."
Me: "Deal. What's the secret?"
Nolan: "I love you!"

#7 Things That Make Me Smile... :)

#7. I love how Nolan treats his little sister. He is such a good big brother and can't get enough of her. He is so proud of her when she does something new. Nolan watched Annika walking along with the little stroller today and said, "Wow, babe. I'm sure impressed with you! Good job!"

#6 Things That Make Me Smile... :)

#6. Wait, but what happened to #5 you ask? Still trying to get it to upload...sorry! In the meantime, here's my smile of the day today.

Me: Nolan, what does your friend want for his birthday?
Nolan:An xbox.
Me:(laughing to myself) Do you know what an xbox is?
Nolan: A box with an x on it.

Hahaha, I wish it were that simple...don't think we can afford that one, sorry friend. You would have to be ONE REALLY GOOD FRIEND!!!

One Sick Boy :(

Ok, I already did my smile of the day, so now I can tell about my REAL day. Haha. I had a 2 o'clock wake up call this morning by this little boy. "Mom, I threw up in the bathroom." I jumped out of bed and walked to the bathroom and could smell it right away. Why oh why did we have to have hamburgers last night! Adam's new kitchen is FINISHED. We celebrated and Adam made us hamburgers on his grill. I'll have to take a video soon of him giving a tour of the finished product! Anyways, it's amazing to me how puke can fly EVERYWHERE! I was so grateful at least he tried and made it to the bathroom and none got on the newly cleaned carpet. :) I spent a while cleaning it all up, which got me wide awake and hard to fall back asleep. Well, Nolan stayed home today and couldn't hold anything down all day. Finally, he started asking for water, and more water, and MORE water! And THAN time to open up the chicken noodle soup. Next, he wanted a bisquit, with more chicken noodle soup. It cracks me up when he starts feeling better how big his appetite is. It's like he could just keep eating, which I have to hold him back a little. I love seeing him feeling better! He has his Kindergarten Christmas program tomorrow night and I was worried he'd be sick, but it looks like he's ready to go back to school tomorrow! Yipee! Don't worry, this picture was taken when he was still sick. He looked much perkier after a full belly and a bath.

#4 Things That Make Me Smile... :)

#4. I love the artwork that Nolan brings home from Kindergarten. These 3 are some of my favorites and they're all within the last couple of weeks. I've hung them up throughout the house and whenever I look at them they make me smile. I don't think I could possibly ever throw away such masterpieces. :)

Roly-Poly Pell-Mell Tumble-Bumble

This little girl is having fun pulling herself up to things today! She's starting to walk along couches and chairs, including swirly chairs and light weight chairs that won't stay upright with her hanging on with all her might, which also means she's been doing a lot of crashing and tumbling to the floor, which also means A LOT OF SCREAMING and tears, but after just a minute of comforting her, she'll reach for a chair or couch again to try out her new tricks some more. She's a very persistant little gal when she puts her mind to it and has made very good progress in just one day. She still has no interest in crawling, but we're gettin there.

P.S. And now in just the time that I've written this, Annika is getting brave enough to let go of things and try and stand like a big girl. It works for a few seconds...THIS has been a LONG day!!!

#3 Things That Make Me Smile... :)

#3. Have you ever tasted freshly picked mandarines? Mmmmm! They are super juicy and delicious! I love living in this area where we're surrounded by mandarine growers. :) I did a lady's hair and she brought over this little bag of mandarines she just picked from her tree. They are soooo good! Yep, they make me smile just lookin at 'em! :)

#2 Things That Make Me Smile... :)

#2. I'm a little embarrassed to admit how many times I've played this little guy already in the last 24 hours. He sure make me smile though. Jenny gave it to us for Christmas one year and he's one of my favorite things to bring out each year. The kids love him too! :)

Things That Make Me Smile... :)

Sometimes when we are feeling down or discouraged it's hard to see the joy in the simple things of life. Not that I'm feeling down or discouraged at the moment, but I've decided to make a list of "things that make me smile" to look back on whenever I do feel that way. I was going to start at the beginning of the year, one thing each day that stands out, but decided to start today with my smiley moment.

#1. As I set Nolan's lunch out on the table, a simple tuna fish sandwich and some goldfish crackers, he comes up and says, "Wow, thanks mom, you're the coolest mom EVER!" :)

That's What Big Brothers Are For...

Nolan's Holiday Gymnastics Show

Yesterday was Nolan's holiday gymnastics show. Nolan started gymnastics during the summer this year and he really enjoys it. It has really built up his strength, balance, and self-confidence. Nolan went into gymnastics struggling to do even a simple summersault. Also, walking across the balance beam scared him to death. He wouldn't do it without someone holding his hand the whole way. In fact, certain things that have to do with balance, Nolan struggles with a little because of his missing toe. He just has to take a little extra time and go slow, which is fine. Not so much walking or running, but like going up and down stairs, or walking across balance beams. :) Just recently however, Nolan has started walking across the beam by himself. He goes nice and slow, but HEY he DOES IT! You'll see in the video how proud he is by a little Nolan move he makes the second time across the beam. Pretty funny kid! I got my pictures and videos out of place, but oh well, you get the idea. Annika had so much fun watching the show and cheering everyone on! She really got the clapping thing down that night!

This picture was taken after the show of Nolan's group.

Sorry for the poor quality of video here. It was dark and the camera seems to be getting worse and worse. Oh well, it'll give you the idea. This first one is of all the gymnists marching in. If you can't tell which one's Nolan, just look for the kid who's marching stands out the most! He's also waving later on.



Here's Nolan's group show. Sorry, I'm not very good at taking a video at the same time as watching the actual performance. Plus, I zoomed in too much, but I couldn't change it once I started.

Auburn Festival of Lights Parade

Last night was the Auburn Festival of Lights Parade. We got to ride the float for Home Instead Senior Care (where Adam works). It was such a fun way to get into the holiday spirit. Nolan had fun yelling out, "Merry Christmas" to everyone and waving as we rode along. There were soooo many people lined up along the streets watching the parade. Nolan wore a Santa hat and I wore the white hat you see in the picture above. Nolan said I reminded him of a snowman, but instead I was a "snowmommy." Annika was asleep until the parade started and she woke up just in time to enjoy all the action. She just couldn't stop staring at all the beautiful lights! She loved it! I wish I could have taken some pictures, but our camera's battery was dead, so the best we got was this one from Adam's phone. It was raining a little, but not too bad. The worst was when we walked home. Even though we live somewhat close to the fairgrounds, it's not so fun walking in the rain, dark, carrying a baby and all our belongings. Our 60 degree house actually felt like an oven by the time we reached home. It wasn't that cold even though it was raining outside, so we worked up a good sweat, especially walking up a forever long steep hill. As Nolan carried a little flashlight to light our way he made sure we were all doing ok and being safe. He kept saying over again to Adam, "Now dad, make sure you stay real close to us so you don't get hit." He was very concerned about this. He's such a sweet boy.

Santa's Reindeer

I think Santa's Reindeer showed up a little early, don't ya think? :)

10 Months Old!

Dear Annika: Today you are 10 months old! I love you soooo much, even though you kept me up lots last night and scream every time I have to put you down! I can't immagine my life without you! Love, Mommy

Still Tryin to Figure This Out!

Annika will be 10 months old on Wednesday! She is learning and growing so much, but she's still not crawling. She's soooo close and wants to soooo bad!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving! This year we spent Thanksgiving in Penn Valley and also in Sacramento, which means we also had two Thanksgiving meals! :) It was a little crazy, but lots of fun. We drove to Penn Valley late Wednesday afternoon and had a pizza party at Grandpa and Grandma's house. Spence came also. We played air hockey and had pies for dessert. YUM! We spent the night and spent Thanksgiving morning there also. Nolan loves picking stuff out of Grandpa and Grandma's garden. Even though there wasn't a whole lot left because of the frost, he was still determined to find something. I think he ended up finding some frozen strawberries and overgrown chard. :)

Uncle Spence helped Nolan construct this cool marble maze!

Annika had fun playing with herself in the mirror.

Nolan was so excited to start piano lessons!

Here's a couple of videos. Sorry, one of them you'll have to turn your head sideways to watch. :) Nolan's been wanting to golf with Uncle Spence. So, he brought his stuff and taught Nolan a few tricks.

Well, after we had a Thanksgiving lunch in Penn Valley we headed to Sacramento to Adam's parents house for more parties! There were lots of people over for dinner. I think they were expecting about 50 people there. Adam's sister, Tawny and her husband and 3 boys came out this week from Utah. The boys had lots of fun together. We spent the night a couple of nights so the boys could have as much cousin time as possible. I wish I got some pictures, but for some reason it didn't happen! :( Oh well. It was a lot of fun, even though Nolan's home sick today from school and Annika had a couple of rough nights being away from home. We love spending time with family!