Carrie Underwood and Christmas

The last couple of weeks has been a bit of a blur. We have tried very hard to do it all. We had three family birthdays (including Mike and I) as well as Christmas with both of our families. Mike took me to Carrie Underwood for my birthday! She was awesome.

The view from the car on the way to the concert

We spent the 23rd and 24th with Mike's family and then came home to host Christmas for my family. They all arrived Christmas Eve. Including us, we had four sisters, three brothers-in-law, three babies, my parents, my grandma, and an uncle here. Thankfully a pastor from our church who was away let us use his house. Even with the extra house it was a delicate balance trying to ensure that all three babies got their naps. I think we (and they) did pretty good. I must also add that if you wrap the turkey in bacon it creates magic.
 

We finally got a photo of Laney doing her "tripod". She does it all the time.

Me and the three cousins

My next youngest sis and her hubs in their jammies

Laney with her Nana and Grandad

On Boxing Day we had our little Laney dedicated at our church. After that we had all of the above people, sans uncle, as well as one of Mike's brothers, sister-in-law, and parents here for lunch.

Mike thouroughly spoiled me. I actually don't want to share it with you because I'm kind of embarassed. I will show you this though.

Hopefully, it will mean better pictures showing up soon. They will probably be worse to start with though. 

Now, the house is a little quieter with two of my sisters gone. We are also in quarantine mode right now as my parents are both fighting a stomach bug. We got a call from my next younger sister and she, her husband, and baby all have been throwing up. I'm just hoping that 1. Laney doesn't get it and 2. that it is the same bug I had a few weeks ago so I don't get it again (oh and 3. that they all feel better tomorrow).

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Happy New Year!

Anyone...Anyone?

Do any of you have any experience with "elimination communication?"

I have been on and off trying this with Laney since she was about four months old. Basically, if you don't know what EC is, it is a method of teaching babies to be aware of their bodily functions and placing them on the potty when they need to go. I thought it sounded kind of crazy at first, but did a lot of research on it after hearing from a friend from Africa where this is the norm. We had a lot of success in the beginning, but Laney just doesn't want to sit on the potty anymore. I did get her to go pee in there this morning, but not poop. I just finished cleaning up the mess that was me trying to catch her mid-poop.

This is from the summer.

Basically, I'm just trying to decide if it is worth the time and effort getting her used to going on the potty at this age. I know she's not going to be "potty trained" right now but I would like her to know what the potty is for and to understand that she can go on it.

And with that, I will leave you with a kiss from Laney. Because you deserve one after reading about her poop.

She's really a toddler

The amount of new things Laney has been doing lately is incredible. I have no idea how she managed to turn into a toddler right under my nose. She has been walking for awhile but it's the communication that really makes her seem grown. I know at this point she can understand a lot more than she can communicate. That's why I decided about a month ago to get serious with signing and it has cut down a lot of frustration on Laney's part (OK and sometimes me too). If I ask her if she needs a diaper change she will usually run to her room (same if I tell her it's time for "night-night" and she actually feels like sleeping). She knows what her doll, baby, ball, balloon, and several other toys are if I say them out loud. She is also starting to listen to me when I say no.

She is such a personality. I love seeing this come out. I love her. Mike and I look at each other just about everyday and say that to each other. Don't worry we say "I love you" to each other as well.

Stats:

Weight: 21 lbs
Length: 30 inches
Animal sounds: cow, pig, horse, monkey, fish, bear, lion
Signing: more, all done, please (along with a verbal "pea"), eat, and milk
Teeth: six with two more about to poke through the gums
Words: mama, dada, please (pea), ball (ba), bye-bye (bub-bub)
Guestures: Claps, waves bye-bye, blows kisses, plays peek-a-boo

Her Christmas dress!

My first foray into the world of baby bows/clips

OK Mum, no more pictures

P.S. The pillow-making went well and I now have two more wonderful goose down pillows. I plan on posting a tutorial soon.

Deck the halls

I've had my decorations up for about three weeks now. What I hadn't done until now is photograph them.

First of all, we have to cover the tree. Sadly, we are fakers. I love real trees, but I like to have them up for longer than a real tree will allow. I am also terrible about remembering to water them. I am thinking about going real next year. Our tree looks much prettier out-of-focus (thanks fun SLR). This is partly due to the fact that there are no ornaments on the bottom third of the tree (thanks baby) and partly due to my lack of decorating skills (thanks genetics?). I know it's kind of themey with the blue and all. I had planned on decorating it in blue and green when I found a large tub of blue ornaments for cheap. What do you think? Should I add some green?

Every year I look forward to pulling ornaments out of dusty boxes and looking at each one. Because they all have memories attached to them.

...Memories of loved ones who are no longer with us.

...our first Christmas married.

...and our first Christmas with Laney.

...And decorations that remind us what this season is really about. While I am thankful for our first Christmas with Laney, it doesn't even come close to how thankful I am for the first Christmas of all.

Let it snow

Don't you just wish you could do a million things? I am the type of person who likes to dabble in everything. I'm into science, but I also like the creative side of things. I love taking photos, painting, crafting, sewing, sports, music, and a ton of other stuff. I am not great at any one of those things however. Right now I'm all about making stuff. Christmas really has me tapping into my crafty side. Well, that and my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law has so many different talents (one being cooking, which I will doubtless, never live up to). This Christmas she has introduced me to the art of chocolate painting. Fun. And delicious. I am planning to do some more and will hopefully be able to get a post up soon. Tomorrow we are making feather pillows. We have a lot of company coming and we don't have enough. I will have to let you know how that goes.

We have quite a bit of snow right now and this past week Laney and I were delighted to watch the snow removal process. The road gets a very thick layer of snow build-up which can be rather tricky to drive in when you get deep ruts. Our city removed the snow and it was a lot of fun to watch.

I was treated with tons of "oohs" from Laney. Also, a lot of cute facial expressions like her goofy smile.

Check it. Laney's first snow angel. I may have moved her arms and legs to get it. I just wish I put something in the photo to show the scale. It is such a cute baby snow angel and here it just looks like an adult one.

We have fun indoors too. Laney's newest thing is climbing inside the 9x13 pan and just chillin' for awhile.

But, back to the million things I enjoy doing. My sister is letting me play with her new toy for awhile. So this week I'm going to be a photographer.

This is my first time using an SLR so please excuse some of the craptastic photos. By the way, the swing was a gift from Mike's mom and Laney loves it. If you are looking for a gift idea for a little one I think it would be hard to beat this.

We can't even take her into the basement if we're not planning on letting her swing or there will be tears. And a pouty lip.

Anyways, one thing I love is that this camera does a much better job at capturing the colour of Laney's eyes (which I'm not quite sure what to call). I've been trying forever and my photos from the point and shoot just don't seem to portray the colour even close.

Those eyes just knock me out.

I hope I don't drown in feathers tomorrow.