Crafts and Cookies

One of the best parts about Audrey being a little older this Christmas is that we were able to do a bit more crafts and a lot more baking with her this year. She had a cold this month that kept us home for almost a full week but it gave us a lot of opportunities to try out some new things. First up were some "glue ornaments". She had a lot of fun squeezing the glue onto the wax paper but even more fun sprinkling them with glitter. They dried a little funny so I'm not sure if we'll be saving any but they were fun to make. I think the trick is use a lot more glue.

We also made a cotton ball snowman. She was a pro at this activity since we had done a sheep a few months ago.

Last up was my favorite - a footprint Christmas tree. We traced her feet out on some green cardstock (she liked it so much we had to do her hands and feet multiple times). I glued two together to make a tree shape and then she glued on some decorations and then stuck the star on top. Once everything had dried I added some hole punches and a quick pipe cleaner loop and now we have a cute ornament for our tree.

We were able to do a lot of baking this past month and Audrey was always eager to help by standing on her stool and adding stuff to the mixer. She also had to have her own bowls with flour or sugar in them that she mixed. Her grandparents must have been listening when we told them about all the baking she likes to do because she now owns not one, but two aprons and chef hats along with some baking tools for her own kitchen.

Christmas Eve actually began with a lot of baking (8 sourdough bread bowls and some sugar cookies for Santa). Our poor oven got a workout that day. We put on our aprons and mixed, rolled, and sprinkled the cookies - it was a great start to the day!

Christmas - Parts 1, 2, and 3!

This Christmas was filled with lots of family time, a big change from last year in Maryland. It also meant we got to spread things out a bit, which is always nice with a two year old.

First up was Grammy, Papa, and Aunt Katie! Grammy and Papa stopped by the week before Christmas on their way out to Kentucky. We were able to have some pre-Christmas fun with them before they left. After opening up some presents for herself, she graciously offered to help others open some gifts as well. We especially liked how she had to lay down "just like Papa" when helping him open his gifts.

The second event was Christmas Eve at our house. Uncle Steve, Aunt Laura, Nana, Great Uncle Ken and Kelsey came over for some yummy cheesy chowder in homemade sourdough bread bowls. We also exchanged gifts with the Santoki's that evening. Audrey had a blast playing with her cousins and there were just a few moments of sharing 'issues'. When we were leaving out some cookies for Santa, she might have taken a nibble (or giant bite) of Santa's cookies and the carrots for the reindeer - to make sure they were okay, of course!

Last up was Christmas morning itself! Nana, Ken and Kelsey spent the night and were unfortunately woken up at 6:30am with an unhappy little one (Sorry! She really does normally sleep in until 8. A day later we discovered two 2nd year molars coming through, so they may be to blame). While Audrey did enjoy everything in her stocking, the binoculars were an instant favorite. She was also super excited about the tricycle that Santa left her. The pace of toddler present opening was a little slower than we were used to, but it was a nice change. It's not surprising that opening a really cool toy only to have to immediately put it down to move on to something else is difficult for a little one, so we eventually moved on to Christmas eggs and saved some presents for later that day. Then, after a much needed nap we drove down to Nana's house for a delicious dinner and some more family. We ended up back at home for a late bedtime with a very happy little girl (okay, she might have been a little crabby while getting ready for bed but we got some really good snuggles in while singing songs).

It's All Business With the Big Guy

Audrey's serious face comes on when Santa comes to town. She loves the guy, was so excited to see him, immediately ran to him with outstretched arms, happily sat on his lap, but never cracked a smile the entire time. We even tried to get her to say "cheese", or "peaches". She responded with "no". She did manage to tell him what she wants for Christmas this year: "Cookies."

We have to thank Aunt Lala for showing us the best place to see Santa. Our past experiences have left a bit to be desired, but this time? I mean, you can't go wrong with that belt buckle!

Clam Lights and Snowflake Lane

Our second Christmas activity was the Ivar's Clam Lights and Parade of Boats in Renton. As corny (or clammy?) as that sounds, they did a pretty good job lighting up almost every tree in Gene Coulon Park. The boats were fun to look at but watching the drunk people on the boats singing their heads off was probably the most entertaining part.

Our third event was Snowflake Lane in downtown Bellevue. We heard about it from my sister who didn't have a better description than "kind of like a parade", so we weren't sure what to expect. I would describe it as a combo light and christmas music show on the sidewalks near the mall with a drum line playing along, fake snow falling, and life-sized stuffed animals walking around. That's right. Life-sized stuffed animals. Audrey was in love.

It turned out to be a good warm up for our next Christmas adventure with "the big guy". Stay tuned.

Oh Christmas Tree...

It is was once again time to go out and find the perfect Christmas tree and we were just a little excited about how many different places we could have gone. Tis certainly the area for some good trees! We got a recommendation for a tree farm and drove out with Nana on a Sunday morning.

Audrey was a big help this year. This was a fancy tree farm that gave you your own cart and she was happy to push that around.


The biggest dilemma at this place was what type of tree to get, since they all looked great. While our tree last year was pretty, it didn't smell at all. Rather than using pine scented car fresheners as ornaments, we were told to go with a grand fir this year for optimum fresh tree smell. Audrey tends to gravitate towards trees her size and this year was no exception.

It didn't take long to find the perfect tree and since this place seemingly keeps their saws sharpened, it took about two seconds to cut it down.

After we got the tree "serviced" (they have an impressive and somewhat scary shaking machine to get rid of loose needles and other debris) we took some time to warm up by sampling their free beverages. Since Audrey hasn't had hot cider or hot chocolate, Mike offered her the option of "warm apple juice" or "warm chocolate juice". As appetizing as chocolate juice sounds, she chose the apple juice.

And of course, what Christmas tree post would be complete without a picture of the finished product, toddler-proofed by putting only plastic and wooden ornaments on the bottom half. Though, she has been very good about using her one-finger touch.