Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time!
This is the 2011 Christmas post! It was Claire's first Christmas, so we were sure to take lots of pictures and do lots of fun things to celebrate the season.
Melissa held true to her sugar cookie decorating tradition. She made the dough a few nights previous and kept it in the fridge. Here she is rolling out the dough and cutting the cookies. We got some new cookie cutters in anticipation a few weeks ago. Last year, we only had 3 or 4, different cookie cutters, so we defiantly needed some more!
While Melissa rolled out the dough and did the cutting, Claire and I played and took pictures of us being silly with the camera.
Even I got a turn to cut!
Claire was content to watch this year, next year maybe she will be big enough to help!
Time for the decorating!
And the sampling!
Claire had a nibble, she's showing a growing interest in eating "big girl" food.
Claire was so excited, she had to start on those toys right away!
Here is what Santa brought Melissa and I! He also brought us a house, just like that old movie "Miracle on 34th Street"! We've been looking for one for almost a year and found something like that seems to work, it's on 2017 Arles Lane. We close at the end of January, and will move in sometime in Feburary. I'd like to do some paint and have the carpets stretched and cleaned before we move in, but we can hardly wait to move in!
Whoot woo! Somebody's been good this year!
This is Claire in her Bumbo. My family didn't know what a Bumbo was, it's a little chair that helps babies learn to sit up straight (they tend to lack the muscle coordination and strength for a couple of months). Claire got to try one out her friend Riley's when Melissa baby sat for her visiting teacher, and has been begging for one ever since. Of course, it's pink.
Uh huh... and she says she doesn't like candy...
Claire was ready to open presents, but didn't want to get out of the Bumbo.
"What could it be?"
My mom grew up on near an Indian reservation in southeastern Utah. There's a tradition of sorts in my family that the baby girls get an silver turquoise Ute bracelet, and so Grandma and Grandpa gave one to Claire. She also got a tiny turquoise ring that's very pretty, maybe when she's a bit older she can wear it (avoiding eating jewelry.)
Claire isn't quite big enough yet to get the whole opening presents thing, but she did take quite a lot of interest in opening them!
The loot!
After present opening, it was off to get ready for Church. Claire got a pretty Christmas dress from Grandma and Grandpa Whitley. I just wore a suit and old red tie. Melissa was conducting the congregation and singing impromptu in the choir, and forgot her music at home so I had to run home and get it. We only had Sacrament meeting, so it was an abbreviated meeting so that we could all spend time together as a family.
After we got home, it was back to paying with toys! Claire got these rings that she LOVES to munch on.
We had driven around Plano on Christmas Eve to look at lights, but weren't really impressed by the display. In Carrollton, Grandma told us about a really neat lights display where a whole block of houses had set up lights. They were all synced together and would flash in sync with Christmas music they were playing. They even had their own radio frequency so that you could hear the music in your car! They had propped up their trampoline and used it as a screen to project scenes from Christmas movies on. They had a train for kids (and adults) to ride on and gave out free candy canes. We met the man who has been putting this on in his front yard for several years and his 2 sons who help. All of Plano had NOTIN' on this block in Carrollton when it came to lights! They have Santa's sleigh, and even have Santa if you come before Christmas Eve (the jolly old elf's a little busy that night, needless to say.)
Check out the vid!
This was the movie projector. There seems to be a lot of mistletoe these days...
It was a little cold and windy, but we bundled up Claire real good and she loved looking at the pretty lights.
Claire has been showing interest in eating food and drinking from a cup, so we've started letting her have some crumbs of bread, cookies, etc. We even tried drinking out of a cup! She did really well, but I think she was more interested in gumming on the rim of the cup! One of her favorite things to do it munch on things (toys, fingers, etc.), though she hasn't been interested in the Binky much. I am sure we will see some little teeth soon!
Bumbo! Wearing her new outfits she got for Christmas from Aunt Heather and Uncle Michael.
We had Claire's pictures taken for the first time at a photographer. The package was only $10, but you only get one pose, in several sizes, so here it is. She was pretty squirmy and I don't think the lady doing the photo shoot was very good, but this was the print we chose. Never the less, Claire was on her best behavior and didn't even fuss until the end.
These pictures I took from Debi's blog, but thought they should go on the Christmas post too.
Grandpa and Claire are decorating the tree.
Claire and "Aunt" Taylor.
Claire got to play the Baby Jesus in the Nativity this year... and she was a first rate actress! She even slept in a box and had the "silent night" and "no crying he makes" down pat!
On Christmas Eve, Mike and Debi treated us to Chili's, in line with tradition.
Claire was very well behaved, she didn't cry at the restaurant even once! She was fixed on the game. She loves TV.
It was the 4th quarter and the Cowboy's were down 21-7... not too exciting.
A Christmas kiss!
Before we had Claire and when she was very young we had resolved to not let Claire out of her car seat. We still don't on the highway... HOWEVER we do admit the error of our ways, when she is crying hard enough to choke, we let her out of the car seat, always in the backseat of course. She enjoyed looking at the Christmas lights, even though Plano's lights were kinda boring.
Melissa makes real gingerbread houses... not just glued together graham crackers, which I had never done before. I can now say that building gingerbread houses from gingerbread truly is an art. We made enough for two, however only one turned out. The other one was deemed a "broken home", I think it had foundation issues. Anyway, this one turned out great!
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...
Christmas breakfast! Mmm!
We went back over on Monday morning to have family presents and to celebrate Christmas together. We had Christmas breakfast, gift exchanges, playing games, music, and the whole works!
"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"
posted by Austin @ 8:35 AM
4 Comments:
I LOVE your Christmas post, Austin! You forgot to put the picture of you playing the guitar for us on Christmas day...I loved that part of Christmas. :) I like the little video of the light display, which was...by the way...in Farmers Branch (which is right across one street from Carrollton...we have so many little towns here and they are right next to each other). I'm glad you took the time to post and relate everything about Claire's first Christmas!
What a wonderful Christmas year! :) Little Claire had a great day, and so did I! :) I loved the silly pictures of you and Claire with the Christmas cookies...you guys are so cute! :) I'd say this year Christmas was a success. :)
Loved the post:) Claire seems to have gotten quite a haul on her first Christmas! since she is so strong and she loves to sit up in her bumbo i bet she will love the excosaucer in another month or two. You already have one from us;) we started both our boys in it about 4 months...but they needed a pillow under their feet and a blanket rolled up in the seat to help them.....but by 5 months they were good to go with out any.of.the.extra stuff:)
What a fun Christmas you guys had! Claire looks so big sitting in that chair-no wonder she wanted one so badly--now she can see everything! Yummy Christmas cookies-you are master decorators. You should make going to see that light display a yearly tradition!
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