Holiday Surprises

On the 13th we gave Michaela a few early holiday surprises so that she could make use of them before Christmas.  She opened some Santa PJs and a Winnie the Pooh ornament.  She was excited by both.  She wore her PJs to bed and played with the ornament quite a bit before putting it on the tree.  I love to see her excitement and delight over the little things! 

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Day 13 Tag

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M & A

I love to hear Michaela talk about her friends.  On our way home from school (Dec. 12th) she kept asking about going to Audrey's house, so we decided to set up a FaceTime date.  It was so cute to watch the two of them "talk" and show things to one another.  Audrey showed us her new blanket and Michaela showed her the pink skirt she was wearing (and wants to wear everyday!).  I love watching their friendship develop.  That night Michaela also got a surprise from one of her Great Grandmas in the mail.  She flipped through the whole magazine, I think she will enjoy getting this surprise in the mail every month! 

day 12 tag

Like This...

 We made an unexpected visit down to my Mom and Dad's on Saturday (Dec. 10th) night so Sunday morning (Dec. 11th) we found ourselves waking up at their house.  The greatest part of our unexpected visit was enjoying breakfast with Grandma and Papa.  Michaela enjoyed her whole breakfast, but enjoyed her oranges the most!  In fact, she gave us all a lesson on the proper way to eat oranges.  She wanted us to overlap our hands in the center of the orange and press it into our mouths.  "LIKE THIS", she would say to us every time we tried to eat a different way.  

Michaela also enjoys playing with these two wicker chairs.  My Mom initially had the chair out in order to donate them.  Michaela discovered them and my Mom doesn't dare get rid of them now!  Of course Michaela always wants to move them around in the highest traffic area, the kitchen.  

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Day 11 tag

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Fun @ Home

There is nothing better than a family weekend at home after a long week at work.  Michaela definitely keeps us entertained and on our toes.  She has started showing an interest in the scrapbooks I have made, which of course is the goal...passing on the photos and stories of her childhood for her to enjoy later.  She has even started saying things like "that is me when I was younger", even if the picture isn't her!  One of her favorite books to look at is a mini book I made from a trip Ryan and I took the Wild Animal Park in San Diego.  She has also become quite a dare devil/gymnast.  Once she learned how to do a somersault she has been testing it out all over the house, including off a stool we keep in the living room.  Of course the first time she attempted this stunt I went running over to stop her, but once she showed she could do it...well I couldn't help but video tape and take picture of her feat.  

Tag embossed with the word joy, but is not visable

Meeting Family

Michaela was worn out after our mini vacation, so I was able to take advantage of her long nap and make some progress on my December Daily project.  On Friday the 9th we met up with Ryan's Aunt and Uncle for dinner.  They flew in from Canada to watch their son play in a few hockey games in our area.  The last time were we able to visit with them was just before Michaela was born.  So, this was their first time meeting.  The hockey game was too late for Michaela to attend, but we made plans to meet for dinner beforehand.  We decided to take them to our favorite pizza place.  Michaela was pretty shy during dinner, but for the next few days she continued to talk about "Uncle Doug and Aunt Stacy".  After dinner Ryan headed to the game, while Michaela and I went home for bed.  I am hoping to add some photos from the game to the back of this page, but since I wasn't there to take any I have to track some down.   

Mini Vacation

Having fun in the pool

I am forced to take a break from compiling my December Daily because we are out enjoying life! We decided to take a mini vacation this holiday season in order to take advantage of our winter break schedules and do something really fun/different as a family of three. So far, we are having a blast and really all we have done is meet the Goodlow family for some swimming. Our hotel room is awesome for relaxing while Michaela takes a nap & we are looking forward to some more swimming at the water park tonight!

This is when we knew it was naptime

Christmas Cards

We tried several times earlier in the season to get a family photo that we could use for our Christmas cards.  We must have been trying too late in the evening for Michaela because she was not interested in holding still or being a part of the picture!  We have several pictures where the family part just didn't work out.  Finally once we had the tree up, we were able to get her full cooperation (of course on a night when no one else was there to take the photo, gotta love the self-timer!).  We decided on two different styles for our cards this year (ordered from Snapfish) and were pleased with the results.

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day 8 tag

Holiday Decor

We definitely have a similar decorating theme each year, mostly because I really like the way it looks (I hope Ryan would agree!).  However, there are always things that are changed or added each year, like ornaments.  This year we also purchased a new tree.  Ryan and I both grew up with real Christmas trees, but due to my increasing allergies among other factors we have been using an "almost real" tree (loved the way the store marketed their selection of artificial trees as "almost real").  It took us A LOT of shopping to find the tree that best fit our house and our needs (who knew how expensive artificial trees were!).  We are really happy with our new tree and hope it lasts us more than a few years!

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day 7 tag

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Nativity

I took out Michaela's Little People Nativity set and it was so fun to watch her rediscover the set and see how her play has matured since last year.  The best part for me is that she learned the words to Away in a Manger and sings it with the song.  Our other nativity set found a new home this year where it is a bit more prominent.  

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Lighting a candle to honor Dustin Thomas Wilkinson

Advent Calendar

After a long week, I am glad Saturday is here!  I was trying so hard not to slip behind on getting my pages done for the December Daily project, but feeling under the weather for a few days prevented much from getting done in all aspects of life.  So I am in catch up mode once again...here is what I put together for December 5th.  We received a new Advent calendar on Thanksgiving from Grandma Wilkinson.  It has 24 stuffed objects that have velcro on the back.  The figures can be moved anywhere on the upper portion.  Michaela has a hard time taking only one out a day, but she loves to move the figures into new positions.  

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Birthday Brunch

My Mom reacting to Michaela's signature (scribble) on her card

For my Mom's birthday on the 4th the family met for brunch at Egg Harbor Cafe.  It was nice to all be together and the food was delicious as always.  My Mom and Ryan were even surprised with birthday pancakes, complete with trick candles.  Michaela loved that the candle flame came back on its own and that she got multiple chances to blow it out.  After brunch we enjoyed watching Michaela run in the hallway just outside the restaurant.  She would run from one end to the other giving high fives to family as she passed.  Occasionally she would stop, catch her breath, say "exercise" and then continue to run down the hallway again.  I just love that little girl!

Day 4 - front page

Day 4 - back page

Decorating

Saturday we made time to decorate the tree.  Michaela was very into the decorating process this year.  She mostly enjoyed taking the ornaments out of the boxes and "playing" with them.  In fact, Ryan may need to ask for some Super Glue for Christmas seeing as how more than a few ornaments ended up in two pieces.  When she actually decided to put the ornaments on the tree she did a much better job this year of getting the hooks on the branches rather than just lying them on the tree.  My Dad warned me this would happen, but we discovered first hand how a favorite few branches would don the majority of the ornaments and Michaela did not disappoint.  She didn't even mind if one ornament was in front of the other or if two shared the same branch.  It ended up being quite a look!

Tag for Day 3

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finished back page

Ryan's Birthday

Ryan's birthday provided too many good stories to tell, so I decided to include them all!  The first page for December 2nd includes two stories.  The first is about what Michaela wanted to get Ryan...candles. Considering Ryan doesn't do much with candles, I was not exactly sure why this had to be the gift, but when a two year old says she wants to get her daddy candles, then that is what you get (in addition to an ornament she picked out)! The second is about the date night Ryan and I were able to have thanks to Grandma and Papa Wilkinson!  

The second, or back page, includes two more stories.  When we got home from our date, Grandma gave us the run down of the evening.  Two things stood out from her report, Michaela using the "big girl potty" and the list of people (and animals) Michaela included in her prayers.  Grandma told us that just before bedtime Michaela announced she had to use the potty and sure enough, she did!  This marks the second time she has used the potty.  We sure hope this trend continues; we are so proud of her!  Ryan and I also enjoyed hearing how Michaela prayed for the whole family including the two dogs within our extended family.  She also made sure to include her good friend Audrey and her parents....too cute!

A closer look at the tag date marker on page one

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Michaela helping to blow out Ryan's cupcake

Birthday Prep

December always starts with a bang!  Ryan's birthday is on the 2nd and my Mom's is on the 4th, so preparing gifts and events definitely takes up some time.  Michaela and I spent the 1st preparing our gifts for Ryan, including making our own wrapping paper.  Michaela has been very interested in my art supplies lately and I though it might be fun for her to do a quick stamping project.  She definitely enjoyed picking out the stamps and the colors she wanted to use for each one.  

I decided to make homemade tags this year as the date markers for each day.  It took me a bit of time, but I think I enjoy making little accessories like that for my scrapbooks just as much as I enjoy adding the photos and stories!  I scanned in the page for December 1st, but the tag is not very clear.  I will try taking some photos of the other days to see if the details come out any better.    

Back to Blogging?

I was finally able to finish all the coursework and projects necessary to complete my graduate degree!  Now, that I have a bit more free time I thought I would pick up the Wilkinson 3 blog again!  And what better time to do it than just in time for the December Daily project?!  I look forward to documenting the holiday season again through this project.