Christmas 2010

We started Christmas Eve off with an early Christmas present... a pillow pet! Carlee had been wanting a lady bug pillow pet and would tell me so every time we saw them. And they're everywhere.

Love my brown eyed girl.

Then we headed to breakfast with Grandpa, G-pa, and Uncle. We had a nice breakfast/ visit and Carlee got spoiled as usual. She even conned Uncle Dien into buying her a $12 stuffed little kitty. After brunch it was home for a nap, since the festivities were to continue that evening. Apparently the excitement of the day was too much for Carlee to bear because her normal 2 hour nap was only 45 minutes and she jumped up asking "Are we going to see Austin now!?" I explained to her that it was still early and that Austin was still napping, maybe she could go back to sleep. That was a no go.

Before heading to my aunt's we made a stop at my best friend's mom's house. With my best friend in TX, I still wanted to say happy holidays to her family and drop off a little gift. During our visit, we had met some extended family members. My friend's mom had introduced Carlee to a great aunt. The great aunt in her Ukranian accent asked "Carlene?" No, Carlee. "Carlene?" No, CARLEE. "Oh, C-A-R-L-Y?" Friend's mom and I just nod and say yes. Carlee speaks up and says "No, C-A-R-L-E-E!" Can't blame the kid for wanting to correct her.

Finally we made it to my aunt's so Carlee could see her cousin.

 Austin is too cute. He would call Carlee "Charlie." I thought it was cute and funny, especially how he would say it. I never heard Carlee correct him that night but a few days later she told me, "Austin called me Charlie and I told him 'No way! It's Carlee!'" These kids crack me up.

 Being silly

What would Christmas Eve be without my mom doing a headstand...

Not that this happens every year. It was actually the first headstand on Christmas Eve I believe, but it was just too funny not to post.

After my aunt's I had taken Carlee to her dad's for the night. I was dreading this moment because it would be the first time that I wouldn't wake up with Carlee on Christmas morning. But its about her not me, so she spent the night with her dad. I headed to my mom's house for the night. My mom, my brother, and I stayed up late and watched Step Up 3. A pretty good way to wrap up Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning!

Starr waiting for the present opening madness to begin...

Carlee was a little overwhelmed but definitely excited.

She loved her vanity and didn't care about any of the other presents.

Santa had left one more in the garage. Santa missed the memo that stuff is supposed to be assembled with batteries charged.

And just like that it was over...

We hope everyone had a great holiday and has an even better new year!

Elf on the Shelf Revisited

When Carlee received her Elf on the Shelf, she would tell everyone about "Joshua" and where she had found him each morning. "He was in my stocking!... He was holding the remote!... Silly Joshua!" When she told Grandpa about her Elf, Grandpa told her about an Elf he had as a kid. The next day, Grandpa gave us "Charlie" to take home and keep at our house. I explained to Carlee that "Charlie" is a retired Elf and he will stay in our tree, while "Joshua" flies back to Santa each night. 

Carlee likes having Grandpa's Elf at our house. I think it's neat that Carlee now has something from her grandpa's childhood that we will take out each Christmas and will be a part of her childhood. Charlie is estimated to be about 44 years old! Hopefully he can last another 44+ years!

Annual Santa Picture

I had mentioned before how Carlee was scared of Santa. She wanted nothing to do with him. Last week she said she would see Santa only if Uncle Dien sat on Santa's lap first. But when it came time to visit Santa she said no way. Fast forward to Sunday and we were at the mall doing some Christmas shopping with Grandma. Before we were about to leave the mall, Carlee said she wanted to see Santa. "I only want to drive by, not sit on his lap." So we walked over and peeked down from the 2nd level. We watched a few families take their pictures with Santa. We also saw a line of dogs and their owners to have their turn with Santa. Carlee wanted a closer look, so we headed downstairs. That's when she said she'd take a picture with mommy and Grandma next to Santa. She was still very hesitant and clung to me with a death grip, but we managed to get her smiling next to Santa.

Grandma made me crop her out of the picture.

She didn't say anything to him but she did accept a lollipop from the guy. And that was our experience with Santa this year. Maybe next year won't be so impromptu.

New Christmas Tradition?

This year the popular thing for kids is the Elf on the Shelf (it was popular last year but we gave in this year). Here is the excerpt from the website explaining this Elf:

The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition is an activity the entire family will enjoy. Based on the tradition Carol Aebersold began with her family in the 1970s, this cleverly rhymed children's book explains that Santa knows who is naughty and/or nice because he sends a scout elf to every home. During the holiday season, the elf watches children by day and reports to Santa each night. When children awake, the elf has returned from the North Pole and can be found hiding in a different location. This activity allows The Elf on the Shelf to become a delightful hide-and-seek game.

I picked Carlee up after work and told her I had received a special package for her. She opened it and we read the book together. I tried to explain the Elf and was hoping she'd partake in this activity. I was skeptical because she wants nothing to do with Santa. When I tell her that Santa brings her presents she says "I don't want any presents!" When we were hanging up our stockings and I was telling her Santa puts stuff in her stocking she said "What? He comes IN my house?" This kid is afraid of Santa and could care less if he brought her any presents. So would she care about an elf that was supposed to report back to Santa if she was naughty or nice? It was worth a try. 

Once we got the Elf out of the package and read the book, it was time to name him. She wanted to name him Carlee or Uncle Dien. I told her he needed his own name. She said Joshua. (Joshua is a friend at school but its also the name of our Elf now.)

We put Joshua on the table and left him there for the evening. I had made a comment to her asking if she wanted her elf to tell Santa she's been bad. She replied, "No, I want YOU to tell Santa I've been bad." Ok, that didn't go as planned. We went about our evening and right before bed, Carlee said to Joshua "Good night Joshua! I've been a good girl." Maybe this will work. 

Then in the morning we woke up and Carlee found him in the tree...

Carlee was asking about him flying back to see Santa while she was sleeping. Maybe she will finally buy into the whole Santa bit. I'm still working on a mall Santa pic.

Giving Back

I have always wanted to "give back". Volunteer, donate, do something. But I have never followed through. This year it was really weighing on me. I've had my share of struggles as a single mother but those are nothing compared to what some people have to endure. I'm pretty fortunate for what I have, so giving back in any way possible was important to me. When I had the opportunity to work a food drive, I jumped on the chance. Giving up two hours of my time is the least I can do. So last night I headed down to Ralph's grocery store to help out.

 Ralph's, KTLA, Second Harvest Food Bank, and others teamed up to put on this food drive. I didn't know what I was going to be doing. When I arrived the previous shift volunteer informed me I would be standing in front of the store handing out the flyers and asking the customers entering the store to participate in the food drive. Oh man, I thought I am the wrong person for this. I'm not the pushy, salesperson type although I know it was for a good cause. But I sucked it up and did it anyway. I had people blow me off or avoid me like the plague when they say me with flyers in hand. But there were those that donated... eager to do it, did it with no complaints, and donated generously too and that it made it all worth it. 

One little old lady told me "Bless you for what you do." I felt so guilty because she didn't know I was only volunteering for 2 hours. But it did make me want to be more involved and donate more of my time. Overall, it was an experience and I'm glad to have been a part of it. (A small part, but a part).

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We also had the opportunity to sponsor a child through Carlee's preschool. The children you could sponsor live in Mexico and are in need of clothes, shoes, diapers, etc. We had picked up our sponsor's information card and went shopping for Nancy, a 1 year old little girl.

I explained to Carlee that we were buying a present for Nancy so she has something nice to open on Christmas and how we have to wrap it and take it to school so it can get to her. Now she talks about her present for her friend "Antsy" at school.

Buying an outfit, shoes, and diapers weren't much to me, but I'm hoping it will mean a lot to those parents and to Nancy.

Thanksgiving at School

Carlee had her Thanksgiving Feast at school yesterday. I'm glad the changed it from a Friday to Wednesday because she seemed to be coming down with a cold and probably won't make it to school tomorrow. I'm glad she was able to participate in her school festivities that they work so hard on. Monday they had made cornbread for the feast. Along with their Indian head dresses, candles, placemats. These kids are busy. 

Carlee was so excited to be a little "Indian" girl. (I know that's not the correct term so Indian/ Native American/ American Indian...whatever the non-offensive term is). When her class came out to their table, she was a little overwhelmed. She was looking around at all the paparazzi parents taking pictures and all the kids from the other classes.

 Her class...

 I love this picture of her teacher with her students. You can see the joy she gets from the kids. I have to give her praise because I don't know how she does it everyday with ten 3 year olds.

Hmmm...what to eat?

A cookie and chocolate covered marshmallow it is. (They were cute little pilgrim hats)

Yep, I made the right choice.

Maybe some cornbread??

 All of the classes and the onlooking parents. It was a nice little feast.

Carlee still munching on her cookie. If you ask Carlee what she's thankful for, I'm sure she'd say "chocolate."

I'm thankful for my daughter's preschool and being able to experience everything with her.

Because I don't say it enough

All over the internet (Facebook, blogs, etc) I'm seeing people express what they're thankful for. In the spirit of the season I would like to participate. To me, this goes without saying however I should probably tell her more often how much I do appreciate her. I'm thankful for my mom. 

I'm thankful for the person she is and everything she does.

I'm thankful for her relationship with my daughter.

I'm thankful for our friendship.

I'm thankful for the woman I am because of my mom. 

THANK YOU, MOM. I LOVE YOU.

We've regressed

For Carlee's birthday I wanted to get her a new doll. All her dolls or babies have ended up at different houses and we didn't seem to have any at home. But she loves taking care of her babies, rocking them, feeding them, changing their diaper, and even putting them in time out when they've been bad. So her her birthday I bought her this...

Image from Target.com

Yes, that is a Baby Alive. If you press her bracelet she coos and kicks her feet. It's actually quite cute. She comes with food but I just thought Carlee could pretend feed her like she did with all of her other babies. But I was wrong. This is Baby Alive who really eats, pees, and poops. So we had to make the food so Carlee could feed her and give her a bottle. 

A minute after a "feeding" it's time to change the diaper. Carlee didn't want to do it because she could see the near-blowout through the diaper. So I change the diaper and when Carlee sees it she says "That's disgusting!" That's when I explained that I had to change her dirty diapers for over 2 years!

Yesterday I found myself making my shopping list and saying to myself "Oh we need baby food and diapers." How ridiculous is that! I haven't purchased diapers in over 9 months and now I'm buying them for a damn doll. I think we may give cloth diapering a shot because those little toy diapers aren't cheap!

Countdown to Christmas...

52 days, 14 hours, and 4 minutes until Christmas!

You can find the clock here in case you need a reminder.

Just yesterday, the day after Halloween that I noticed the Christmas commercials. I guess its not too early to promote Christmas since it is just next month. If they can promote Halloween in August, they can surely promote Christmas in November. 

I guess I bought into the hype because I am already looking forward to Christmas time. I know a lot of people have already started shopping and a few have even finished, but I have a rule that I don't think about Christmas until after the little one's birthday. So now I'm ready to make a list of people to shop for and a list of items to bake! I can't wait to bake a few of my favorite things. (Now if only I wouldn't eat them)

Poor Thanksgiving seems to get the short end of the stick.

In honor of Thanksgiving, I will mention one thing I'm thankful for and this shouldn't be a surprise but I'm thankful for my little peanut, Carlee.

I can't imagine a life without her. She gives me purpose and keeps me on my toes. I'm definitely thankful for this little girl.

Some preschool fun

 When Carlee started preschool, I think I was more excited than she was. Not that I was in a hurry for her to grow up, but I was excited for all the festivities that came along with school. For example, school programs! I couldn't wait for my little baby to get on stage and sing. Her school had their Harvest program where each class was a different vegetable or a farmer or turkeys. It was the cutest thing to see all the kids dressed up. Carlee and her classmates were carrots. Cute carrots at that.

 For a couple weeks prior to the program Carlee would sing her "crunch crunchy carrot" song sung to the tune of Frere Jacques. I'd even find myself singing it when she wasn't around. It was quite catchy. She would practice in front of the mirror and belt out "We are carrots! We are carrots! Look at us! Look at us!..." Hand gestures and all.

 Once she got on stage, it was a different story. She barely sang and barely moved her hands. She did a little better the second time through the song, but I was still proud of her.

I still thought she was adorable as a carrot too!

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Today Carlee was able to celebrate her birthday at school. Her teacher made her a special crown and she gets to be the line leader. (Apparently that's a big deal to 3 year olds)

 We made these cupcakes for her class. When we were walking to her classroom, she tells me "Thanks for making those cupcakes!" It was so sweet. Maybe my 2 year old who would throw a pretty good tantrum was replaced with a 3 year old sweet little girl.

That's it for the birthday celebrations (this year)! But as far as the preschool festivities, we're going to be busy with the holidays around the corner!

Dora plus Chuck E Cheese equal...

...one happy birthday girl!

(Well she liked the place, not so much the big giant mouse)

A few days prior to Carlee's 3rd birthday party, we had decided to move the party to Chuck E Cheese because we weren't sure what the weather was going to be like. I was bummed because we had planned to have a little Dora party at the house with a jumper. But if it was to rain, it wouldn't be much of a party so I went ahead and booked Chuck E Cheese.

The morning of the party was beautiful and sunny, but it had rained the night before so I was still happy we made the decision to have the party inside. And after having a party at Chuck E Cheese, I would definitely do it again. We had a great experience. I just kept envisioning a bunch of screaming kids running around. But we were fortunate to be the only party at that time slot, so we had the whole room to ourselves. There weren't many other people at Chuck E Cheese during that time either. We also had a "party hostess" that did everything for us and was on top of everything. She really made an effort to make sure we didn't have to do much.

Carlee was kind of overwhelmed by the day. She was bouncing off the walls the morning before her party, so by the time we got to Chuck E Cheese she was a little tired. Then throw in the bright lights, giant animals singing on stage, a ton of games and she's not sure what to make of it. But overall she had fun and definitely like the part of eating cupcakes and opening presents.

Still stuck with the Dora theme...

I think this face explains it all.

Cupcakes that Grandma made.

Goody bags.

I had glued the little faces on to resemble Dora's backpack. I thought they looked kind of ghetto but when Carlee saw it she said "Backpack!" So I guess they serve their purpose.

Another tired/ overwhelmed expression.

Chuck E.

Blowing out her candles (sorry its out of focus).

Definitely enjoyed licking the frosting!

The only picture I got of her opening her gifts. Its hard to take pictures and help her read the cards and stop the kids from digging into every present.

The nice thing about the party was that it was over in 2 hours which I felt was just the right amount of time. We also didn't have to clean up a thing! That was probably the highlight of the day. We just got to leave and go home to nap.

Hope you had a great 3rd birthday, Carlee!