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.