Christmas

is OVER and I want some warm weather! It seems the cold is okay, as long as it has a purpose - like giving me  a white Christmas - but there is no purpose to it now that I can't afford to ski or drive into the mountains to snowshoe! I'd much rather have some nice warm sun to take D for walks or play at the park. It makes the days so much more interesting when its warm. 

Christmas Eve, nate and i ordered pizza (NICE!) and then went on a tour of broomfield Christmas lights. I got all of us some hot chocolate, including D!, and we oohed and ahed. Nate and I decided that since we did last year, we might as well make it a tradition to open gifts to each other on Christmas eve, so Christmas can be about the kiddos and what Santa brought them. I loved it - how fun! 

Christmas was great! It's so fun to be Santa and watch D open gifts and listen to the charming "ooooohs" that last all of 10 seconds before shes bored and moving on to the next one. I sure love being a mommy! Nate was surprised with a sirius radio for his long travels to work, but I was the most surprised of all. He received an unexpected bonus that he kept secret - and bought me a Wii Fit plus AND ... duh duh duh ... a kitchenaid! I'm so excited. Something to make me gain weight, and something to help take it off :) 

We spent Christmas morning together as a family - it was REALLY nice. We did our thing, then went to the Hall family for dinner and gifts. it was a delicious dinner of various fondues. We opened presents and came home, to pass out from exhaustion a mere half hour later. 

On Saturday we woke and drove up to Cheyenne WY to spend the weekend with my family. My parents bought us a fancy new printer AND ... duh duh duh ... an ice cream machine! FUN! I'm so excited! Momma also got all the girl some nice woolrich slippers- deliciously comfortable and warm. My papa got all of us, including D, a nalgene water bottle (sippy cup) - YES! Love those :) AND of course, McCalisters gift card. SIlly guy! It was fun- we hung out, ate some good chow and (they) watched Harry Potter. 

It was a really neat day weekend - busy, but super fun. I really miss having my family all together. 

Outrageous Love

Since before Thanksgiving Nate and I have been collecting donations of money or items for a family in need. Our church allows people to nominate families in need each year and other families can adopt them. Because Nate and I don't have the ability to fully adopt a family and give them a nice Christmas, we asked those around us ... families, friends and coworkers ... for help. What an amazing turnout! There was close to $500 in donations! Below is an email I sent to those who gave to this family ... I just wanted to share this story with you :)

When I was growing up, my parents always donated items for Toys for Tots, and brought delicious goodies to the military men and women who were on duty on Christmas/Christmas Eve. It was a very good lesson for all of us kids in the value of giving to those who are less fortunate than you. Though I love and strongly encourage people to give to Toys for Tots, and other like organizations, it was really humbling and beautiful to watch these folks open their gifts and to see the appreciation for each and every one. I will email the mom and ask her to send pictures, as I forgot my camera, but she took many! I will forward them on when I get them! 

When we arrived it was immediately obvious this family was very close and had a lot of love to share, but not a whole lot more. The little boy, Daxton, saw the gifts and went ballistic! It was great to watch his excitement. I packed the clothes, pjs and blanket he was given in one big diaper box, cuz I have a lot of those laying around... when he pulled out the blanket, he yelled "new carpet!" It was pretty hysterical. 

We shared cookies and hot chocolate as they opened gifts and shared stories. There was raw emotion about the father of the family who passed away the day before Thanksgiving. As gifts were opened, there were many warm smiles and hearts over puzzles, games, and books that were given. Then came the tears as they opened bags containing the essentials - hats, gloves, etc. Also in those bags were gifts cards to home depot and target. I cannot tell you how well spent your money will be. They showed us old outlets that were sparking and in very dangerous condition, and a door that could probably be knocked down with a single blow as it was like cardboard. This family had no room in their budget for the simple things - outlets, pajamas, gloves, hats, a Christmas dinner. Please know your gifts are very appreciated and will be handled with intention and care. 

I made homemade hot chocolate which seemed to be a nice treat for all of us. However, at the end of the visit, Daxton (5years old) yelled "the hot cocoa is nasty!" His poor parents were just mortified. It turns out he liked it BEFORE he dissolved his cookies into it, and just wanted a fresh glass:) 

On the border of sounding completely tacky, this evening was a gift and reminder for me to be thankful for the deadbolt on my door to keep the nasties away, and a carbon monoxide detector in our home. It turns out I knew the eldest of the ladies in the family as a door greeter in the Wal Mart by our house - we always smiled and exchanged greetings, but I just figured she was like my dad, who would enjoy a job like that in his retirement. It turns out she's barely hanging on, and clinging to memories of her son in law, and helping her daughter get through the loss of her beloved husband. Its amazing how much a sweet smile can hide! 

Thank you to all of you for selflessly contributing your hard earned money to provide Christmas for this family. They are working really hard to turn their situation around and be able to do this for another family someday! I hope you all have a wonderful CHristmas with your families ... blessings! 

Friends

CBC girls, this is for you :) 

Lately, I have been really missing my CBC girls - my old group of girlfriends from high school. Which is so weird to me, because I haven't seen hardly any of them for 9, almost 10 years. Occasionally I get to see one or two as they drive through or come to visit the other CBC girl who moved to Denver. But I never even see her! It's crazy! 

I've made many a friend in my short life - moving every so often, it kinda builds this ability to make friends easily. Or so I thought. That lasted until college. In high school, my girls automatically loved on me, accepted me for all the weirdness I was. I invaded their group of friends who had grown up together, and somehow I became one of theirs. Of the 9 (10?) of us, there was a WIDE range of personalities - from the Olympic athlete don't get in my way Erin, to the uber sweet and loving Lori to the go getter, hurt nobody Kira. Also included was the bright and vibrant Tess, and total California girl Liz, who now lives in Denver! Somehow ... somehow these personalities meshed into a senior year full of fun, laughter and a million memories that came to a screeching halt for me when they invaded my home the morning I left for college withloads of hugs and goodbyes. 

I went to college. The world was now tainted. With super hot boys, alcohol, and people who were no where close to my CBC girls. Other females lied and manipulated and stole boyfriends. In the adult world, those friends were friends who were only friends when they wanted something. Like teachers who didnt want to work, but rather wanted to mooch off the efforts of a dedicated and passionate colleague. 

And now. I'm a mommy. And I have met SO many wonderful mommy friends. But its so hard to keep my mouth shut and eyebrows unraised and face expressionless as they let their childs slap others or grab toys away without a single blink. I miss my deep, talk about anything friendships I had with my girls.

What's funny about that is that when I've seen Liz or Erin or Lori in the past few years - its obvious we have changed and grown into adults with our own personalities.  But that comfort level is still there. I still cant wait to see them when I go to San Diego (HOLLA!) for my reunion next summer. My skin itches to hug them and see how they've grown and the beautiful people who are now their family members or significant others. How I would love to have them out in Denver so we could go on CBC adventures in the Colorado wilderness together! 

My CBC girls - if you are reading ;) - I am not the best keep in toucher, but know I think about you tons and wish I could do cocktails and lunches with you. I'm so proud of the people you have turned into - you are the most loving, kind hearted people I know and I am so blessed to have been adopted by you 10 years ago. I love you dearly and can't wait to see you again! 

How could I forget?

I forgot Danika's favorite new word ... credit goes to Nate for teaching her this one while changing her diaper .... READY ... her favorite word is ... duh duh duh ... 

STINKYYYYYYYYYYYY!!! 

It's HALERIOUS! Yes I spelled that wrong on purpose. When she poos I ask her if she's stinky and she roams around the house, nose wrinkled, yelling "STINKY!" with a huge grin. HASTERICAL! It's going to embarrassing one of these days. As of right now she only does it at home when prompted. I dread the day when she says it about someone else. 

She also tried to say "moo!" "meow" and "ruff" today when learning animal sounds. The pride on her face reminds me of my own dad and brother and the look they get on their face when they say something they think is histerical. But it's not. It's really not. Except sometims it is. 

Now that Danika is walking everywhere, we've gotten quite a few laughs as she gives "the bonk" from a stand. She will stand at the end of the hall, dip her head forward and look up at you until you come bump foreheads with her. Again. HASTERICAL! What's funny is that now Nate and I do it to each other as an "I love you" - when Danika is 18 and we're still doing it she will be so embarrassed, yet it is all her fault :) 

Winter and Words

I'm sitting here on my couch ... we bought a fireplace soundtrack that plays a fireplace and/or piano or guitar Christmas carols. I put some cinnamon sticks, cloves, and dried apples to boil on the stove... mmmmm ... it feels like Christmas around here! BRRRRRR! Holy coldness! The last few days/nights the temps have been in the negative digits and it is just ridiculous! On Monday I watched a friend's little boy ALL day (12 hours!) and I must say ... it was fun, but I was going stir crazy as I refused to take 2 one year olds into -10 degree weather and wind. We played with a LOT of playdough...

My little Danika! She is in SUCH a fun stage! I'm having a blast, as always. She is walking, everywhere - which makes me sad because her little crawling bootie was just SO cute. It wiggled faster the faster she wanted to go! I look at her and see this big, big girl who can do so much now. And then I see her glee over feeding the dog, or watch her play in the bathtub and it reminds me I still have a little while before she really is too big. I know it'll go fast, though. 

When her buddy was over on Monday, they played chase around the kitchen island for EVER! It was so funny! And every time they caught each other it was like this huge surprise! I got a lot of laughs that day :) 

Danika is in the very beginning of the I'm going to copy everything you do stage. She pretend coughs, sneezes, burps, farts, laughs, etc. She even learned to shoosh me the other night! What?! I have a ten year old in the house now! She loves to play chase - and when she sees me getting close she wrinkles up her little nose and squeals and squeals. SO funny! 

SHe's talking up a storm, too. Her words now include : Juice, dog, momma, dada, baby, this, that, apple, shhh!, hi!, shoe and I think I'm forgetting a few. She blows kisses and gives regular kisses and runs over with her arms in the air and throws herself on you with all her might when you ask her for a hug or for some love. She is a snuggler, too! When she wakes up from a nap or in the morning, she loves to lay down on my chest and I rub/tickle her back for a good 10 minutes. It's my favorite time of the day :) Then she sits straight up and gives me a big, wrinkled nose smile ... holds for a minute, then falls back down on me ready for some more back tickles. Silly! 

What else is new... hmm ... Nate's job is keeping him busy busy! He calls it stress, I call it job security :) I'm working part time, now, too ... I work one shift a week at a gym daycare where I can bring Danika with me. I'm also working for a company contracted through CO Dept of Ed as an after school tutor which starts MONDAY! Yaya! ANd I'm so lucky to have friends that'll watch D so she's in a safe place with kiddos her age :) 

We're MOVING! Yes, again. We're moving into a very cute and quaint 3 bedroom house with a huge unfinished basement and gigantic backyard! I'm so excited to have some ROOM! We start moving in mid- January! 

I know I keep promising pictures - they'll be here soon :) 

Laughter

If you know me at all, you know that I am very conscientious about how I am perceived by others. I'm very aware of social etiquette, though it may not always seem that way :) Well, lately I've noticed that going out the window. I am having SO much fun with Danika. She's in such a crazy fun stage, though it also has it's pitfalls, too.

I find myself walking through Target grocery shopping and blowing raspberries or other ridiculous noises to keep her giggling. I will do just about anything to see that litte girl smile. Her beautiful, precious grin melts me. It reminds me to enjoy the simple things, such as chocolate, soda (toda! - NO I do not give it to her, I have no  idea how she knows that word), her daddy, and her dog. Her excitement over cheese, bananas and eggs is overwhelming! She almost jumps out of her highchair when she sees a scrambled egg coming her way - it's HI sterical! 

Yesterday was a blahish day for me - worries came at me left and right and I spent most of the morning away from her in a training. I felt like I had no QT with her, like she was neglected the whole day - and even fell asleep for the night before eating dinner or having a night time milk. I felt HORRIBLE! BUT TODAY! TODAY was fun! 

After breakfast we spent about 1/2 an hour chasing each other (more on that later). Then we went to playgroup where she played with her buddies and snuck a few treats from the other mommas. From there we came home and took a nap (well, she did ... i finally got to vacuum!)  and had lunch. As I made lunch she sat on the floor of the kitchen with a bowl of water and about 5 measuring cups. It was so fun to watch her fascination and her oohs and aahs. Silly :) 

THEN ... we made playdough :) It made me feel like I was 5 again. Her squeals of delight as the playdough squished through her fingers was priceless. It was utter and total joy for about 15 minutes. I hooked up the gates, closed all the doors and we, again, chased each other through our little apartment. 

I took her Christmas shopping for about an hour, then we had dinner AND ... chased each other some more! 

This girl is so fun! SHe makes me laugh so hard! She starts at one end of the room, gets my attention, then TAKES off running and hides behind the couch. Then she giggles hysterically, and peeks out from behind the couch to make sure i'm chasing her. When she sees me she collapses into a fit of laughter and squeals some more when I 'get' her. THen I get on all fours and scurry away and she comes running after me and throws her whole body on my back. This gets repeated about 25 times or until I'm exhausted. We both laugh so hard, it's ridunculous. 

These are the moments I'll remember :) I hope. 

It's amazing what I will do to hear her laugh, or for us to laugh together. It's so neat to feel our little bond get stronger and stronger. She is such a special, beautiful little girl sometimes it's hard to believe she's mine. What a gift I have!