Countdown to Christmas

I have decided to share a list of our holiday traditions:

1. Elf on the Shelf (new this year) Jake the Neverland Elf joined our family yesterday. Named after a show she watched for the first time yesterday. I'm sure at some point I said I would never get an elf because they are so creepy-never say never. I thought Vivienne could use some behavior encouragement this year so I snagged an elf off Buy Sell Trade. My intention is to use Jake to inspire Christmas spirit and good behavior. She is probably too young to fully understand, but it should be fun and maybe a practice year for mom and dad.

2. 24 days of Christmas books. As a former teacher I have over 25 Christmas books so last year I started the tradition of wrapping 24 of them so Viv can open one per day until Christmas. She loves the opening part and I like that she has to wait and learn patience and can't just open all of them on the first day. She already has her favorite books, so the reading part isn't going so well this year! I think it is something I will continue, if only to use up last year's wrapping paper. :)

3. Tree Lighting at the Mallway. One of the reasons we moved to UA was for a sense of community and the events here don't disappoint for young kids! Last year we walked a few blocks in the rain to the tree lighting at the mallway because I insisted this was going to be our new family tradition! Although we skipped Santa, the sleigh ride, and the actual lighting of the tree, Viv did get to meet Sven and some of his friends! This year I have high hopes for getting a peak at Santa and at least riding in the sleigh. 

4. Zoo lights. I'm pretty sure this is on everyone's list in Columbus! I'm not sure when, but eventually we will get to the zoo lights. We technically saw them a few weeks ago on Sunday morning, but Viv needs to experience them at night!

5. A Cushing Christmas Party. A night out for mom and dad! My cousin Liz is hosting her second annual holiday party and it is getting a fancy cocktail twist this year!

6. Lebanon Carriage Parade.  The Carriage parade and dinner at my friends house has been a tradition for years ( way before kids) and was so much more fun the last two years with Vivienne! We are not able to go this year since it is in Cincinnati and we have two events in town on the same day. We will go next year no matter what and may have to make it an every other year tradition from now on. 

I'm sure there are little things I have forgotten and I know we will continue to add to this list every year. For now I need to wrap gifts, continue shopping, and pack for Florida! 

Christmas card outtake. I need to get these in the mail! 

You know it's a Monday when....

You know it's a Monday when your toddler wakes up sick and your baby doesn't nap until 12:30pm. It took me 3 1/2 hours and lots of bribing to convince Viv to come to Target and buy cold medicine with me. She had to pack her Hello Kitty purse with her princess clip dolls inside and I had to make sure she peed before we left which involved more bribery. She has been known to pee in the toy aisle at Target. We had a list of what we needed and mostly stuck to it. I had promised her play doh if she got in the car, so we walked through the toy section to find it. Ever since Target did that gender neutral bull shit, I can't find anything in the toy department. My ultimate goal was to get Neve to sleep and that didn't happen. At home, we made "Anna/Elsa soup" and found that Campbell's makes an organic version which would please my mother in law ;) Neve ate more than Viv! She LOVES to feed herself and was so happy to be picking up tiny noodles and carrots! I was able to convince both girls to take naps and they are even overlapping a bit (hurray for me)! Now for some me time, the mess in the other room can wait.

Happy Thanksgiving!

WHAT?? Mimi and Papa are coming home today???

Someone told me I should start a blog...

Someone recently told me I should start a blog. Sadly I started this when Viv was first born and I couldn't even get my family to read it! With no followers, I lost interest and also got super busy with Viv and just couldn't find the time anymore. I figured there was no harm in starting again, especially now with two kids!

Vivienne will be 2 1/2 at the end the month and Genevieve will be 8 months tomorrow! Life with two girls has been a lot of fun, a lot of hard work, and still no sleep!

We spend our days playing, spilling, dumping, and cleaning. Our favorite activities are walking to the (three) playgrounds in our neighborhood, library story time, and soon swimming lessons! Vivienne goes to "school" on Thursday mornings and that gives Neve some quality, quiet time with mommy and allows Viv to play with other kids her age and listen to someone other than her parents for a change.

Typical Monday morning