Christmas Catch-Up

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas this year, celebrating once again with family back in Kansas! It was Elizabeth's third Christmas, and Liam's first! Here are some highlights of a very memorable, cherished, and blessed holiday season! I hope yours was just as wonderful as ours!

 

Let me start with our presents this year. As you can see, beneath our Christmas tree you'll find two of the greatest Christmas gifts I've ever received! And aren't they ADORABLE! I adore the these photos of my children. They really are SO sweet together! Elizabeth is such a great big sister... she is very gentle (most of the time) to brother and loves to tell him things, play with him, and 'mother' him! And he, in turn, just adores her. He lights up when he sees her and often squeals at her silly antics! Seriously, they are the BEST presents anyone could place beneath the Christmas tree! I love them SO much and am SO blessed and thankful to God for such amazing children in my life!

 

To celebrate Christmas this year with my two adorable Christmas elves, we decided we would have our own little Christmas at our place before our trip back to Kansas. It just didn't make sense to pack/ship presents to Kansas for our children, and then have to turn around and pack/ship them back home. And we knew we wouldn't have ANY time to shop once there. Mommy and Santa must think a lot alike because he also came and paid our family a visit a little early. He even left a note explaining that he knew we'd be away in Kansas on Christmas day, so he decided to leave most of the presents a little early! So it worked out perfectly! Thanks, Santa!

The night before our own little Christmas, we made cookies for Santa, and rocked out to John Denver and the Muppet's Christmas CD! The songs on the CD are very special to me---when I was a little girl, my dad bought the record for me and my brother. Getting to listen to the record was very special and magical and wonderful, and was something I've always cherished, and that I wanted to pass on. Elizabeth had NO clue who the Muppets were, but enjoyed the music nonetheless! A few weeks prior, our church had gone Christmas caroling, and Elizabeth picked up quite a few of the classic carols... singing a medley of Joy to the World, Away in a Manger, and We Wish you a Merry Christmas all over the house, in the car, and often at the top of her lungs in the middle of the grocery store! LOL! Anyway, after finishing our cookies, and listening to our Muppets CD, I helped Elizabeth set out the goodies for Santa... along with a glass of milk and a celery stick for Rudolph (we were out of carrots).

That same night we received a telephone call from none other than Santa himself, which we put on speaker phone, and Elizabeth was excited (albiet slightly confused) about. Then, right before bed, we decided to go peek out the back door to see if we could see or hear Santa... (something I used to do as a little girl on Christmas Eve at Grandpa H's house). When we went on the backporch, we suddenly heard jingle bells!!! "Ching-ching-ching-ching-ching!" Elizabeth's face lit up, she scruntched up her body, jumped up and down, ran into the house, and screamed "SANTA'S COMING!!!!" It was "THE" best! I simply adore my baby girl! And getting to pass on my favorite traditions with her fills my heart with such joy! And I can't wait until Liam is older and can partake in the traditions along side his silly, sweet Sissy! I can just imagine them in years to come... :)

Anyway, that night we also hung our stockings at long last! For those of you who don't know, I've been debating which stocking to buy Elizabeth for the past three Christmases! Yes, over two years!!! Mainly, because I wanted her stocking to match her siblings' stocking, so I decided to wait for fear that the line/style might become discontinued. Another reason I've put it off is the fact that I have MAJOR indecisiveness when it comes to purchases that you must live with for the rest of your life! Finally, I just caved and bought some Pottery Barn Kids stockings... they aren't "perfect" or exactly what I wanted, but they are pretty close. Liam's is a gingerbread boy... which is reminiscent of my brother's stocking (handmade by grandma Lois) with gingerbread boys. Elizabeth's is a ballerina in a red and white polka-dot dress... my stocking was red and white, so I thought it was sort of fitting, plus I thought it just seemed like her because she is always dancing, singing, and moving! Anyway... I totally OVERTHOUGHT stockings, so I was very happy to have FINALLY chosen something! Elizabeth was also pretty happy about her stocking, but a little bit confused at first. When I told her we needed to get the stockings because Santa would be coming tonight; she actually tried putting it on--lol!

 The next morning it was SO much fun to come down and see what Santa had brought. We first checked out his plate and saw he ate all of his cookies and milk and that Rudolph had eaten the celery stick! And that Santa had left a note to Elizabeth and Liam! Very exciting! Next, we opened stockings and checked out the toys Santa brought. The biggest hit ended up being this Disney Princess dress up kit. Elizabeth has been getting into dress up in the church nursery, and Santa must have known it was the perfect gift this year! She LOVED it! She loved it so much that she immediately unzipped her jammies and started putting on outfits! It was so cute! And if I do say so myself... isn't she the cutest Snow White you ever did see?!?!

Liam's big ticket item was a little Leap Frog talking table, which plays all sorts of songs and teaching colors, shapes, etc. Something tells me he will have to learn to share from a very early age---his big sissy seemed to like the gift as well--lol!  Mommy and daddy decided not to "do" gifts this year for each other. Neither of us really need anything; and having spent a lot this year on tickets to Kansas, along with a million gifts for everyone on our list, we just decided to forgo the gifts for each other. We know we love each other, and gifts/material items have never been that important to us. Although, I must say, despite the no-gifts rule this year, daddy did end up with a few things from Santa! ;) OH, and daddy hung up my Christmas wreaths, which was my gift (see previous post)!

 

Before heading to Kansas, we also lit luminaries in our neighborhood. The photo above is a little dark, so in case you can't tell, it is a photo of luminaries lining the street. When I heard about the "Light a Luminary" fundraiser to support the Ronald McDonald House, I knew it would be an amazing tradition to start in our neighborhood... not to mention, VERY pretty! So I sent an email out to the neighbors, took orders, organized kits into grocery bags, and hand delivered the luminary kits to the neighborhood. Elizabeth and Liam actually helped me with that last part by towing the kits around in our little red wagon. Anyway, we  In total, we ordered 38 kits, which includes 304 luminaries, raising $228 for the RMH! I realize that isn't a lot of money... but it's a start! And hopefully next year we will have even more neighbors participate and get a tradition going in the neighborhood! And what a neat tradition to pass on to my kiddos! The one thing I learned from this, however, is to set up the luminaries EARLY that day! Surprisngly, they take a LOT of time to set up. And several people had "donated" kits for other neighbors, which I agreed to set up for them. Sadly, I ran out of time; so I have kits saved for next year. I'm thinking of enlisting volunteers (perhaps a boy(girl)scout troop who needs community/volunteer work for a badge) to help set them all up and light them for next year!

 

The luminaries were SO pretty! The same night we lit the luminaries, we had neighbors over for

cookies and cocoa to celebrate! It was a nice, little get-together--so nice to get some of the neighbors together for some fellowship and fun! About an hour before the neighborhood social, we also had company over for a little pot-luck--Vassil's work buddies, several of whom were friends from California/Stanford. Due to schedule conflicts, it was the only day they could all come over--so that made for a very hectic day of cleaning, cooking, set up things for the first party, cleaning again, lighting luminaries, setting up for the second party, and lots of laughter and fun in between! It was exhausting but a good time! We really need to do that more! It's hard with kids, but I SO love having people over... especially on the holidays!

 

After our parties w/friends and our own little family Christmas celebration, it was then time to pack up and fly to Kansas to visit family! Unfortunately, the day before I became VERY ill with a stomach virus and feared we wouldn't be able to go at all... I was VERY sick! Thankfully, that morning I was feeling somewhat better, so decided to go for it! Still, it wasn't easy. Liam was actually pretty good! I remember Elizabeth at this age was also an easy flyer... content to sit in my lap or sleep in my arms! At, two years old, however, things are a little different. Fortunately, our two flights were very smooth, no delays, and all went as expected traveling with a two year old, a 6 month old, and a flu virus!

 

It was then time to meet the GRANDMAS! Here's Liam w/Great-Grandma Lois! Check out that smile!!!

 

Another big grin for another grandma! Hard to believe Nana was worried he wouldn't come to her! He LOVED her, and really didn't much mind being passed around from grandma to grandma, and from one relative to another!

 

Here's another favorite series of pictures, which I like to call "Monkey See, Monkey Do!" Oh my silly, sweet Elizabeth!

 

In case you can't tell... she's sucking her thumb just like brother! Fortunately, she only does it to be silly, and hasn't picked up the bad habit... yet! 

 

And here's yet another grandma... Granny Charolyn!

 

They were playing binoculars!

 

And here's cousin Basil playing binoculars as well! We had such a fun time... Elizabeth and Basil were two peas in a pod! Both full of energy! Hard to believe he is four going on five!!! It seems like just yesterday that he was a tiny baby... I remember one Christmas watching Granny Charolyn feed him his "juggo-juice" (a combo of rice cereal and formula) and rocking him to sleep! You wouldn't believe how big he is now!

 

And can't leave off Great Grandma Bea! Again, check out that smile! Grandma Bea is recovering from back surgery and is on orders not to lift anything heavier than 10 pounds.... but there was no stopping this grandma from holding her 17 lb grandson!!!

 

This picture (above) truly speaks for itself! Am I a bad mom if I find this picture hilarious?! I must say, despite this picture, Elizabeth did a pretty good job with our trip overall. She was obviously VERY overwhelmed being around SO MANY family members all at once. Often, if a new person would come up and greet her, she'd hide her face in her hands, or collapse on the floor in sobs. I think people thought she was "shy" which is SO far from the truth. Generally, she's a very social, extroverted little girl. But having so many new people come up to her was a little overwhelming... especialy considering how boring and void of family/people our life is back home! Of course, it wouldn't take long at all for her to warm up to everyone and to show her true outgoing, silly, sweet self!  Overall, I was proud of her behavior, and was SO HAPPY that she got to bond (albeit for a very short time period) with all her family back in Kansas!

Liam also did great, as was expected! He slept great, he did well with all the family, and was just an overall excellent baby! And here's my Christmas boy in his Christmas jammies.... SO CUDDLY! Right before we left, he learned how to patty-cake... and was busy smiling and patty-caking the whole time!

Here's Elizabeth's festive Christmas dress! Seriously, how cute are those pigtails and that smile?!

In case you are wondering, Elizabeth banged up her face by falling on Nana's brick fireplace. It scraped it up pretty bad... right in time for our family portraits and lots of holiday shots! Lol! Fortunately, I don't think it bothered her much at all!

During the entire trip, Elizabeth melted my heart on several occasions. For starters, was the fact that she kept calling me "mama" the entire time with a bit of a southern accent. Usually she calls me mommy or mom. So it was such a sweet surprise to be called Mama... there was something so precious about the way she would say it! She also melted my heart one morning... Liam was getting a little bit of tummy time on a blanket on the floor, and she went up to him in such a loving way and said, "Liam, Jesus lives in your heart. Jesus lives in your heart, Liam." It was simply TOO precious for words! She is such a sweet girl and already has a passion for God! Vassil says she will be an evangelist one day!

  

Elizabeth also cracked me up with her latest skill... sounded out letters. She will often (mid-sentence) stop to sound out the first letter of any given word. She might say something like, "Where's the Buh-Buh Ball! Ball starts with "B!" Or you might just hear her going "Qua-Qua-Qua-Quail. Qua-Qua-Qua-Queen!" Etc. It is pretty stinkin cute, and further proof of what a little smartie pants I have on my hands!

Pictured above are cousins Emma and Grayson! The Oliver side celebrated Christmas a few days early at mom's house! I think there were probably 30+ people all crammed into one space--it was total chaos, but the good kind of chaos for sure! The kiddos had a BLAST running and screaming all over the house! Not only does my sweet Elizabeth have a scrapped up cheeck... but check out the run in her panty hose (above)! Seriously, she had a LOT of fun, and has the battle wounds to prove it!

Elizabeth and Emma definitely clicked. Before Emma could even walk through the door way, Elizabeth was jumping up and down, squealing in happiness, and took her by the hand and led her inside where the two of them proceeded to run and play and giggle non-stop the entire evening! She's even since named one of her dolls Emma! They had a GREAT time!

We decided to try a few new traditions this year as a way to "tone down" the craziness of all the piles and piles of presents, and to put the focus back on the true meaning of Christmas--the birth of our savior! Here's Grandpa Clay reading the nativity story from the family Bible. Hopefully in years to come the kiddos will be a little more cooperative for this part. Sadly, our 10 year tradition of going to our family's candle-light service was changed this year to more of a birthday-party for Jesus. We didn't end up getting to go because we had two separate celebrations one after another, but I was really disappointed that they did away with the candlelight service... it was ALWAYS my favorite part of Christmas, and especially neat to take communion as individual families! My vote is to bring it back! Of course, perhaps the birthday-party would be a little more kid-friendly! I'm not sure if we will be back next Christmas, but if we are, I hope we can give it a try!

Aunt Terri also came up with a fun game where everyone brought a guy gift or girl gift, and then filled out a questionaire w/Christmas-related questions. We then read the questions and had to guess who it was. The person who had the most correct guesses got to chose a present first. It was a lot of fun, and we got to learn some neat (and hilarious) things about each other! Next year we are thinking it might be fun to do an ugly-sweater themed party, or a PJ party! OH, and grandma Peggy, Katrina, Mom, and Maddie have agreed to a roadtrip to our house this summer... I'm TOTALLY holding them to it!!! ;)

I treated my mom and sister to a pedicure... a first for both of them! They loved it! And so did I... it was only my second ever pedicure myself! We've decided this might have to become a tradition!

 

Soooooooooo, when we talked to our grandma Lois about trying to "tone down" Christmas this year... she decided that she wanted to take everyone to a portrait studio to have a big family portrait done and have a buffet dinner afterward, and that would be our "only" gift (hahah--yeah right! as you may have guessed, she wasn't able to follow through on that promise). Anyway, she wanted everyone to wear white and dark pants, (hence the photo of the girls in the shot above). Coordinating white shirts sounded like such a great idea at the time--but being mom of two little ones, I should have known better! Let's see, where do I begin? When we arrived at the portrait studio (like ALL portrait studios of this caliber) it was packed, and even though we arrived on time, we had to wait a million years for people ahead of us before it was our turn. My two kiddos were already a little fussy, but getting fussier by the minute, making me more and more stressed out. Finally, when it was our turn, the photographer said it was their "policy" to do individual families FIRST before doing the big family shot. This made ZERO sense to me. The kiddos are fussing, Liam is bound to spit up on his white shirt, Elizabeth is destined to a huge tantrum the longer we wait, and who knows what else could go wrong... it makes the most sense to take the BIG family shot first, then do individual family shots. Nope. That's not their policy. Grrrrrrr! So we complied with their "policy." Can you guess what happened?

Half way into the shoot Liam starts grunting, his face turning bright red. He's pooping. Great. Suddenly, though, I realize Liam didn't just poop... he POOPED. And not just any messy diaper, but a total blow out! I'm trying not to worry too much. He's wearing black pants... let's just hurry up and get the family shot over with!!! Around that time, we move into the second room to set up for the big family shot. The lady has set up the backdrop and is positioning the family. Meanwhile, I'm holding Liam (messy diaper and all) and trying my best not to lean him up against my white shirt. Elizabeth is running a muck, and I'm doing my best to also control her. Anyway, we are about 2 seconds away from having EVERYONE positioned. This was the ONE reason we'd come... the big group shot. The photographer goes to move the last person in place, and what does Liam do? He spits up on his WHITE shirt. And not just any spit up... but bright, orange spitup thanks to his pureed sweet potatoes for lunch that day! Ahhhhhh! And it was his ONLY white shirt. What were we going to do? I was so flustered! Why hadn't we just taken the big shot first! Everyone suggested just turning his shirt backwards... but I knew with a leaky diaper and feared it was up his back (typical of a total blow out w/Liam) and that switching his onesie would therefore be impossible. Needless to say, I was STRESSED! Thankfully, we were able to switch it and his diaper wasn't nearly as leaky as I had feared. Still, that is one experience I definitely do NOT want to repeat ANY time soon! The picture turned out okay, and it WAS a WONDERFUL "idea" that grandma and grandpa came up with! And I'm sure down the line I will come to laugh at the story and the stress of that day! But for now, I'm still exhausted from our harrowing portrait adventure---phew! Getting portraits done are always the most stressful things for me as a parent! In fact, I'm pretty sure if Dante were alive today, the tenth level of hell would be a portrait studio!!! LOL!

 

After our "harrowing" portrait experience, Elizabeth fell asleep in the car on the ten minute ride to dinner. A parent of a two year old knows this is NEARLY as bad as getting portraits done! At least, waking up after a 10 minute cat nap is NEVER a pleasant experience in our household. So while we all tried our best to enjoy a nice, buffet dinner, Elizabeth was a very unhappy camper. Finally, after about 30 minutes of whining, crying, pouting, and two trips to the bathroom to cool off... she finally spotted cousin Layla and was instantly in a better mood! She went right up to her and started kissing her! It was very sweet!

 

Christmas morning we celebrated with my mom and immediate family. Santa kept his word and filled stockings at Nana's house, which we opened, then opened more gifts. As you can see (above) Elizabeth had quite the pile. She is totally spoiled; although, I must admit, she received so many wonderful things (clothes, toys, etc) that will be of great use throughout the year!

 

Here's my brother Matt, sister Maddie, and mom... Nana!

 

So, Santa filled up Elizabeth stocking at Nana's house with all kinds of goodies. Guess what she liked the best... this snowman lollipop--lol!

 

Liam was also spoiled with another stocking from Santa and lots of presents! We were able to pack almost everything into our extra suitcase, but we'll have to get two big toy-items (courtesy of uncle Matt) when we do our roadtrip this summer!

 

As you can see, Liam also enjoyed spending lots of quality time in the arms of Uncle Matt and lots of other relatives. Thumb in mouth... of course!

We had a bad snow storm come through while we were there. Wichita didn't get as much as other parts of the state, so it wasn't too bad. Still, there were a few days that were BITTER cold, snowy, icy, and windy! We were worried it would delay our flight home... but Kansas is used to this stuff and prepared!
Liam's first snow was actually back home... we got a light dusting right before we left for our trip. But still, it was neat that his first Christmas was a white one.

The night Vassil and I were scheduled to go on our ONE date of the year (yes, I know that's so sad, but it's the only time we have family to watch our kiddos) the snow storm came through. We decided we didn't want to go out because we weren't sure how bad it was going to get. So instead, we decided to just watch a movie in the basement, while Nana watched our kids. Later she told us that while we were in the basement, Elizabeth asked where mommy and daddy were. She explained that we were in the basement watching a movie. To which, Elizabeth replied, "Why? Are they kissing?" LOL! We all had a good laugh over that one--where does she get this stuff?!

 

On Christmas day we enjoyed a wonderful meal at grandma's house... and opened presents! Here's Layla and Liam getting some great-grandma and great-grandpa time!

 

Layla is a DOLL! And look at Liam... thumb in mouth, as per usual! Elizabeth had a blast with all the family... playing shy at first, but quickly warming up to everyone! She LOVED uncle Ricky reading her stories, and enjoyed playing with Jade quite a bit! At one point, she couldn't find the kids, and with palms in the air, and with a serious and concerned voice, asked, "Where are all the children?" Later, one of our relatives was asking her who all the people were in the portrait we'd taken. When they pointed to Jade, she replied, "That's Jade. She's my best friend." Later, when Jade was picking her up, I asked her to be careful, and Elizabeth added, with finger pointing, "Be careful. I'm a big girl now!" Best of all, though, was playing with Aunt Maddie, whom she continues to ask for! Maddie was very good with her the whole time and a HUGE help!

  

As long as he's held, Liam is a pretty happy boy! No stranger anxiety yet! If we decide to come to Kansas next year, I wonder what he'll be like with all the family?!

 

Anyway, after a VERY LONG six days in Kansas, we were ALL exhausted. Not to mention the fact that on Christmas (our last day) Vassil came down with the same flu virus I had right before our trip! So it was DEFINITELY time to be heading home!

 

Both flights went very smoothly, and we were so surprised by a random act of kindness at our layover--a couple seated near us in a restaurant paid our entire bill!!! When I told a friend of mine, her response was that they must have seen what a cute family we were. Ha! I think the truth was they saw how exhausted we looked and took pity!

Anyway, the three of us slept on both flights... and have been catching up on naps ever since!

All in all we had a wonderful, memorable, Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone.... May all your dreams come true this year and always!
~Love~
Vassil, Jennifer, Elizabeth, and Liam