Monday, December 21, 2009

Happy 4th Birthday Ian

The first day of Winter is also known in the Wilson's House as Ian's birthday. It seems so strange to me that my little boy is four years old today. I remember after having Emma everyone would ask me if time was flying and it never seemed to be. Then Ian came along and time has just flown by. It really does feel like yesterday that I had just come out of the OR and was trying to feed Ian.



Now that same little baby is upstairs yelling and jumping and playing with his sister and Uncle KJ.



So Happy 4th Birthday Ian!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

To the Bat Cave Robin

This past Sunday was Ian's birthday party. With his b-day being the 21st I always have the party earlier in the month. Having the new house we decided to just have his party here which Ian was fine with because he got some special games to play.

We started off with lunch of Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, and Mac & Cheese a menu made just for little ones. The only thing I didn't get that Ian asked for was doughnuts but I figured the cake would take care of that.

After lunch Ian had to open all his presents which was ok with me because I knew we were going to need the bat from the t-ball set we got him for later.



While Dave, Uncle Nick, and our friend Joe worked on putting all the toys together the rest of us played Pin the Tail on the Donkey and Ian won. His tail actually touched the bulls eye, I couldn't believe it! Next up we played a few rounds of Hot Potato using a foam Bat Signal that I made.

After that it was time for some good cake.





Finally we spent 20 minutes letting the kids whack a pinata before Dave finally helped Ian break it open.



After all the guest left Ian told me it was the best birthday ever so I think he had a good time.

Monday, December 7, 2009

The Nutcracker Tradition

The first Christmas Dave and I were together his boss at the time Kelly bought us a nutcracker.



He has gone up every year since and I have always loved him. Last year both the kids took a special liking to him. Ian was completely amazed by him and wanted to move his mouth all the time. A few days after Christmas we were all at Target and they had a bunch of nutcrackers clearance so Dave and I decided we were going to start a tradition and get a new nutcracker every year starting right then. We let the kids pick which one we got and here is what they picked.



This year a few weeks before we moved Dave and I were at Kohls and they were starting to put up their Christmas decoration. I hate that they have Christmas stuff up before Halloween now but for some reason I just had to walk through it all to see what was there. I turned one of corners in the back and ran straight into their nutcrackers. I instantly saw a Scottish Bagpiper and I just new that was the one for this year. It just so happen it was on sale for under $10.00 and since we were going to get one at some point we went ahead and got him because he was just perfect.



I had already packed all of my decorations so I just left my Scotsmen in the bag and then brought that bag along with some other small things we had bought for the house over the first night we owned the house. He has been sitting on our mantel ever since, even before the holidays. My MIL saw him the first weekend we were here and we talked about how we had decided to start collecting them. Thanksgiving weekend when she brought the kids home she also brought two round and fat baby nutcrackers to add to our collection.



So we are now up to 5 and I already know that I want a tall one that can sit beside the fireplace for next year and I'm hoping for a traditional one.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

The Perfect Christmas

This afternoon we had our November bookclucb meeting. Yes I know it's December but November always seems to get pushed to the first weekend in December because of Thanksgiving, plus we don't have a meeting in December so it doesn't hurt anything.

Anyway, November was my month because I switched with Jen, there was just no way I was going to be able to host Octobers with the move. Since I knew we would be having the meeting today I decided on a Christmas themed book I just didn't know which book at first. I thought it was going to be super easy to pick a book but it ended up being harder than I thought. In the end I went with Debbie Macombers The Perfect Christmas.

There really isn't much to say about the book. It was cute, fun, and predictable but it left you with an overall happy feeling which a Christmas story should. Actually if you have been watching Lifetime, Hallmark, or ABC family then you know the type of story it is. In the book the main character is given 3 Christmas related tasks to complete to get what she wants. One of those tasks is to host the perfect Christmas Dinner for friends and family. Now she made the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, and three different pies. As I was reading this I was feeling a little sad because there was no way I was going to make a full Christmas meal for the meeting but I always try really hard to pull my menu from the book whether it be food they eat in the book or food that matches the theme of the book. This would have been so easy to do but in the end I decided to go with a smaller version of what my family eats on Christmas day. We had veggies and dip, cheese, summer sausage, and apples slices for appetizers. For the main meal I served
Ham, Cheesy potatoes, corn, and dinner rolls. To finish the meal I served a warm Dutch Apple pie.

Of course with it actually being Christmas my house was already decorated to go with the theme of the book and this gave me another chance to use my Christmas china which I usually only get to use once a year. I hadn't yet decorated my table for Christmas so I took this chance to make my centerpiece and set the table. It turned out better than I thought so of course I have to share a few pictures of it.





It ended up being a very nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The food was great and it's always nice to have some girl time without kids running around interrupting you every two seconds. The best part though for me was finally getting to show the new house to some of my friends.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Christmas Cheer

One of the many Christmas traditions in the Wilson's house is putting the decorations up. Every year since Dave and I have lived together I have put the Christmas decorations up the weekend after Thanksgiving and this year was no different.

We went to my MIL's for Thanksgiving this year and the kids stayed with her for the rest of the weekend manly because both Dave and I had to work the day after and our sitter doesn't. Thankfully Sharon didn't have to work either so she was able to watch the kids. When Dave and I got home that evening we started by getting the tree out. I put the tree together and got all the lights on it but I never put any ornaments on without the kids. Next I moved onto the other decorations which was harder than normal this year. Being in the new house I had to figure out where to put things. It is so nice to have the fireplace and mantel for the stockings and some of our nutcrackers but Even with those up there I could tell something was missing. I also new we were going to need something for the banister.

Friday evening after Dave got home from work we headed out to Target and we picked up some lighted garland for the banister and some regular garland for the mantel. Yes we also picked up a few other things because they were having some great sales.

Saturday afternoon my mom and I did some major shopping and I am almost done with the kids and half way done with the family. Part of that shopping included a trip to JoAnn Fabrics where I bought ribbon for my mom to make her awesome bows to add to the garland and some outdoor ribbon to make bows for my wreaths.

Sunday when the kids got home we all added the ornaments to the tree to complete it and I hung the garland. We were almost done but I was still missing the bows which they really needed.

Well finally this evening my mom came over and she made all 10 bows for me and one for Emma to play with. I must say I am seriously loving my house all decorated for Christmas. Once it was all done I dressed the kids in their Christmas outfits and took their pictures. Some of them are being used in this years Christmas cards but I wont tell you which ones since some of you will be receiving one. So finally here are some pics of my new house and our first Christmas in it.