Jim's off this week, so.....

... as usual, a week off with Daddy means lots of fun. This morning we went to the the mall to see the new Yogi Bear movie. It was only 80 minutes long so Helaina sat through the whole movie pretty well. I smuggled lots of snacks from home into the movie theater so she munched her way through the movie. It had lots of slapstick comedy and Helaina loves that, laughing & giggling out loud during much of the movie.

When Helaina was riding the carousel she saw a girl with a stuffed Clarice from Build A Bear. We've never taken Helaina into that store before and since she loves the Rudolf and Clarice Christmas cartoon, we thought it was time for the Build A Bear adventure. The adventure began when we found the store CRAMMED PACKED with the line to make your creation almost out the door. We waited and endured and 40 minutes later we checked out with an adorable girl reindeer and a very happy daughter. Pressing the foot pedal to stuff the fluff into Clarice's shell, then selecting Clarice's heart.

"Showering" her off in the tub and at home with her creation.

Sunday was spent at home trying on clothes, cutting off tags, recycling thousands of clothing and toy boxes, playing with new toys and trying to clear space in our family room to walk through it. Helaina loved all her gifts, including her musical ballerina jewelry box. I told her how I had one when I was a little girl and she liked that she now has one too.

The Barbie doll complete with swimming puppies and pool was also a big hit - and a big wet mess all over Helaina and the kitchen - oh well, we knew it would be.

Jim and I have already become good with the face painting kit. I did a star and heart balloons while Jim added Santa and Rudolf.

Helaina loves the 2 Leapfrog items we got her (I mean Santa got her). The Leapster 2 is perfect with the Nemo and I Spy game cartridges. She's already got it figured out pretty well. We also got an alphabet tracing gizmo to help her learn to write letters properly. She's played with both of them daily so far.

Silly girl with her new baby doll. "Baby in my belly" she says, and sticks it under her shirt!

Yesterday we spent part of the morning at the library borrowing enough books and movies for Helaina to get us through the new year. Tomorrow we're headed back to the library in the afternoon for a lego playtime for parents and kids. Jim and I also have a long list of things we'd like to get done around the house while he's off, consisting mostly of getting the finished part of our basement reorganized and functioning as a toy room/toy storage area and rearranging the furniture, but who knows if that will get done - most likely not. Oh well, a week off with Daddy is for fun - not furniture arrangement.

Funny Helaina:

The other night when we were putting Helaina to bed I reached across her to tuck her sheet in against the wall. My shoulder has been sore for some reason and while tucking I said out loud "Gee, my shoulder really hurts tonight." Helaina said to me "Well why don't you put the hot pad on it?" I laughed like crazy and said "Oh yah, you're right. I'll use the heating pad." You can tell that you are geriatric parents when your 4-year old knows what a heating pad is!

A few Christmas pics

Christmas Day was fun and exhausting. Helaina slept until 7am. Jim and I were happy with that. I kept Helaina upstairs with me while Jim went downstairs and opened blinds, plugged in tree lights and got the video camera ready. Helaina's initial reaction upon seeing everything was "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Then "How did Santa get that down the chimney?" So cute and believing. She loved her talking baby doll and all the accessories.

Then there were the Bendaroos that Helaina was obsessed with for the last 2 months - actually hugging the Bendaroo box.

Face paints - another big hit.

Opening the Beauty and the Beast Mrs. Potts talking tea set.

Hungry Hungry Hippos from cousin Beth at Aunt Barb's house - another game she REALLY wanted. As if the game weren't noisy enough, when she's playing Helaina SCREAMS at the top of her lungs "Hungry hungry hippos! Hungry hungry hippos!" as she's pounding the hippos to "eat" the marbles. She just loves that game.

With Anna.

Yah, we all slept well Christmas night. Good thing because now comes the hard part - organizing it all.

Twas the night before Christmas...

... Helaina's asleep and Santa's elves just finished at 10:30pm with the set-up for Christmas morning. Considering that Jim and I have both been VERY sick for the last 10 days with horrible colds, sore throats, congestion, bone-rattling coughs and ultimately a sinus infection for Jim, we didn't do so bad (Helaina must have one heck of an immune system because she remains healthy surrounded by our germs, coughing, sneezing and nose-blowing). Jim only had one more gift to put together tonight - a Barbie skateboard/scooter thing that we were initially going to save for Helaina's birthday in February. Jim read on the box that the weight limit was 60 pounds and since Helaina's pushing 50 pounds right now (and she's really tough on outdoor bikes, scooters and the like), we decided it should be a Christmas gift. "Some assembly required" - a Daddy's favorite thing to see on a toy box.

We got everything set up and I said to Jim "Holy cow, it's a pink and purple explosion."

Checking to see if the elves that filled Helaina's stocking tonight got up the chimney ok. Helaina was on the computer with Jim after dinner so I grabbed the stocking stuffers and filled her empty stocking. Then I opened the glass doors to the fireplace, pushed the screen aside, gave her stocking a good push so it was swinging and started ringing my sleigh bells. She came running into the family room with Jim when she heard the bells and started squealing when she saw the swinging stocking and the fireplace doors open. The elves had visited - a sure sign that Santa's on his way! Jim said to Helaina "Look! There's a small footprint in the ashes that one of the elves left!" Too funny.

Opening some of her stocking stuffers.

This morning we made reindeer cupcakes. Oh my gosh, I couldn't stop smiling after they were all done, they are so cute.

Admiring her work before she digs in.

Chocolate frosted cupcake with broken pretzel antlers, mini m&m eyes, flattened tootsie roll ears and mini nilla wafers with red m&m noses. Too cute, right?

The only thing Jim and I ever wanted for Christmas - absolutely love that adorable little face.

Tonight's conversation in Helaina's bedroom while tucking her in.

Helaina: I didn't get dirty coal in my stocking (said with a grin on her face).

Me: No you didn't. Must be Santa and the elves thought you've been a good girl.

Helaina: Daddy, you have the outside lights on?

Jim: Oh yes. The house is all lit up and the roof is ready for the landing.

Satisfied with that answer, she snuggled herself under her Dora comforter and went to bed with a smile on her face. Yup, Christmas with a child in the house who believes in Santa takes on a whole new meaning. I just hope she sleeps in a little bit tomorrow morning.

Busy ... and still sad ...

I'm way behind in getting ready for Christmas this year. I started out good but the unexpected death of my brother on the 9th stopped me in my tracks and brought out my inner Grinch. But, with a 4-year old in the house life marches on and Santa's coming in a few days - ready or not. We finally got the tree up, with Helaina's pink tree next to it decorated all by herself. She tends to "cluster" ornaments in one spot but when her tiny tree toppled over from being front-heavy, she rearranged her decorations a bit.

We also managed to get some lights up outside but not as many as in previous years. All of the shrubs we usually decorate with lights were completely buried under feet of snow.

Yah, this is one of the bushes we usually decorate - uh, nope, not this year. An insane amount of record-breaking snow has fallen in Syracuse this month. On the NBC national news last night Syracuse was mentioned as having 72 inches of snow so far this season. A few weeks ago there was a TV crew and reporter in town from Good Morning America doing a segment on the early snow. White Christmas? Oh yah. Too white for my liking.

Helaina tumbled off the front porch last week and had a heck of a time getting herself un-stuck from the snow. Did I help her out? No, I snapped pictures of her.

The gutters are full of snow and ice and the house has huge icicles dangerously hanging from it. I took the screen out in Helaina's bedroom window and knocked this big one off to give her. We came downstairs with it and Jim looked at me as if I was nuts: Are you really giving her a pointed ice sword to play with? No, just to hold and take a few licks of - then she smashed it in the sink.

My sister sent Helaina this gingerbread lighthouse from LLBean. Her and Josh have been anxious to take it apart but I told them we need to enjoy it for a while before demolishing it. Every day Helaina wakes up and asks me "We done 'joying it yet?" So funny.

I gave her the meat mallet the other night after dinner and let her start smashing the little house that we made a few weeks ago. Man, that royal icing hardens like cement. She really had to pound it hard to break some of it apart.

We drove through Lights on the Lake the other night. Helaina enjoys it every year, anxiously waiting to drive through the Wizard of Oz display.

Jim and I went to Helaina's class Christmas party yesterday at school and this morning we attended the Christmas "concert". Too darn adorable. She was so excited. As she entered the church with her class we could tell she was looking for us. After they all sat down she finally spotted us, jumped up with a huge smile on her face and started waving wildly "Hi Daddy! Hi Mommy!" I took pictures and Jim did the video that I hope to eventually post because Helaina was funny as heck singing, moving to the music, shaking her jingle bell and going through all the motions. In between my laughter I found myself tearing up while listening to her sing (now that's a big surprise). She just makes us so happy because she's so happy.

And yet another explanation of Heaven...

My Dad, my dog, my cat and now my brother. On December 9th my brother, Helaina's beloved Uncle David, passed away suddenly and completely unexpected. It's been one heck of a year for our family with my Dad passing away just nine months ago. The shock has worn off but the disbelief is still with us all. Last Friday morning I took a deep breath and explained to Helaina that unfortunately Uncle David went to join Poppa in Heaven. As tears started rolling down her cheeks she asked "Why Uncle David have to go to Heaven? I want him here. You go get him right now." Ugh. Too much death to explain to a 4-year old in such a short period of time.

My brother with Helaina on Easter 2008, 4 days after we arrived home from China.

At David's birthday party this past April.

David and Cathy from a few years ago.

I'll be glad to see 2010 end with a prayer for no more explanations of Heaven to Helaina any time soon. For now my family has to get through my sister's birthday, Christmas and New Year's with yet another family member not gathered around the table with us - easier said than done.

Is this February or the first week in December?

At least one member of this household is happy about the enormous amount of snow we have this early in the season. It's absolutely crazy. This picture was taken last night and tonight there is even more. It has been snowing since Saturday practically non-stop. Everything is completely buried. Forget about putting up tree lights outside - every bush is buried and you'd be standing in snow up to your thighs putting up the lights. Our school district had a 2-hour delay this morning which meant no school for Helaina. She was bummed - today was "purple" day and she had her outfit all picked out. Each month there is a designated color to be worn on a designated day - I told her she could wear purple on Thursday when she goes back to school, that is if the snow lets up.

Helaina wore her new Kai-lan shirt to school yesterday ...

... complete with a bug tattoo and red polka dots on her pink nail polish. Her choice. Classy, don't you think?

Helaina's weekend homework was to decorate her construction paper red circle any way she liked. The kids will then hang them on their tree at school. Helaina told me this was Mrs. Claus - guess the women at the North Pole need a beard to keep warm too.

Holiday crafts abound. We decorated our gingerbread house last week. One candy for the house, one for her mouth. One squeeze of royal icing for the house, one squeeze for her mouth. And that's how it went during the decorating process.