Christmas Traditions

it's so different being married and having to combine traditions, but fun to start new ones. i don't feel like jeff and i really have that many traditions together because we've never had christmas alone at our home. this will be the first year without my nana's tamales. tough, but i'll survive. i also think more traditions are established once you have kids. am i right? and not kids like sofia's age...kids like elementary age. we can still wrap sofia's old toys and get away with it.

anyway, here are traditions i'd love to start. i thought i'd write them, so i'd have a place to refer to it when i actually start them.

*decorate tree on December 1st (i'm against doing christmas things in november)

*Jeff insists on putting up the lights the day after thanksgiving because he'll have the day off, but we WON'T turn them on until dec. 1st)

*make treats for neighbors and have the kids deliver (really so i don't have to be in the cold :)

*write letters to santa and send in the mail (maybe i'll mail them to my mom because she'd make it happen)

*find streets with the best lights and take a drive with the kiddos

*open one gift on christmas eve- (always new PJ’s- this is a tradition in my family)

*12 days of Christmas where you have 12 things written on a card and then every evening you pick the activity for the night (baking, craft, christmas story, letter to santa, make ginger bread houses, ice skating, christmas movie (must include elf, the grinch (Jim Carey one) home alone 1,2, and 3 (because jeff LOVES home alone), etc)

*donate to or serve a family in need

*leave cookies and milk out for santa and a carrot for the reindeer

*if we don’t have a fireplace or chimney make a Santa key to let Santa through the front door. Get an old fashion skeleton key, spray paint it gold, tie a ribbon around it, then put it on a wreath so Santa can come inside and bring gifts

*Christmas Eve: caroling to neighbors, sing christmas hymns and drink hot chocolate at home by the fire, write a letter to Jesus and receive the letter you wrote from the year before)

*Christmas morning- read the nativity chapters from the bible

Oh how i love me some christmas time. it's just a different feel in the air. 

pb

who doesn't like it? seriously. add it to apples. add it to bread. eat it by itself. i'm talking peanut butter here. sofia just started eating pb. i add it to her whole wheat waffle or make a pb and honey sandwich. the only problem is that she opens the sandwich, licks off the pb, then eats the bread (at least she eats the bread, right?).

what a dear.

sofia is kind of attached to me. i'm really trying to teach her to play independently. she doesn't freak out, crying, when i leave a room. she just follows me. which makes it really hard to do anything. ANYTHING.

yesterday morn i was having one of those mornings where i just needed 15 minutes to call my doc's office, go to the bathroom, and eat some breakfast. anyway, she was following me, but wouldn't stop whining. so before i lost my patience/mind, i stopped, bent down to her level, and talked to her in a "serious" voice: "sofia mae. i need you to stop whining, stop following me, and just give me 15 minutes to work on a few things." she looked at me seriously, hugged me, patted me on the back, then kept her head on my shoulder. so i took her to her crib (even though it was 2 hours before her nap). she played in her crib, quietly, for about 20 minutes.

what a dear.

love heather

i love heather. i love baby showers. i love throwing  heather a baby shower. it was so fun to plan this shower and see so many people that i love and miss. thanks to everyone who came. she is having a boy and her due date is christmas day. the theme was maps. enjoy some pics...

for my baby shower my mama made a banner, so i asked her to make one for heathers. loved it, my mom's so talented...(heather's last name is Bliss)

gotta love soup season. chicken tortilla soup...yum.

laura and i made a motorcycle diaper cake...we think it turned out pretty cute...(the tires look flat, that fat rhino)

this is the mama to be...

loved planning it. glad i didn't procrastinate anything, so it wasn't too stressful.

fall leaves

dad has been raking a ton. that darn gigantic tree in front of our house. sofia loves to wander around while dad rakes. i put a pink shirt underneath so people would know she's a she. 

go cougars.

My Man

it's 11:00 pm. one more hour to celebrate my hubby's birthdate. he's stuck doing homework, a huge assignment he just found out is due tomorrow. ouch. what would i do without this guy? boy am i glad his parents made him, and raised him to be the person he is.

my top ten fav things he does:

1. lets me sleep in EVERY morning while he gets up with sofia, feeds her and plays with her till i'm ready
2. checks that all the doors and windows are locked before we go to sleep
3. eats candy likes its going out of style, and doesn't gain any weight!
4. gets up early Sunday mornings for church meetings
5. sings and dances to high school musical with sofia (and sometimes without her)
6. thinks my skin is the softest in the world. sofia comes in at a close second.
7. really loves his major and is excited that's he's in graduate school
8. he is willing to work for his family
9. checks on sofia at night to make sure she's warm and alive
10. prays with me every night and thanks God for marrying me

i sure do love my man. happy birthday jeffrey paul crane.

Too Late for Halloween?

sorry sofia fans. i should've posted this up a week ago. or even 2 weeks ago. my bad. just enjoy her now.

we went to a halloween party and there was a newborn there who was a banana. too perfect to go with our little monkey...

i apologize for being busy and not updating my blog. shame on me.

Her Jam

this is sofia's new jam. she loves music, so she has a new jam everyday. i just caught her in the act of jamming out to this song.




i love this girl.

One year older...and wiser too

yep, you read right. sofia is a big girl now. a big 1 year old girl now. i know, i can't believe it either. i love her more now than i did a year ago, who knew that would be possible.

please don't laugh at my ghetto wrapping job.

i didn't want to do anything big, because 1. she won't remember 2. we don't have money and 3. i make fun of moms who go overboard for their kid's first b-day

she ate 2 whole cupcakes. and screamed for more...

this is tio eliot eating an entire cupcake in one bite.

yep, that's cake up her nose.

this is sofia's future man. i'm so glad the prete twins came to celebrate!

i know, i want his hair too.

so again, it was nothing big. but we wanted her to know we love her.

the best gift was from her grandma queen...my mama...




can we even compete with her?

dear sofia,
we love you so much. seriously, we are lucky to have you. although you throw really, really good tantrums now and you're not happy because you're getting your top teeth, we are still happy to have you in our family. you love music and bob your head to it when you hear anything. You clap every time people on the TV clap. you love being the center of attention, and you're really good at captivating/entertaining people. did i mention you L.O.V.E food. any kind. green beans especially. thanks for being our gem. we love you.