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So This is Christmas
12.26.09 | Permalink | | Comments Off on So This is Christmas
Here is the tree on Christmas Eve, before Santa arrived. The top is decorated almost completely, in fact a little too much for my taste, but the bottom has been plucked nearly bare as Jude takes one ornament off, and hangs it elsewhere or the it is re-hung higher by a taller person who would like the ornament to see 2010.
Before the babies woke up, I snuck out to take a picture of Santa’s table, laden with gifts for the Littlejohns nine and under (the cat is nine). Embarrassing, Santa’s generosity, when it finally makes it out of the bags and into the living room…
Jude loves his tools and sports sets. He happened to get two golf sets and two tool sets. Rest assured, they will all be used. In fact, he spent the morning trying to fix up some molding he had torn off earlier in the week with his new tools!
Gigi had a rather grown up stocking this year, filled with make-up, jewelery and card games. We went from teethers to big girl stuff in no time flat! Are we already there?
Jude riding the new trike that Santa brought. It has buttons that make noise. Lots and lots of noise.
Santa even managed to bring a little something for the pets – squeaky toys and yummy treats!
A favorite of Jude’s: an electric Wall-E toothbrush! He has discovered that it is not only useful for cleaning one’s teeth, but also bunkbeds, floor, walls, and doorknobs. It is definitely NOT for hair or genitals. That makes you cry.
Gigi has enough Littlest Pet Shop merchandise to stock her own store now. She is so happy with the many inhabitants of her Pet Shop Village!
After this, we were off to Pipi and GSB’s (Grandma Sheri Baby) where many blankets and more toys were received, then to the Hansen house where much fun was had with cousins, brothers, sisters-in-law, parents, grandparents and even more gifts were given! We are so fortunate to have so many people to celebrate with. A lovely Christmas!
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December House Update
12.25.09 | Permalink | | Comments Off on December House Update
The siding is nearly complete and the focus has turned to the insides of the house. The past few weeks have brought the HVAC guy who installed the pipes and vents that will move the air to cool and heat our home. He brought:
The fireplace
The Furnace
And lots of venting and pipes that go here and there. Bradley has been installing the wiring in our house. First he installed the electric panel:
Now he has moved onto plumbing while he waits for the electricity to be hooked up and soon, oh so very soon, we will have walls and floors. It is so near to when we will be moving in and I will have my husband back… Can’t wait!
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Favorite Ornaments and Family Stockings
12.24.09 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Favorite Ornaments and Family StockingsWhen Bradley and I were first together we had nary an ornament for our tree. We made a concerted effort to purchase ‘meaningful’ ornaments, and as time has progressed, we have inherited and purchased more ornaments now that what seems reasonable to hang. For every ornament, there is also a story. For a while, we went through a bird phase.  We had nests, birdhouses and birds all over our tree. Then it was a rustic phase, all of our ornaments were rusty and dull and the only lights were flicker flames. Now we are in our kid phase, toys, ballerinas, princesses, colorful lights and handmade ornaments adorn our tree.
Both of our moms have done a good job of handing on those ornaments that we held dear as children.
For me, there was one of the garish ornaments that my mom spent hours pinning, sequining and adding gems. When I was little, there were no lovelier or fancier ornaments on our tree than those. There was a pink and fuchsia ornament that held my attention more than any, but when the time came to inherit the ornaments, I was lucky enough to get the red and green ornament.
The other set that I just loved was the Wizard of Oz complete set of Dorothy, the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion. As a little girls, I always wanted to hang them in a row on top of the gold garland, like the yellow brick road, that hung on our tree every year.
Each year we purchase a new ornament for our kids, that way when the time comes to start their own trees in their own homes they will have some meaningful ornaments with stories and histories already that they can hang on their own trees. When the time comes to empty the tree each year, we are sure to put their ornaments in their boxes. The little bristly squirrel was the first ornament we bought to hearken the arrival of Jude. When Jude was in my belly, we called him a squirrel in a cage. Wiggly, twisting and turning, he was never placid or still. When he came out, he was still the same squirelly boy who was always on the move. This little ornament seemed to capture the personality of our boy.
When Gigi was born, I finally committed to a stocking style once and for all. I spent the month after her birth making her stocking, and on Christmas day hers was the only one complete. I cut four stockings out of the fabric with the hope that one day we would round our family out to four. This year, Jude will finally have his stocking as I finished in two weeks ago. It seems silly, but while the fabric waited in my closet for a second baby to come, I kept thinking, “I just have to get pregnant again! We have the materials for the stocking!” I feel such a deep sense of satisfaction in seeing all of them complete, not just because they’re finished, but also because of the symbolism of our family behind them. We, The Littlejohn family, are complete now too.
We wish you peace and love this season and always,
Tamara, Bradley, Gigi & Jude
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Cookie Decorating 2009
12.23.09 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Cookie Decorating 2009
Every year a few days before Christmas we make a pilgrimage out to my parent’s house to make Santa’s cookies, the cookies we leave out for Santa as he makes his way around the globe. It has been interesting as the tradition has grown from one tiny little niece who decorated cookies all by herself as we watched to a ten year old, seven year old, six year old and almost one year old who make the event feel more like a three ring circus than it used to. Always fun, always exciting, here is cookie decorating 2009!
Gigi and Jude used brother and sister teamwork to roll out the cookie dough.
Gigi gets some help from Mimi.
Decorating Fun! You have no idea what a hurricane Jude created during this! He would aggressively grab a cookie then a baggie of frosting. Then he would squeeze the baggie as hard as possible, totally disregarding where the frosting was pointed. He had frosting shooting everywhere! Then, before we had a chance to catch up, he would grab the sprinkles and dump as many as possible onto the cookie, and what didn’t make the cookie got snatched off the table and thrown by the handful into his mouth. Fun for Boy, exhausting for Mama!!!
One of Jude’s masterpieces. You can see the massive amount of random frosting and piles of sprinkles! Santa will love it!
Luke, focused on the task at hand. Decorating cookies is serious business!
Gigi’s favorite, an angel. We have a huge pile of cookies now as we couldn’t leave any that Gigi decorated behind. They are all so special! Sure hope Santa’s hungry when he gets here!
