With the holidays and all that has been going on I got a little off schedule, but that's ok as this post can include all of that in one go!
Santa outfit
My last day of work before the holidays was December 20th, so I made sure to cycle through all the Christmas outfits Della had before we were home for the holidays! She "made" us some cute little ornaments at daycare that promptly went on the tree when we got home.
They also gave Della a teddy bear for Christmas which was so sweet and unexpected! the bear is almost as big as she is! I love her daycare, the people are so sweet and I know they love her.
We spent the couple days off before Christmas finishing up last minute gifts and doing things around the house. I made a hand/footprint ornament for my parents from Della that turned out great! I got a kit from Hobby Lobby and managed to get her hand and foot in the mold without too much mess... I still need to make one for us and we can put it on the tree next year...
Hand/foot print ornament
Reindeer outfit
Della's Ornaments from daycare
Our Christmas Card
Santa PJs!
new stockings!
Della got a Teddy Bear for Christmas from daycare... so sweet!
couch time with daddy
Santa Hat for Della
Another crafty thing I did was crochet a Santa Hat for Della! I've been itching to crochet for so long, but haven't been able to due to working on my master's... but now that's done! So I made this Santa Sack Hat and I love how it turned out! I plan to make some more in other colors that she can wear any time of the year. This may turn into my go-to hat for gifts and whatnot... it's super simple to make and I love the little pom-poms!
Santa hat!
those blue eyes!
Santa Baby
getting last minute gifties
Our Christmas celebrations began on the 23rd with Dan and Carolyn. We headed down to their house to eat and open gifts, and Della was ready in her Christmas Jammies! Dan smoked a turkey and it was delicious! We had great food and fun gifts, we tend to like functional things and Dan and Carolyn gifted us a chest freezer that is going to be so handy! Our freezer in our fridge is getting pretty full of breastmilk... 230 ounces worth! I am able to freeze the 2-4 ounces a day that I produce over what she eats so it will be great to have our freezer back to use for food, and the milk will stay good longer in the chest style freezer too. Della got a high chair that can transition to a booster chair and then stool so that she can use it for a long time.
It was great to hang out and talk, I love that we get to spend quality time with both our families and don't have to rush around to a lot of different places during Christmas. It's so fun to see Dan and Carolyn with Della, and I'm glad they are close so that they get to be a part of her life and see her grow! And it's awesome that we are right next door so that when we went home it was a short 2 minute drive!
ready for Christmas at Dan's
On Christmas Eve we went to my parent's house and Kellie and Henry came after they finished their services at their church. We all spent the night so that we could all be together on Christmas morning! I took pictures of Della in front of their tree (which I have always called the Home & Garden tree because my mom always has it decorated so pretty and color coordinated!) Della liked the ornaments and can now sit up on her own some so I love the pictures I got! Bernie stayed too since Kellie and Henry boarded their dogs for the holidays while they are traveling. We just hung out and relaxed, ate a whole lot and enjoyed being together. When everyone went to bed Daniel and I got to be Santa for the first time! We got Della a bouncy activity seat and so we put it all together for Christmas morning. There were a lot of pieces... but at least they all just snap together. I'm sure there will be a lot more complicated things to put together in our future!
Checking out Nana's tree
Santa-ing!
partying hard on Christmas Eve
the one time I didn't fall asleep first...
Christmas morning Della and Bernie woke everyone up around 6:30 am... Della was hungry and Bernie needed to pee. So up we got and Daddy fixed omelets for everyone! This year's theme was "Crockpot Christmas" as most of the dishes we made were in crockpots! I made loaded mashed potatoes and cooked them all night then added in the fixins' that morning. So we all tended to our crockpots, ate breakfast and then opened gifts! Della cleaned up of course and got a baby doll, clothes and toys to help learn and walk and such. The boys got Henry rifles, really nice rifles that can be passed down. We took our time opening gifts as we didn't have anywhere to go for the first time ever! We just stayed home all day and watched football, ate and spent time together. It was wonderful! Della had a few outfit changes so that we could get in all the Christmas outfits and it was just a great day. We ended things by watching Christmas Vacation and no one fell asleep!! I think the key was to watch it during the daylight hours...
Della loved her bouncy seat, and my dad got a special cookie jar that is just like the one Mamaw Butler had. This cookie jar was always stocked with Star Crunch cookies that we could get any time we wanted! So Kellie found the cookie jar online and we both got cookies to keep it stocked. Daddy was surprised and it means a lot to carry on this tradition so that Della will be able to get cookies out of the dog when she comes to Nana and Papa's!
Christmas Morning breakfast
Seesters
Majestic Christmas Schnauzer
The boys shooting their guns!
Christmas Vacation!
Merry Christmas!
Since we have the bathroom cleaned out now (and almost finished!) Della got to take her first bath in the big tub! I think she liked it and it was easier than having to finagle her into the sink... I also put together her high chair and it's wonderful! She loves to sit in it and play, and we are introducing food the first of the year so it will come in very useful!
On Tuesday Della, Mama and I went to visit a new little one! My best friend Jenni had her little boy and we visited them and took them food and got to meet Owen! He is so precious and so tiny! He is 4 lbs 10 oz and Mama said it brought back memories because that's what me and Kellie both weighed when we were born. It was like holding a feather, but I know he will grow fast and be a big as his daddy some day! I was crazy to see him beside Della, and I look forward to seeing them grow up together!
I also had a petite four recipe that I wanted to try, so I made those and they turned out awesome! They don't look the best, but they taste wonderful! I figure though, that you could make any kind of cake and put that poured fondant icing on it and it would taste like a petit four... I made the cakes from scratch (the first time I've ever made a cake from scratch...) and it made SO MANY! I had a get-together with some friends and took them and we barely ate half the pan.. But they were fun to make and now I know how I can go about it next time.
For New Year's we stayed home since Nana was under the weather... We opted out of going to church also just because there have been so many people getting the flu! I didn't want to chance us or Della getting sick and it was just so cold! We watched some football and then The Office on Netflix. We made cheese dip and chicken taco soup, and it was an awesome night in! Della went to bed about 9:30 so we just sat on the couch and chilled and waited for midnight. We ended up not even watching the ball drop... I'm pretty sure I fell asleep before midnight and Daniel started watching Star Trek. We woke up about 1:30 on the couch and went to bed, but not before Della woke up to ring in the new year about 2:00 am!
bath in the big tub!
big girl in her high chair!
how Bernie rings in the new year...
Happy New Year!
And Happy 3rd Birthday to Bernie, our new year's puppy. Her birthday is on the 1st!
This year has been more than I could have imagined. With my pregnancy, welcoming Della in July, renovating our house, graduating with my masters degree and everything in between it's just been an awesome adventure! 2018 will be just as exciting while we watch Della grow and learn! I jotted down some goals for 2018 (we won't call them resolutions...) and I truly want to make some changes and help my little family to be the best it can be. I want to get healthy, finish the house, study the bible regularly, and have the dishes washed before bed each night 😂 among other things.
So here's to a new year and a fresh start! Whatever your goals are I pray you accomplish them no matter how big or small!
Because, really, I just don't want the dishes to pile up... 😉
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