Christmas cookies

I had my niece and nephew for the day so we decided to make Christmas cookies for Santa Claus. Despite using a sugar cookie mix... this was still an overwhelming process. (By the way... please ignore the wrecked house in the background). Rolling, cutting, cooking, and frosting takes some time. But the end product was worth it.
Rowan even decided that he would ditch Brian and chopping wood to try his hand at some domesticity.
They enjoyed themselves and we were left with enough cookies for Santa, his reindeer, and his elves!
Later that evening we went and looked at Christmas lights and Xiana joined in the fashion.
The next day we went to playgroup and got to decorate more cookies. It was much easier this time as all I had to do was show up. Thanks ladies!!

The kids played and had a wonderful time. This was a fun potluck/Christmas playgroup.

Santa!!!

One morning as we were getting dressed for the day I told Xiana, "Let's go to the library and get some new books." She assured me that it sounded great.... right after Dora. I logged onto my facebook and saw that Kate had posted an invite to the very library we were heading to.... to meet Santa. I told Xiana that we should leave and she reiterated her "after Dora" plea. "Okay," I said, "but Santa's gonna be there." She whipped off the couch, grabbed her shoes, and was out the door in no time. It was pretty cute with a Christmas craft and story time.
Last year she was still afraid of Santa... this year she was brave (although on Christmas Eve she was pretty sure it was a much better idea if Santa left her gifts on the back porch rather than actually entering the house). She asked Santa for a dolly which was pretty funny since I have yet to hear the same request. When I asked her about it she made it clear that a Barbie was also a dolly so she had, in fact, asked for one.
Santa was very nice.
They started the adventure with story time and she loved the books. When Santa came in the room he quickly excited so that the kids could form a line to sit on his lap. It's a good thing the place isn't too big because Xiana lost me in 5 seconds flat. I think she was sixth in line which is no small feat when you're two feet tall. She was eager and fearless. I'm glad we found out about it because we missed our ward party this year leaving this one encounter her sole opportunity to tell Santa what she wanted.

Christmas dress

Xiana had something of a melt down when we went to pick out her Christmas dress. She was adamant that she wanted the purple one. I was pretty sure that I did not. We fought about it for a second and then she screamed until I dragged her out of the store. She continued to scream the entire way home. She's a handful, but this was a bit much and out of character. I didn't want to miss out on the sale so I called Brian and asked if he would return to the store to pick up the dress on the way home. I told him to pick the one he wanted since she was so set on her choice and I on mine (the pink one). He came home with this.... and she loved it.... and it was perfect. As soon as she woke from her nap that afternoon she assured me that she wanted the pink one. But again, this one was perfect. I'm happy Brian was able to make the selection and do such a great job at that.
She's growing so fast it's hard to keep up sometimes. I often find myself gazing at her wondering when this little woman replaced my baby girl. She's defiant and independent and hard headed and strong willed. She's everything I could ever hope for in a child, even if she's so like me it drives me batty at times.
This was our first Christmas in our new home, with our new family. It was perfect.

Snow day!

Brian came home from work one snow day, woke Xiana, and headed outside to play and scrape the walks. I couldn't resist joining in the fun and helped to make a snowman.
This was a four layered snowman and needed a little assistance in actually looking like a snowman instead of a er, um, nevermind.
The neighbor boys really like Brian and they came over to help too. Xiana jumped on the snow filled trampoline which looked pretty fun.
It was a little tricky jumping, but the snow was ripe for eating.
I went inside to warm up and make dinner and Brian proceeded to have a 3 hour snowball fight with the neighbor boys with Xiana egging him on....he really is a boy....

Christmas caroling

For our pre-school co-op we took the month of December off with the exception of making cards to pass out at the rest home. The kids sang Rudolph, Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and (Xiana sang Silent Night). They passed out cookies and I heard more than one person remark how refreshing it was to have children there as they were so scarce. I'd like to look into adopting a grandparent since Xiana is so social and energetic. It would be good for us all.
The kids were really cute and did an excellent job. It meant a lot and was important for them to get a small grasp of what Christmas is all about. When they're so young and just attempting to comprehend Christmas some service is a must. Xiana gets it more than last year, but she did ask, "Santa is Jesus right?" Clearly she's still a little unclear.
Here they are at our house practicing and eating candy canes. This is such a cute little group of girls!!

Enrichment

I'm in charge of enrichment in our ward and this year we had a Christmas dinner complete with real table decor and a brief program. Here's the table I decorated compliments of my mom and the dollar store... they all turned out beautifully!

Oh Christmas tree oh Christmas tree

My parents joined us this year in cutting down our very first Christmas tree. It's our family tradition and I have such fond memories of doing so. There was a lot of snow resulting in tons of stuck trucks, but due to our expert driver, we managed to make it home with 2 trees.
The snow was up to Xiana's waist so she pretty much got carried the whole time.
Even by those carrying saws like her uncle Garrett.
We didn't have to scout for long before Brian came across this tree. Many years it's been like the Griswald Christmas circling the entire forest only to return to the first tree spotted, but Brian was pretty good about finding one and my mom threatened my dad with bodily harm at selecting and cutting a tree.
Here we are with our tree. Perhaps due to all the firewood chopping this year, this tree seemed awfully small. Brian assured me it was big enough and he was right. He even had to trim it significantly to fit it in the living room.
My parents were getting rid of all their old decorations this year so we had something of an eclectic tree, but.... we didn't have to go out and buy a bunch of ornaments due to our lack. It's pretty pathetic that we are both in our 30's and don't own any Christmas decorations but.... I'm sure we'll make up for lost time. Thanks to a girl in our ward and my parents, I already had to take some decor to goodwill!
Brian put lights on the tree while I was at work and when I came home Xiana said, "come see what daddy did... it's gonna be beautiful!!!!!" And it was! Not bad for a first Christmas tree.

Winter wonderland

It's funny, it seems that if we have snow in Reno, there is none in Battle Mountain. However, if it's dry in Reno, there is an abundance of moisture out of town. This trip was just that way. We took Xiana with us and went duck hunting. I didn't get any.... I know, big surprise. Brian got one but it eluded him by landing way out in deep...cold...cold...cold... water.
The following day Ecko and Xiana were big Thanksgiving day helpers. I am a little concerned they were more effort than they were worth, but grandma was very kind to them and set them up with spray cheese and crackers to make turkey footprints. These little aprons were darling and they looked the part for some kitchen help.
Thanksgiving afternoon we went out for a snow adventure. The girls had a blast and the whole fam joined in.
Snow angels are a must. Xiana kept asking me, "are these pants water proof?" Once she was assured that they were she would plummet into the ground.
We went for a little walk along the frozen creek with a few casualties. Ella scraped her hand up pretty good and I would imagine they all had sore bums, but to this day Xiana talks with fondness of that time she went ice skating on the ice. Sometime soon we'll take her real ice skating.... I'm just not convinced that it's an appropriate pregnancy activity.
We walked up to a supposed falls.... it was winter...
And Brian thought it was important for the kids' survival skills to be able to cross the river. I thought it was madness to put 5 little kids on a snow covered log above a freezing body of water, but.... who cares what I think? And, in the boys' defense, there were no casualties.
It only took four adults to every one child.
Ekco was apprehensive about crossing and was leaning towards opting out and walking around. In the end she gathered courage and made it across with zero regrets.
The rest of the fam headed home, but we are gluttons for punishment and decided to stay out. Ekco and Xiana were the most concerned with finding some more frozen water to walk on which became our task at hand. Brian took them here and they got to walk across water that I would have never let them go on (it was slushy on top and I insisted that he go across it first). Again, he was right and there was nothing to fear. Apart from the slushy layer on top, it was a frozen mass.
It could even withstand the weight of the whole family.
Brian set up the camera and came charging across the ice.... he barely made it into the first shot. It was pretty comical.
It was a beautiful day.
The following afternoon was spent sledding. The kids had a good time, but 3 more inches of snow would have made it perfect.
Still, they managed to gain quite a bit of speed on the meager amount of ground covering.
And look darling doing it.
The two little ones dragging the sled up the hill was priceless. They were so determined and old.
Though I didn't get to make a run, Brian made his way down eventually.
This little one is Rowan and Ella's cousin.... she didn't make it far with Xiana on the back, but she sure tried. Plus, Xiana learned that it was much easier to be dragged than to walk and opted for that for the remainder of the day.
Doing what toddlers do best.... eating snow.
I pretty much sat on the bed of the truck the entire time. Though it's a bummer not to be able to sled this season, it's still amusing to watch the kids have so much fun.
When Tim showed up with his motorcycle Xiana wasn't letting him go anywhere without a ride insisting that it was her bike. She even told her cousins as much.
Ekco and Xiana made it upright the entire length of the run which was pretty impressive. Too bad it was at the end of the day making them both sufficiently angry that it was time to leave.
Brian shot a few coyotes this week....four maybe. Xiana was happy because she said she didn't want them to eat her. I will admit, it felt a little wrong to kill an animal and then just leave it. I'm used to Brian cleaning it, carrying it, and eating it. He made me feel a little better when he explained how overrun Nevada is with coyotes and how devastating they are to the area.
Our next trip to Battle Mountain entailed a light parade.... it was about 12 degrees outside and the girls were both so sick they didn't leave the house all day but.... the people on the floats throw candy so we trudged out in the freezing cold and let them gather candy and watch the lights. It's a neat tradition that this town does yearly. Brian kept Harlee warm.
And the girls ran to gather candy keeping them sufficiently warm.
I, on the other hand... froze in this winter wonderland.