Tis the season to be jolly; decorate the house; bake cookies; and generally soak in all the fleeting fun of Christmas with tiny tots in the house. A few weeks ago GG and I did just that, spending the afternoon listening to Christmas music and baking cookies. She knows a lot of the tunes, and when 'Feliz Navidad' came on she chimed right in. Except her version was 'Elise Mommy Ha', which just slayed me. What a good start to the holiday season.
Every weekend in December has been jam packed with things to do, places to go, and people to see. The first weekend in December we set out to get our Christmas tree. It was a little odd choosing just the right tree in 60 degree weather but we found the one and hauled him home.
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| how bout this one? it's just my size |
Decorating a tree with a little one is always a special adventure, so we decided to split it into two nights: one of just getting it in place and lit, and the second for ornaments. Matt and I positioned ourselves on either side of the tree to start the light rotation, when we heard GG holler, "Mooooooom! He's on the table!". What?
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| and who is the mother of the year taking pictures while the one year old attempts such feats? |
We spent the next 45 minutes trying to speed-light the tree while also intercepting Boo Boo from climbing the table, eating the lights, or swinging the fireplace poker (seriously, why the poker? Couldn't he have chosen the broom or the little shovel?). Night two I stayed on Lukie defense while Matt and GG decorated the tree. And they did a truly superb job.
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| dangit lukas! |
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| someone fancies herself the star of the show |
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| yes! we can either wreck these or electrocute ourselves. either way, awesome! |
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| twinkly baby |
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| if there is a lap available, lukie will plant himself in it these days |
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| trying on the stockings is becoming a tradition |
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| fa ra ra ra ra, why didn't i wear make uuuuuuuuuuup? |
The next weekend we had a mini getaway with the Bansemars to the Kalahari in the Dells. Mel found a great deal so we did a Sun/Mon stay and let the kids run themselves ragged. On our drive there, winter decided to show up. It was sleeting, icing, and I was glad to let Matt drive while I sat wide-eyed and tight-lipped trying not to audibly gasp. Of course we made it just fine and it was nice to spend time in the water and imagine that the sun coming through came with 80 degree weather instead of 30. Genevieve grows increasingly more confident in her activities as time goes on, which for this momma is a total relief. Luke spent a few minutes in some of the little baby swings but had the most fun playing the turtle xylophones. A lifeguard told us there were two slides which we could take him down, so we did. A good time was not had by all.
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| ding dong |
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| well, two happy sliders out of three ain't bad |
We had adjoining rooms so the girls camped out watching a movie while I tried to get Luke down that night. God help me if that boy doesn't despise sleeping anywhere but his own bed. OY. He finally went down but I knew it would be short-lived. Sure enough in the wee hours I ended up dragging him in to bed with me and kicking Matt out to go sleep with GG. Naturally I was the first one up in the morning while everyone else remained dead to the world.
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| rosy cheekers |
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| these two had zero reaction to the flash which went off to take this pic. ps - notice the gg to daddy bed radio |
Back to the slides we went after breakfast
and tried to squeeze every last ounce of energy out of those kiddies.
The benefit to traveling in a pack is, of course, having multiple
parents on hand. So even Matt and I got to do a couple slides
ourselves. We enjoyed a VERY quiet ride home and were happy to be back
in our own beds that night.
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| lazy river |
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| slidin' fools! |
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| i told her to pose and this is what i got |
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| ahh, much happier without the life jacket |
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| waiting for the big finish |
The next weekend was probably the busiest of G's little four-year-old
life. We had ballet at 9, followed by a local Brunch with Santa from
10-12. The Brunch was really fun. All the kids got their turn with the
big guy, everyone stuffed themselves with French toast, bacon, eggs,
and sausage, and a magician did a show for about 45 minutes as well.
Luke spent most of his time wandering the back staircase but there was
the most priceless moment seating him on Santa's lap.
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| two peas in a sweater pod |
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| reviewing the list |
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| charmer! |
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| YES, the time honored screaming baby picture. classique. |
After the brunch GG had a birthday party, and after THAT she went with
Grandma and Grandpa to a pool party at Karl's cousin's apartment
complex. Once they brought her home and both kids were out, Matt and I
headed out to do our own little Claus-ing. Nothing says holidays more
than the sheer madness of Toys R Us at 10:30 on a Saturday night.
Seriously, I freaking
hate that store (and its cousin, BabiesRUs,
for that matter). The aisles are way too small, there is too much crap
strewn everywhere, it attracts more white trash than state fair, and
the whole scene makes me feel all claustrophobic and panic-y. I get hives just driving toward it. But it had to be done, and there was much success, so I suppose all's well that ends well.
The last weekend before Christmas was finally upon us. On Thursday
of that week Wisconsin got slammed by our first big snow storm of the
season. But EG and other areas closer to the lake were spared - our
driveway was barely covered. No biggie, right? But on Friday morning I
got a call at 7:15 from daycare that they had no power and would not be
open. Say whaaaaaaa? We were almost literally walking out the door to
head to school. What to do? I had no choice but to take my brood to
work. What a gong show. I stopped at the gas station on the way there
to load myself up on coffee and get the kids muffins and juice. A lady
sporting a neon work jacket and big work boots was ahead of us in line.
When I went to pay for our stuff, the cashier told me that she had paid
for my stuff. I decided that was my cue to shut the hell up about
having to take my kids to work and be grateful that I work in the kind
of place where I even had that as an option. I truly hope she had a very
Merry Christmas.
On Saturday we had plans with
Matt's friends from high school to get together for a little brunch on
Saturday. The Bansemars were there, as well as the guy's old friend
Bilal and his wife and kids. The affair was hosted by their buddy Ben
who lives in NM but was home for the holidays, at his mom's place. I
could not figure out why on earth his mom would want five little kids
trashing her lovely condo, but she had this huge spread ready for
everyone, presents for the kids, and went around snapping pics the whole
time. What a doll! We had a great time catching up with everyone -
the last time we've seen Ben or Bilal & Co was three years ago.
Hopefully we don't go another 3 years before doing this again.
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| the kittens, minus ben's son moses who was still in NM with his mom |
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| santa sattell |
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| fifteen years and six kids later |
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| and their lovely wives |
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| same to you, pal |
I spent the Sunday before Christmas at the place all good mom's go
during the holidays: Urgent Care. Helllllllllllllooooooooo, Holiday Sinusitis. I had been fighting it since Thanksgiving and even my Sarah
Maio speedballs of two Sudafed and four Ibuprofen weren't cutting it
anymore. Navigate Target to get to the pharmacy on December 23rd? Good
times. But I had to pull it together in time for the annual Maio
Christmas Eve Chinese eat-a-thon. We headed to church on the 24th with
K&K and despite not actually getting a seat, the kids were really
good. We got home and chowed down, and then Genevieve got the snacks
ready for Santa (and the reindeer too). I showed her where Santa
was on the NoradSanta site, which is when she uttered the sweetest words
any parent has ever heard: "Mommy! I have to go to bed RIGHT NOW!". She was terrified that if she didn't haul tushie into bed, he
would skip right over our house. It was, in fact, a Christmas Miracle.
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| carefully delivering the plate of snacks |
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| karl sporting his annual red sweater |
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| deeeeeeeeeeelish |
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| tracking santa. gotta get to bed! |
Christmas morning it was just the four of us. We got everyone up and
downstairs, and wouldn't you know it, Santa had come! These kittens got
everything on their list - and then some. Books, games, toys, a big
digger for L and a jewelry box and earrings for G. Plus earrings and
new shades for mom and a new trailer hitch on the Pilot for dad. I sent
Matt on a little scavenger hunt to discover it which, let me tell you,
nearly stumped the engineer. Fortunately he had a four year old
helper. We took our time playing with gifts and eating a big
breakfast. We headed to K&K's after nap for yet more presents and a
big dinner. By 7:30 we had two exhausted crank-o's who went right to
bed once we got home.
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| a little christmas morning nosh to get our blood sugar up |
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| santa was here! |
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| luke shows off his train by the same name |
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| matching sleep masks for the ladies |
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| could have just given the kid string and paper and he would have been thrilled. naturally. |
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| hey is this a standing game? |
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| the gift gg made for us in school. she insisted we keep it under the tree until christmas morning. |
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| monster bowling! |
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| a jewelry box and ladybug earrings. very grown up |
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| sis gave bro crayons. he immediately ate the tip off of one. |
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| searching for his first clue |
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| and second |
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| third |
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| fourth (on the blog) |
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| fifth and final |
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| success! |
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| carnage |
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| this dino racer is on office chair-style wheels. it goes freaking fast. |
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| more earrings from grandma and grandpa k |
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| a new ornament from uncle stevie and auntie erin |
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| big beanbag chair for a little baby |
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| karl expounding on his matching gifts to matt and erin: the perfect paintbrush |
You may think that Christmas was the end of Christmas, but you would be wrong. We still had a visit from Grandma Heidi & Pop Pop
and the annual Maio family Christmas get together to attend. Grandma Heidi and Pop Pop rolled in around dinner time on Friday and could only stay until Sunday, but we had fun opening (even more) presents and better yet, playing in the newly fallen snow.
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| the winning present: a headlamp |
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| mr. muscles plays santa. and yes, gg got colored hair extensions |
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| it's gigantic and has her name on it. so far, so good |
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| a princess collection courtesy of uncle grant! |
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| let me borrow this hat dad |
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| sixteen layers and ready to go |
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| hard to toddle in all this stuff |
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| first sledding - loved it! |
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| gg scales the playset with...the grim reaper?? |
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| and first snow in the face |
The Maio Christmas get together was its usual whirlwind of crazy.
Tons of food, tons of bevs, and tons of loud peeps. The event had its
ups and downs: the best part was getting to finally meet baby Kate, the
daughter of cousin Doug and his wife Karen. Kate was loving Genevieve
and GG was thrilled to have a new baby to love on. They were cute as
buttons. The oddest part was a gift Uncle Ken gave Matt...are you ready
for this? A JC Penny catalog from 1980, which Ken has kept all these
years (and moved god knows how many times), so that Matt can compare prices of things from then to now.
Not even making this up.
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| boo and katie, showing each other how to drive the walker |
Finally,
after all the gifting and visiting and hosting, it was time for Matt
and me to spend a little time together celebrating our 7th Anniversary
and the New Year.
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| annual dress re-try. g's exact words as i pulled the dress out of its bag: "oh my god, i love it!" |
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| }}heart{{ |
2012 was very good to us and we have lots on our list of things to do for 2013. Most of all we wish for happy and healthy kids, friends, and family. Happy New Year!
