Christmas Week

Wow, were we ever busy for the holidays! Here's most of our week in review, but without the pics. Those will follow soon.

Tuesday after work, Lane and I met up with Cynthia, Christianne and Gabriela at the Botanical Gardens. It’s always beautiful at the botanical gardens, but this time we also got to admire holiday decorations and listen to live jazz music. Gabriela loved the music. She stood right in front of the musicians, watching them play their instruments. Sometimes she even danced around, clapped and said “Bravo” when they finished their songs.

Wednesday Lane and I both took the day off from work. After breakfast, we all got bundled up and went outside for yet another attempt to create a snowman. It was a great success, as you can see from the previous post. Frostella made a beautiful snow woman. Later that afternoon, Christianne and I went on a date. We went ice skating at Pentagon Row and neither of us fell at all – not even once! I decided we should go pro. After warming up with a post-skating drink at Starbucks, we headed to Sur la Table to pick out Christmas cookie cutters and other sugar cookie decorating supplies. We got home and got to work baking goodies – in one afternoon we made rice krispie treats with red and green sprinkles, peanut butter chocolate fudge, and mint brownies with chopped up Andes Mints throughout. Mmmmm, they were a hit! We relaxed that evening with some Planet Earth video watching and played games. Christianne and I also brought down a plate of goodies to the front desk at our apartment building where the lady exclaimed that she would be “fat as a pig by January”.

Thursday – Christmas Eve. Uncle Lane went to work for most of the day, but I took another vacation day. Wow, Thursday was busy. We baked Lemon Bars and Sugar cookies, had loads of fun decorating sugar cookies, played more games, I made butternut squash soup, and even had a Christmas eve dinner mishap. I started cooking Carnitas in the crock pot first thing in the morning. Us girls went to the grocery store, where we each picked out some food to donate to the local food pantry, and bought it with our own money. Then, we took a trip to the food pantry to drop off our donations. When we got back, I checked on the crockpot and it wasn’t even hot. Emergency! Something happened to the outlet and the meat wasn’t cooking. I moved the carnitas and got them started up again, but they were nowhere NEAR being done by dinner time. ENTER Kabob Palace. We took everyone’s order and brought back take out for Christmas eve dinner. At first I was mortified that we had takeout on such a festive occasion. But let’s be honest, it was amazing and I was exhausted. We got to focus on decorating cookies together as a family instead of me being away from everyone while getting even more tired and making a bigger mess in the kitchen.

More to come on Christmas day and Tamale Madness Saturday.

Even MORE fun in the snow!

Fun in the snow

Just in case you are wondering, Gabriela is wearing a short-sleeved onesie, tights, a long-sleeved fleece footed sleeper, her new cardigan sweater, a pair of jeans, a big fluffy hooded snow coat, boots, a cozy fleece hat and mittens.

17 Months Old

Gabriela seems to say a new word every day. She is constantly amazing us. Some of the most interesting are motorcycle, helicopter, blueberry, stroller, zapato (shoe) and caballo (horse).They are not all perfectly enunciated, but we understand what she’s saying!

Her newest signs include cold and where. Where seems to be the most useful. It all started out with Gabriela sticking a magnet on the inside of the refrigerator door. She put it there, and then would do the where sign. The best part is that she also does it with a facial expression, she puts her lips together and raises her eyebrows since we are doing the same when we make the “w” sound. So, she hides her magnet and then tells us it’s inside the door. It’s her new favorite game. Gabriela will “drop” things and do her where sign and say “cheerio” or “daddy”, or she’ll go to the refrigerator and do the where sign and say blueberry. But my favorite is that we ask her to point out things in the books that we read, especially the Richard Scarry books since there are so many things on the pages. She will notice something, and then ask where – bananas or flowers or car.

OH, she also does the sign for car. Although Gabriela doesn’t know that the sign is imitating using a steering wheel. She just makes fists and waves her little arms around. It’s so cute, it looks like she’s doing a chicken dance!

Gabriela also enjoys playing with her puzzle. She has a puzzle with all the letters of the alphabet and she can put them in the right spot. She even says W and Y.

Other fun things – whenever I tell Gabriela we are going to the store, she immediately says “balloon” since we usually get a balloon at TJ’s. She says all her little friends’ names at daycare. She especially talks about one little boy named Aadi. I asked the daycare lady and she said that sometimes Gabriela is bossy, but Aadi always listens to her. !!! I was a little shocked to hear that! The other day I went to pick Gabriela up and she was in the middle of signing UP when she stopped, ran over to Thomas and gave him a big hug. Then she walked over to Keady, puckered up and reached out to give her a smoocher. After that she was ready to go home. This little girl has so much love!

Family Fakesgiving Photos

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

If you haven't already heard, we got a monster of a snow storm over the weekend. It started snowing around 9 0r 10 Friday night and it snowed heavily until at least around 7 pm Saturday. It's supposed to continue on and off into Sunday morning. This is the worst snow the DC area has experienced in years!!! National Airport, which we live next door to, received 16.5 inches of snow in just one day - it's the largest one day snow fall recorded ever at the airport!

We would have been very excited even if it were just Lane and me, but we had visitors in town to enjoy the snow with, including Christianne from Arizona who has never seen so much snow in her life! And for the record, neither have I. We were up to our knees in snow.

Christianne was over the MOON excited. She not only bundled up and went downstairs to play in the snow THREE different times today, but she kept going out onto the balcony to stomp in the snow, check out the scenery, and even make a mini-snowman!

When all six of us went outside, we jumped in the snow, made snow angels and threw a few snow balls at each other. We were planning on making a snowman, but the snow was too powdery and dry for a snowman. Hopefully conditions will improve tomorrow.

The Very First Fakesgiving

In honor of our special family time together, including the surprise arrival of another guest, we decided to have Fakesgiving Dinner on Saturday. During Fakesgiving dinner preparations, Christianne and I agreed that it should be our tradition to always have Fakesgiving when we get together.

Since it was, after all, our very first Fakesgiving we all awoke and wished each other a happy Fakesgiving. We celebrated by letting Christianne have a (very tiny) slice of chocolate cake at breakfast time. Okay, fine - Gabriela had some too. Don't worry, it was followed by a real and very delicious pancake breakfast. Thanks, Lane and David!

I am pleased to report that the first Fakesgiving was a great success - and a team effort, at that! For starters, Lane took care of brining the turkey. We didn't have enough room for it in our fridge, so we just covered it and put it outside all night. It was sure cold enough out there! Christianne and I made the citrus herb paste to go under the turkey skin. She also stuffed the turkey and seasoned it on the outside. Cynthia made the delicious spinach gratin. I made my famous hippie stuffing, Lane whipped up some awesome mashed potatoes, and David made the gravy. On top of that, Cynthia and Christianne made the Apricot Almond Bars and Cynthia helped me make the chocolate roulade with an espresso marscapone filling and chocolate ganache. Basically, we feasted.

After dinner everyone went outside to play in the snow. I'll post more on that later.

We came back from the snow, watched The Christmas Story, all took little naps, played Jenga, and obviously, ate a little more.

What a fantastic first Fakesgiving!

Blogger Boot Camp

Christianne just started a blog a few weeks before arriving. I gave her a super duper blogtastic intro to blogging training. In two days, she changed her background, added a background photo, created a list of links, added a poll, and created like six new posts, including a video and a number of slide shows! Very Impressive! Check out Christianne's blog for yourself.

Another reason to check it out is that she has documented so much of her visit so far and I haven't even really started. It's hard to believe she has so much to report after only two full days in town.

Christmas Presents!!!!

Today we got bunches of packages and two of them had instructions to open immediately! Here is Gabriela wearing her totally darling sweater that was hand-made by Nana while singing and dancing with her new ornament from her cousins Claire and Natalie.



(please ignore the fact that Gabriela is pants-less in the video)

I can't get over how absolutely darling Gabriela's sweater is! Just look at those buttons! The sweetest part is that Nana made the same sweater for Gabriela's cousin, Caetlin. They are matchies!

As you can see from the video, Gabriela loves her ornament. After just a few minutes, she had it all figured out. And, Auntie Cynthia and I both got a little teary eyed when we first heard the message from Claire and Natalie.

Nana and Claire and Natalie, thank you so much for these early Christmas presents!!

Belated Weekend Review

Saturday night we went to the Third Annual Schumann Christmas Party – hosted by our friends Alex and Matt (you guessed it) Schumann! They never fail to provide fun brain twisting games, delicious snacks and fabulous beverages.

We weren’t sure whether or not we should bring Gabriela. We took her with us all dressed up in her holiday attire and she was on her bestest behavior. She flirted with everyone, sat next to mommy and conveniently timed an evening nap so her mommy’s team could win one of the games for the third year running! Gabriela also munched on cookies and tasted m&ms for the first time. Needless to say, she’s a huge fan.

On Sunday, we enjoyed an early dinner with our friends Katie and Trent and the six month old twin babies. Gabriela was really anxious to get out the door to go to dinner. She grabbed one of her jackets and tried putting it on by herself. And, you know we always pack a bag before we go anywhere, so she started helping by putting books in her diaper bag. And then she got a TJ’s bag and started filling it up with essentials so we could go bye-bye - essentials like her little pink dishes and a tiny Christmas tree.

I wasn’t sure how much we’d actually be able to converse with Katie and Trent at dinner, having three children under age 2 with us, but they all were very good. Gabriela was enthralled with the babies. She climbed up to sit right next to Grace and gently patted her face and dangled her toys in front of her. Gabriela couldn’t stop smiling and saying BABY. She also did the “gentle” sign which we haven’t showed her in at least a month. Even after we were home, she was still talking about the babies. When one couple left the restaurant, they came up to Gabriela to say good bye. She had been waving to them and playing peek-a-boo. This guy said it was like Gabriela was running for office or something. She was smiling and waving to everyone. It was pretty cute, but only in DC would someone say that about a one year old!

Oh Family, I Love You.

Auntie Cynthia and Gabriela making salads for dinner. Boy, were they tasty!

The moment Christianne arrived!

Christmas pajamas!

Yesterday morning my sister Cynthia arrived in town, all ready for the Christmas holiday. I am close to all my siblings, but something happens when I'm with Cynthia. We always say the exact same things, even with the same intonation, and it almost creeps me out that I can look at her and totally see myself in another person. We look THAT much alike!

Gabriela was happy to see her auntie and has already learned some new words, thanks to Auntie Cynthia. This morning, I brought Gabriela out to the living room. It was still dark and we looked at Auntie who said hi. Gabriela got this ginormous grin on her face and excitedly whispered, "auntie". Seconds later, she said it again a little louder, and then, excitedly proclaimed, "AUNTIE!", with Cynthia's heart rapidly melting all the while.

Christianne arrived last night too. I can't believe it had been more than a whole year since I last saw her. Can you believe she is 12 years old and probably 4 inches taller than me!?!?? We have to post a picture soon. It was so sweet and touching that Christianne gave me this huge monster hug as soon as she walked through the door and she wouldn't let go. She was crying, she has such a big loving heart.

I gave her one of her Christmas presents as soon as she arrived. I just couldn't wait. But for everyone who thinks I was cheating, they were Christmas pajamas, and I wanted her to be able to wear them her whole visit. That's okay, right???

I can't tell you how difficult it was for me to get out the door and go to work with these lovely ladies and my baby girl having fun at home. So far, Auntie Cynthia did the dishes, made pancake breakfast, taught Gabriela how to say pancake, and took the girlies to the mall to get pictures with Santa!

I am so grateful to have Cynthia and Christianne here to spend the holidays with Lane and Gabriela and me.

I wish I could rush straight home after work today, but I have to do all the grocery shopping I was planning to do Saturday morning because we are supposed to get ten to twenty inches of snow by Saturday night!!!

Gabriela Helps Herself to a Snack Part 2

So Gabriela grabbed the Cheerios the other day and I told her to go get her bowl in the other room and we could have a snack. She decided she needed to bring the cereal WITH her to the other room. She was so cute, I just let her try to figure it out.

Well, you can tell where this is going. I think the best part is the very end of the video. Just listen for the sound.

Pixie Baby

Here's the "Night-Night" sign.

Check out this totally awesome bedhead!!!! Lane had to go get the camera when he saw this!

Time for a Break.

Sorry, folks. I've been busy! These past few days have been spent shopping for presents, wrapping them, planning for our guests, on top of doing all those other normal mom/working mom things that I normally don't have time to do. Most nights I pass out when I put Gabriela down for bed.

I have been meaning to blog, I really had the best of intentions! Coming soon, expect to see Pixie Baby and Gabriela helping herself to snacks, Part 2. But don't expect them TOO soon, my sister Cynthia arrived in town this morning and my niece, Christianne is arriving tonight.

I'm starting to get a little overwhelmed. We are having Fakesgiving Dinner on Saturday. I haven't purchased any of the groceries yet. I haven't sent out xmas cards yet, or even taken a photo so I can order xmas cards to send. How about New Year's Cards, anyone?

I'm looking forward to having some down time. Resting, laughing, cooking, eating, and more eating, making new holiday memories, and just spending time with my family. But, boy am I going to need a nap first!!

Nachos

Okay, so we got a new camera and can't help but photograph everything.


Lane says, "these nachos are bomb. they are grover-style nachos. we don't mess around"

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Lane doesn't mess around when it comes to baking. Behold, the pumpkin spice cheesecake with gingersnap cookie crumb crust and pecan praline topping! The cheesecake baked so beautifully, it didn't have one itty bitty crack in it. We are going to enjoy some tea and cheesecake now.

Hungry Mungry

Gabriela is nearly recovered from her flu symptoms and ear infection, high fever and loss of appetite. She ate more today and yesterday than she probably did all the rest of the week. We are so happy she has her appetite, her goofy sense of humor and cheerful little self back.

little chef

Nana sent us both Christmas aprons with instructions to use them right away. Here I am making dinner with my little helper of the day. Gabriela helps a lot in the kitchen, but every two minutes or so, she does the "hot" sign, says it, and reminds us we are working in front of the hot stove and need to be careful.

Dinner was seared pork tenderloin with a cocoa spice rub and quinoa pilaf with fennel and fresh cranberries. Gabriela scarfed it down like there was no tomorrow.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

It snowed for the first time on Saturday. Even though it was coming down pretty hard, it had rained earlier so nothing stuck on the ground. It was enough for us to get bundled up and go check it out though. Gabriela can say snow now too.

Peek-a-boo

Some after dinner fun. Where's Gabriela?


Peek-a-boo!
Guys, it was just me under there!

Eyes Shut Tight

We aren't sure why, or where she learned this from. But Gabriela likes to practice walking and dancing around the house with her eyes shut tight. It's pretty funny.


Watch out for that wall...
Poor baby, sometimes she bonks her head.