December 2020

Oh my gosh. I don’t even know what happened. It is February and I am just now posting for December. The holidays were obviously busy, but I think somewhere in there Chloe stopped sleeping through the night and that completely kicked our asses. We even broke down and bought a sleep training program. We would have never even thought to do that with Sienna. Good news, though, is that sleep training program worked! Shout out to Taking Cara Babies (and my cousin Jen who recommended it)! I am now starting to get a little bit of my life back. I am up at 5:00 a.m. today able to post some updates!

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December was a busy month. It felt like it went by quickly, but also went on forever. I tried to make sure Sienna got to do a ton of fun festive activities. Si made her own wreath for her door, which she loved so now we do them for every holiday. She also got to create her first letter to Santa and deliver it directly to Santa! She picked out her own (mini) Christmas tree for her room and decorated it with a tree skirt and all. We decorated cookies, took Si ice skating for the first time, and took the girls on a carriage ride in their pajamas to see Santa.

Mom and Dad ran the Reindeer Romp 5k. (And then enjoyed a quick beer in the parking lot to celebrate.) We think this may be our new thing! Dare I say one day we might even run a half marathon together one day? Hhhmmmmm. That celebration would require lots of beers.

We played, tried to support small businesses, celebrated the holiday with friends and family, and we rooted on our Chiefs!

My mom said all she wanted for Christmas was a picture of Chloe in her CHP uniform like we did with Sienna. I tried to do it alone and, well, this was the outcome.

Mommy and Sienna went on our first mommy daughter date. We obviously got dinner (to go, #pandemic) and went Christmas shopping.

Our favorite cousin lives in Japan right now. My brother is stationed there for about one more year. We haven’t gotten to meet Ezra yet and he will be a year old in March. We all miss him so much. It’s crazy that you can miss someone you have never even met. We cannot wait to hold him and kiss him and shower him with love. Until then we Facetime when we can and talk about him with the girls so when they meet they won’t skip a beat. This year for Christmas my cousin Jen inspired me to make a cute little gift for the grandmas. It included a handprint from each grandkid. Well, that meant I had to somehow get Ezra’s handprint from Japan. His mom and dad sent his little gold handprints in the mail and when I opened them I couldn’t help but cry. My heart hurt and was so happy at the same time to see and feel his little painted prints. I did not expect to get that emotional. I really cannot wait to hold that little boy in my arms.

Christmas day ended up being fun and exciting and a little busier than I expected. I wrote recently about how I was sad Scott had to miss out on the holiday with us. Well, before Christmas he mentioned he got Christmas day off and I never believe it until it happens because something always comes up where he has to work or I get excited and things change. AND THEN he tells me he got Christmas Eve off. I still held out because I didn’t want to be let down. I waited a while and finally told Scott I would cry from excitement if he really did have Christmas and Christmas Eve off. Well, a few hours later, he called me to inform me there was a mix up and he, in fact, did not have Christmas Eve off. I expected that and should have known not to get excited. And you are probably wondering why I was still bummed since he got Christmas off. Well, he works nights so each shift is like two days worth because he has to sleep before and after. So he ended up getting Christmas day off, but he worked Christmas Eve so he was tired and needed to sleep Christmas Day. However, we then also ended up hosting Christmas Dinner. Which I loved. So I at least kind of did get the Christmas I was hoping for. I still loved it and had a great time and am very grateful for the life and family we have. And most importantly, Sienna had a great day.

We started the morning with Grammy and Grandma Leslie (Si has more grandmas than usual). We had mimosas, breakfast croissants, and opened gifts. It was splendid. And while Scott slept later in the day we got ready to host dinner for Scott’s side of the family. It was kind of a last minute thing so we did tamales. I really enjoyed having a small intimate Christmas dinner, especially for my first time ever hosting. It ended our Christmas perfectly! The next morning we had a post Christmas breakfast with just us four. I love my little family.

Scott did end up getting New Years Eve off. Before the girls went to bed we played with sparklers in the driveway and looked at the stars. (Si loves the stars and planets and the moon.) I got one single picture from the night. Scott and I spent the last few seconds of the year on the couch watching Jeopardy and eating leftover enchiladas. We did go outside after midnight to watch the neighborhood fireworks. They seemed way better than 4th of July’s. I guess everyone was excited for 2020 to end.