The Quest for the Perfect Christmas Card Picture

This year I was determined to have a great Christmas card picture.  We've had decent ones in the past but nothing very special.  It’s pretty much the same picture every year, Mike and I in front of our Christmas tree. We did the same pose last year for E’s first Christmas.  I wanted something different this year, something fun!  I turned to Pinterest for inspiration and it did not disappoint.  I found some great ideas and was excited for a fresh take on the Gesellchen Christmas card.  Of course Mike could care less.  When I asked him his thoughts, he was fine posing in front of the Christmas tree…again.  I ignored him and continued on with my vision.  My creative, crafty mother would be needed because as much as I strive to be a crafter, the patience just isn't there.

My vision for our Christmas card picture was to be outside by a pine tree in my parents' yard.  The three of us would hold up letters spelling out JOY.  I attempted to help my mom cut out the letters and cover in paper but it was just easier to have her do it, again, no patience.  Unfortunately, picture day turned out to be rainy and I was feeling defeated that my Christmas card vision was not going to happen.  I turned to Pinterest for plan B and found some indoor ideas, but once again we’d be posing in front of the Christmas tree. 

I wasn't thrilled with these pictures but I would make them work if the weather didn't cooperate with my outdoor vision. 

             

             


             

The next day was cold but there was a beautiful dusting of snow on the ground.  Perfect for my original outdoor vision!  Mom finished the letters and my dad helped with the staging (I wanted more snow on the tree).  

             

Lavar, the barn cat decided to join the fun too.  We couldn't get him to leave so he ended up in all of our photos. 

               

                

The Christmas card picture turned out to be quite the event but I’m happy with how they turned out so it was well worth it..random barn cat and all.   

E's 18 Month Checkup and a Peak at Baby 2

This week, E had his 18 month checkup.  My little big boy weighed in at 29.6lbs and was 34 inches tall.  90th percentile for each.  This was one of the better appointments.  E usually screams the entire time but he was brave when the Dr. was checking him over, just a few "No's!"  We did have screams and tears when he got two shots but I would be screaming too if someone held me down and shoved a needle in my leg.

E still likes his bottle and the Dr. strongly suggested we work on getting rid of it.  I admitt it, the bottle is totally a comfort thing for E so this may be an uphill battle.  He's so content after his bottle and I love the snuggle time.  But, it probably is time.  My goal is to have E bottle free by the time Baby 2 arrives.  We have about 5 months to work on that.

We got a peak at Baby 2 this week as well.  I had my 20 week ultrasound where they take all the measurements and make sure all the organs are in the right place.  Baby 2 looked good and we did not find out the gender.  I was tempted, but Mike wants his moment during the delivery to announce boy or girl.  I think we're having a boy.  Ever since E was born, I knew I wanted more kids and I just pictured myself with boys.  Rowdy, stinky boys running through my house, I feel I'm a "Boy Mom."  Only time will tell and as long as Baby 2 is healthy, boy or girl really doesn't matter.

'Tis the Season

Around this time of year there seems to be the debate that retailers push Christmas earlier and earlier each year and poor Thanksgiving gets looked over.  Especially over the past few years when retailers began opening on Thanksgiving Day.  At first stores opened at midnight, then 8pm, and now some retailers open at 5pm on Thanksgiving Day to push holiday sales.  Will Black Friday cease to exist in the near future?

I used to be a firm believer in “No Christmas until after Thanksgiving”.  I wanted to properly celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.  No decorations, no Christmas music, and certainly no Christmas tree until the Friday after.  This year is different.  My friend Carrie, who has had her Christmas tree up for weeks, inspired me by justifying that it’s more fun to celebrate the two holidays in one.  I truly enjoy the music, decorations and basically all things Christmas.  So why put it off?  Especially this year when there are only 3 weeks between the two holidays.  I've slowly started putting a few decorations up around the house and I've had Pandora playing a wonderful assortment of Christmas music.  I must admit, I’m thoroughly enjoying all the holiday cheer.  

We celebrated Thanksgiving with my parents a week early and because of my new approach to the holidays, we went all out.  We cooked a huge traditional Thanksgiving meal while listening to Christmas music.  We put up the tree and took our family Christmas card picture.  By embracing the holiday season as one, I honestly think I enjoyed myself more.  I also have found myself being more reflective on how blessed my life is and how thankful I am.  I don’t look at my new view as skipping Thanksgiving, but more as embracing the entire holiday season and enjoying it to the fullest.   

Now with this being said, you won’t find me out shopping on Thanksgiving Day to get an early start on my Christmas shopping.  I would much prefer to enjoy the day with my family and friends instead of random strangers looking for the best bargain.  But, I’m not opposed to the retailers being open on Thanksgiving either.  Working for a major retailer, I understand the impact holiday sales can have on a company.  Christmas time is the Super Bowl for retailers.  It’s a big deal!  If people want to shop on Thanksgiving Day, well the retailers will make that happen.  It’s simple supply and demand.  I commend the retailers that are taking a stand and refuse to be open on Thanksgiving, but I also don’t belittle those retailers that choose to be open.  Right or wrong, it’s what our society has transformed into and retailers and consumers both play parts in this ongoing debate.  

Finding Indoor Fun

We are an outside family and most of our days in the summer were spent outside.  Mike and I were worried about keeping E busy as the weather turned colder.  So far we've been finding plenty of indoor activities to keep us busy and not get too stir crazy.  Here’s what we've been up to:

Wild Rumpus Bookstore – For any family living in the Twin Cities who have yet to visit this unique store, you must go now!  This place is so much fun for kids and parents.  Not only are there plenty of books to read, but you may find yourself sharing the floor with a chicken as you read your favorite story.  Yes, there is a chicken roaming around the store along with his friend the cat.  There are also two birdcages with parrots and doves, two chinchillas, and a ferret. 

A Creative Kidstuff is just around the corner from Wild Rumpus.  This store is so much bigger than the one by our house which means lots more toys to try out.  E loved "baking cookies in the kitchen." We spent an entire morning playing at Wild Rumpus and Creative Kidstuff. 

We are also fortunate that our community has Tot Time which runs November – March.  This is hosted at the rec center and basically they convert a banquet room into a giant playroom; bouncy house included.  It’s 3 days a week for 2 hours and costs $2 per session or you can buy a pass to save some money.  We've only gone once so far but will definitely be attending again.  E’s favorite activities at Tot Time are “mowing” with a plastic mower, playing basketball and of course playing with the trucks. 

I’m trying to do more arts and crafts with E.  I found a great homemade recipe for play-doh and he also likes coloring and “painting” with shaving cream.  I tried to introduce a glue stick to E but he likes to put the glue on his finger and then have Mom wipe it off.  He did this over and over one day, I finally put the glue stick up.  We’ll save that for a later day. 

Although I would much rather have the warm summer days of splash pads and playgrounds, I’m feeling better about keeping busy during the cold winter days ahead.  This has been an opportunity to try new things with E and go on different adventures.    

Baby 2 Makes 4

                  

I love, love, love this picture!  It’s our first family picture of a family of 4.  I am so excited for this baby I can hardly wait.  April 28^th is the official due date but with the complications I had with E, I will have a scheduled C-section most likely on April 21^st.  I’m all for it.  I had an easy recovery from my C-section with E and being able to plan makes things so much easier with a toddler to take care of as well. The only bummer is that our good friends are getting married on April 26^th in Duluth and I won’t be able to attend.  Mike is a groomsman so Grandma Sharon will be helping out while Mike is gone. 

We've been doing our best to prepare E for his little brother or sister but I’m not sure how much a 17 month old understands.  He’ll point or pat my tummy and say "baby".  We got one of my old cabbage patch dolls out and talk to him about how the baby needs it’s diaper changed and we need to be gentle with the baby.  Things were going fine until one day when Mike was holding the doll while reading E a story.  E didn't care to share his Daddy, and threw the doll on the floor.  I’m sure it will be an adjustment for all of us when Baby 2 arrives but I think of how much joy E has brought our family and Baby 2 will only add more.

Thrifty Momma

When I found out I was pregnant, I was so excited to shop, shop, shop!  I couldn't leave Target without at least buying one thing for baby.  I didn't know if E was a boy or girl so I had to buy gender neutral things.  That was probably a good thing.  If I knew the gender of the baby, I’m sure I would have went overboard with pinks or blues.  The thought never occurred to me to check out thrift stores or second hand places.  I never shopped at Goodwill or stopped by garage sales before, why would I start now?  Because kids are expensive, that’s why.  I also didn't realize how quickly babies grew.  E is only 16 months old and I already have four big totes full of clothes he’s outgrown.  I found I can find toys at garage sales and thrift stores so much cheaper as well.  We bought E a water table for his birthday that was on sale for $30.  As I've started to shop around for second hand items, I've found tons of water tables ranging from $8 - $12. 

Now I’m all about the bargain hunting.  I love looking through Goodwill, Once Upon a Child, and stopping at random garage sales.  I've found some great things for just a few dollars.  I haven’t totally converted to only buying second hand stuff.  I still love looking at all the clothes when I go to Target and am still guilty of buying a cute shirt for E every now and then.  But at the rate E grows out of his clothes and out grows his toys, the more things used I can get, the better.   Some of my great finds are:

Jungle Gym with slide - $10 at garage sale

Nike and Stride Rite Shoes - $3 each at Goodwill

Winter coat - $15 at Once Upon a Child

Snow pants - $4 at Once Upon a Child

Books - $.25 to $.50 at garage sale

Pajamas - $3.50 each at Once Upon a Child

Life Lately

Wow, blogging has really taken a backseat lately.  I've got several half written posts but for some reason the gumption to finish them hasn't been there.  It will come, I know it will.  But for now, here's life lately with the Gesellchen Family:

Mike and Evan have been spending Sunday afternoons at our good friend O'Malley's man-cave for football.  It works out pretty well because I can catch up on sleep from working the night before and I don't feel guilty about not seeing E.  

We jumped on the Breaking Bad bandwagon, we just finished Season 1 (pretty late to the party, I know).  I'm cheap and borrow the DVDs from the library but I'm getting antsy waiting for Season 2 so I might just spring for it on Amazon Prime at $1.99 an episode.  Did I mention I was cheap?

We made one last trip up North for the summer to help Mike's family on the farm house and see E's great-grandma.  

E asserted his independence and decided he no longer needed a high-chair.  One day he just refused to go in there.  So we took the hint and got his booster seat ready to go.

Mike's been getting some fishing in.  Unfortunately, this picture is the one and only fish he caught on his last trip.

Mike's helping put a fence in at at his sister's house.  E stopped over to help too.

We're also starting a remodeling project at our house, we're finishing our basement.  I'm very excited to get this done because it will add so much more space to our house.  We're still in the early stages, we're hoping to actually get boards up in the next 2 weeks!

The pics below are some old ones from a late summer visit to my mom and dad's.  They were just too cute to not post. 

E decided to re-pot Grandma's flower.

Cooling off in the pool.

Picking zucchini.  

Helping Grandpa dig potatoes. 

Feeding the goats.