Merry Christmas

We got quite the snow storm the weekend before Christmas and Chloe was fascinated by it.

Just snuggling to stay warm. Right now Chloe is at that stage where she wants to be attached at my hip. I love my little girl, but my arms get tired! I just hope she grows into the 'Daddy phase' at some point so he can get some affection too. Sometimes all he wants is a hug from his little girl and she rarely gives in.

Christmas morning. Chloe got lots of books for Christmas and she just loves books.

We got her a slightly bigger stuffed Elmo. I refused to get those dancing Tickle me ones because I know I would want to kill it. So a nice quiet, huggable Elmo is what she got and she loves it! (not to mention it was a heck of a lot cheaper than those TMX Elmos...)

Craig got a Wii from Santa and while he wasn't really sure about it (he didn't ask for it), once we started to play it, he is now hooked! I must admit, it is a lot of fun and I like that it gets us off the couch and we play together. Chloe even cheers us on during bowling matches.

Here I am struggling with the packaging to get out her Cabbage patch baby that my parents got her. These things are wrapped with like 50 twist ties--what is up with that!

Enjoying a little Christmas morning visit from my parents-Nana and Poppa, and my grammie too.

Later on Christmas day, Craig's parents and brother came over and Chloe got a pound puppy that wags its tail. She was quite enthralled.

Sneakers got to wear all the bows and I think she sports them quite nicely.

Craig bought Chloe a stuffed dachshund and she likes to sit on it like a pony. I don't know what it is about that dog, but she thinks it is so cool. I think Sneakers is starting to get jealous...

On Saturday we went over to see Craig's sister Nicole.

Nicole has 2 pugs and they really like Chloe. She wasn't so sure at first, but definitely warmed to them after a little bit.

My Dad got Chloe some overalls and I think she looks so adorable in them. Of course, with the short hair, she will certainly get some 'boy' comments, but I don't care.

Chloe's cousin Davin got a Drum set from Craig's brother Dale and Chloe had to try it out. I can't believe Dale bought him a Drum set. Nicole was pissed. I can't say I blame her. Note to anyone out there looking to shop for a kid--never buy a drum set without asking the parent's permission first!

Just hanging out with Davin and Chloe. He is such a precocious little guy and so smart.

Sorry for mostly pictures and not a lot of text, but I am just beginning to dig out from under Chloe's pile. I finished up my MBA class and I am definitely enjoying the break. Craig passed his CFP test on Monday, so we are both happy to have the breather.

Chloe has been waking up crying lately. At first I thought it was because she was breaking all 4 canines, but now I think she is doing it because she is just lonely or clingly. This morning when she cried at 5:30, instead of running in there (which is what I had been doing the last couple days since it was so unusual for that to happen at all) I waited a few minutes. Within a couple minutes she was silent again and went back to sleep until 7:30. Much better! I guess even the best of sleepers have little hiccups in the routine, so I just hope she hurries back to her previous schedule. Momma likes her rest!

I can see the finish line

I just sent off my last problem set for this MBA class and I just need to finish up my research paper tomorrow and send that off and then I am officially done with this class! Ugh, I am so exhausted from school/work/family/holidays/life in general, that I need a breather. I know that in the spring I will totally be itching to take a class, but I am definitely going to enjoy having a little winter break from school.

Work has been hectic with year end projects wrapping up and lots of people on vacation, but after tomorrow, the next two weeks should be pretty quiet. I have a couple knitting projects that have been collecting dust and I am anxious to finally have some free time to get back in them. Heck, I am knitting a sweater for Chloe that I need to finish while it is still cold out!

As of today, I am officially done Christmas shopping. Ok, don't tell Craig if you see him, but I got him a Wii. I hope he likes it. If not, I think I will like it! I went out on the limb with this gift, but I wanted to give him something fun. The poor guy has enough dress shirts and power tools. Chloe is not really getting a ton of stuff from us. I figure, she is 19 months old and will probably be mostly entertained by the boxes. So I got her a stuffed Elmo (bigger than her little vade mecum she has now), some tub toys, and a ton of books since she loves to read. Oh, and some Hello kitty socks. I am sure she will get toys from our relatives, so I think this is plenty, right?

This weekend will be cookie making time for me. I am making a classic recipe - linzer cookies - for our cookie exchange at work and of course, I need to make some extras to let Craig taste test them. There is nothing he hates worse than when I bake all day and he doesn't get any of it because it is for 'work'. So, I always have to make a little batch special just for him.

Well, on the TTC front, there will be no BFPs for Christmas this year, but we will certainly be trying again. I am hoping that maybe the stress of the last few months has had an impact on the ole fertility and maybe now that things will be quieting down, it will work out. I am trying not to put any pressure on myself. Just relax, eh?

We are supposed to get a big snowstorm tomorrow and I must admit that I am looking forward to it. I like snowstorms. It is supposed to start around mid day, so Chloe and I will go to work and probably leave around lunch time, so I can get her home for her afternoon nap and then just continue working from home for the afternoon. That's the plan, but we shall see exactly how the day works out. If it is snowing crazy by 10 am, it may be a very short day in the office!

It has been forever and a day since I posted some pics, so of course I have plenty to share!

Chloe was helping decorate the tree.

Can you see the elf ELMO ornament right on the front of the tree? At Chloe eye-level of course.

Here is the view from our living room window after our first real snow of the season.



Not sure if you can tell under the snow, but on our roof are our three solar panels. Pretty cool!

I just love our front yard with it all covered in snow.

Chloe thinks the snow is pretty cool too.

Craig is like a little kid in the snow



A couple days later as it started to melt, Chloe was still enjoying traipsing around in the yard.

She also likes to lick her scarf. Yeah, she's weird. But I love her.

She is not very good at driving in the snow, since her Cozy Coupe does not have all wheel drive.

Ok, now we are inside. What do we do now?

How about some dinner? It makes a lovely face moisturizer.

And finally a nice swim in the tub to cap off a perfect day.

Hello hell week

The Holiday season is coming to our house and this week officially kicked off the beginning of Christmas craziness! On Saturday we went to get our Christmas tree. We ended up at Home depot for the tree, a wreath and some fresh garland for the mantle. Chloe was so excited when we put up the tree, but didn't get truly fascinated until she saw it fully decorated and lit up. We have an Elmo ornament that I hung down low and she is obsessed with pointing it out and tell me about it! She can't be left alone with the tree because she likes to grab off the ornaments, but for the most part, she is very good with it. The house just smells so wonderful and pine-y, I just love it!

Yesterday, we awoke to our first snowfall of the season. We went outside to play for a bit and at first Chloe was not so sure. But eventually she realized that it was kind of cool and started running around in the 1 inch of snow we had. Later that day, we had some good friends over with their kids to watch the football game (NY Giants) and have some food. It was great to see our friends and we all agreed that we had to do the get togethers more frequently. We all used to live in Denver together and now that we are all back on the east coast again, we should definitely keep in touch.

This week continues the hectic pace. Tomorrow Craig is off from work to take Chloe for her Flu shot booster. Wednesday, I am off to go shopping with a girlfriend for Xmas presents and then spaghetti dinner that night at my parents. Then Friday, I am going to the Duran Duran concert at the casino (woo hoo!). Saturday I an hoping to get my mom to babysit, so Craig and I can go meet some of his friends for dinner out. And in the middle of all of this I have my school work (only 2 weeks left of this class) and three chiropractor appointments.

Oh, did I mentioned I started to see a chiro? I have had a terrible sore neck with shooting pains since Thanksgiving and finally I gave in. We have a dr. right in my office complex and several of my coworkers highly recommended him. Well, he is a really good dr. You know, the kind that sit and talk with you and don't make you feel like you are stupid. He has a very holistic approach to medicine and I really like him. Added perk-my insurance pays for it! I might talk Craig into going too because sometimes he has lower back pain too.

Dang, just putting that all down makes me tired just looking at it!

Well, to share a pic, here is Chloe meeting Santa. She didn't cry, but as you can tell, she wasn't so sure she liked him...