Christmas and New Years

We had so much fun celebrating the holidays with family and friends, that I got out of the habit of blogging. And since we are expecting the baby boy on Friday, there may be another long pause in this journal. However, I couldn't let the festivities go completely unnoticed before we dive back into the world of having a newborn.

Sadie, Dana, Bebe and I went to see the Nutcracker at the Long Center. Sadie was a little fidgety, which is to be expected, but generally she did great. The next day was Christmas Eve and the service at our church is perfect for kids this age, short and sweet with the addition of "ears" for all the kids to play a part. This is Sadie's 3rd appearance as a lamb.
Christmas morning was really fun this year. Sadie had been eagerly awaiting Santa's arrival, but was sad to learn that he came while she was asleep (should have been a little more clear about that one.) She tore into gifts with gusto, but wanted to play with each one before moving onto the next.
It was wonderful to have so many of our family members enjoy this at our house again this year. Bebe, Papa, Dana, Granny and Nana were all troopers to head over first thing Christmas morning for breakfast and gifts. Then, we headed over to Bebe and Papa's house where Papa had collected as many members of Santa's plush reindeer team he could find. Apparently, he had shop managers on speed-dial trying to locate the remaining members. He sure does love his Sadie Belle. The Tingley clan and Nana joined us for lunch and Sadie enjoyed baby Jack, Amy and Frank's new little one (Dana and cousin Jack watching Granny's great-grandkids interact below).

When Dana returned to NYC, Stacy, Greg, Katelyn, Mason and Gracie arrived from Missouri. We had an awesome time hanging out and eating at a number of legendary Austin spots (thanks to Mason's interest in the show "Man versus Food"). He tried to beat the record at Juan in a Million, enjoyed lots of Salt Lick BBQ and attempted the 14 inch Round Rock Donut...something only a teenage boy could do all in one weekend. Once again, Gracie and Sadie were two peas in a pod, but all of the kids were so attentive and sweet with her. I wish you all lived closer!

So, then it was back to real life and the preparation for baby #2. Sadie is fully moved into her big girl room, in all its pink and green girly glory. She has done great sleeping in her big girl bed and I have been counting my blessings that she still takes a long afternoon nap. She is loving preschool and really coming out of her shell there (those of you who spend time with her outside of school are saying, "what shell?" but apparently it has taken her this long to get comfortable with a group setting.) She eagerly awaits baby brother's arrival, or Cleatus as we have come to call him instead of mosquito bite. (You only have to wait a couple more days to learn his real name!) We are trying to make some time to do a few special things for Sadie during these days leading up to the dramatic change in her life. Sunday we took her to her first movie in the movie theatre. We saw "The Princess and the Frog" and she did not move a muscle the whole time while sitting in my lap. Soaking it all in as usual. She will get another Daddy Day on Thursday before we take her to Bebe and Papa's to spend the night before we go into the hospital on Friday morning. So, stay tuned for a renamed blog. What will it be called now?

Holiday fun

We have been doing a pretty good job of celebrating the "Christmas season" (as Sadie says) on a daily basis. Most of our activities center around either Christmas lights or food. Go figure. This weekend we visited the Marble Falls Walkway of lights (see pic above) and it was much better than the Austin Trail of Lights for a toddler. It was easily walkable because it was so compact. There was plenty to see and Sadie loved it.

We have made peppermint cocoa, spiced apple cider, peppermint fudge and enjoyed some holiday candy. We still plan to decorate a gingerbread house and make gingerbread cookies with Bebe.

This pic is from the Capitol Tree Lighting and Congress Stroll, where Matt had a Shop787 retail space set up for holiday shopping. It was a cold night, but festive. Dana arrives on Saturday for 11 days! So, we are really looking forward to continuing our festivities while she is home.

Thanksgiving weekend

We had a fun and busy weekend over Thanksgiving. It started with a Wednesday matinee performance of 101 Dalmations at the Long Center. We were shocked that Sadie sat through the whole thing with her eyes glued to the stage. Then, we had a relaxing Thanksgiving Day with Bebe, Papa and Nana.

I got inspired by one of the other mom blogs that I read to try to do something in the Christmas spirit every day from Thanksgiving to Christmas morning. I don't know if we'll make it, but we're off to a pretty good start. Friday, after her Daddy painted her big girl room "Ballerina Pink" in preparation for her move out of the nursery, Sadie helped set up the nativity scene.

Saturday, we went to the Chuy's parade downtown and got to hear several of our favorite Biscuit Brothers Christmas tunes. This is the Children Giving to Children parade, where everyone brings a toy to donate. This year, Sadie is starting to understand the concept of giving to other boys and girls who are less fortunate.

Finally, on Sunday we went to cut down our Christmas tree in Elgin. We went to a different farm this year, Evergreen Tree Farm, because the Elgin Tree Farm didn't open until noon. It was a lot smaller and it felt more intimate, but we had a harder time finding a tree that would work in our space. Sadie saw the nativity scene at the farm and said, "there's baby Jesus and his mommy and daddy!" She loved the donkey and goats, as usual, but also really got into the games (tether ball, bean bag toss) and thoroughly enjoyed her marshmallow that they had set out for roasting over a campfire. After her nap, she helped decorate the tree and got a kick out of turning on the lights.

Singing

I love these moments when Sadie is busy doing something and she thinks nobody is listening.

Our little veggie lover

Amazingly, some of Sadie's favorite foods are vegetables. She loves steamed broccoli, edamame, raw baby carrots, fresh tomatoes and black beans. I would love to take credit for her food preferences, but I have to say that I have offered her any number of foods with lesser nutritional value and she chooses the veggies. Sometimes the junk food seems so much easier, but I am glad that she challenges me to have fresh vegetables in the house for her. But, I know she is my child because of her love of cheese!

Daddy Day

Sadie and her Daddy had a special day today. Since Matt had to work all weekend to put on his Shop787 event, he took today off to spend with her. They grabbed a "chocolate muffin" and headed to the Austin Zoo (yes, those two LOVE a zoo.) That left me with a glorious morning of rest, garage sale preparation and errands. Thank goodness she was tuckered out and took a 2+ hour nap (sorry Bebe, no nap when you were on duty yesterday.) So, I am going to cap off this lovely day by heading to Bess Bistro for Flavors of Austin (another of Matt's projects) with girlfriends from church.

Hey Cupcake

Sadie did such a good job at the pediatrician's office this afternoon when she had to get a couple of shots that we headed to Hey Cupcake afterwards. Sadie and I enjoyed this enormous red velvet one with cream cheese frosting and whipped cream. Yum!