Turning 30
The last week has been full of lots of wonderful excitement and fun. Exactly a week ago, my dear husband hit the big 3-0. Happy birthday, honey! You're STILL older than me, and did I mention that you're old? :)
Preparing for Christmas
The family fun started on December 23rd. Chase had Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, and because of planned festivities with extended family, we decided to have just our Christmas on Christmas Eve morning. But it all started the night before. Lily didn't know it yet, but this was her last night sleeping in her crib:
After Chase finished reading her stories and putting her to bed, the fun started! We got the box from its hiding place in the garage and started assembling the most adorable toddler bed ever. It would have gone together smoothly had I not messed up reading the directions... On the final step, we realized that I had transposed a couple of the main bed frame pieces. Oops! So we had to disassemble practically the whole thing and flip things around. (Thanks, Chase, for noticing, fixing it, and not making a big deal about it.) Once the bed was assembled, we added the mattress, bedding pillows, and I got out the wrapping paper and a big bow:
Initially Chase was skeptical - why would we give our daughter a piece of furniture for Christmas when we needed to give it to her (logistically) anyway? Since Baby Bit Francl is due in April, Lily needs to move out of the crib, and the bed seemed too utilitarian of a gift to him at first. But ultimately, it was THE BEST part of Christmas!
"Christmas" Morning
I have a video of Christmas morning, but it's not uploading for some reason. It starts with Chase and I going to get Lily out of her crib. I carry her out to the living room where she says "Oh!" and points to the Christmas tree. We talk about the big present, and when I ask her what she thinks it is, she tells me "It's a crib!" I ask how she knows it's a crib as she pulls off the wrapping paper. When she sees what's under the wrapping she says, "It's a bed!" and climbs aboard, where she stays for the remainder of the video. She sat on it while she opened her stocking and all of her other presents. So cute!I love this little face:
She's SO proud of her new big girl bed! After stockings we had breakfast, then opened the rest of the presents that were hanging out under the tree. Then moving the crib out and the bed in started. Lily was SUPER "helpful" as Chase took the crib apart. She wanted to be part of getting that old thing out. We vacuumed, moved the rocking chair, and put her big girl bed in a different place in the room than her crib. Once we got it all arranged, she climbed in:
I seriously can't even express how thrilled she was. And thus, her excitement quite matched my own (I have been giddy to give her this bed for months!), and even Chase admitted, in retrospect, that the big girl bed was the best gift this Christmas. :) We spent the rest of the day at home - Chase napped, and while he napped Lily tried to nap. When it really came down to it, the big girl bed was just too exciting. She was sitting in her new bed and Chase tossed one of her stuffed animals to her. She tossed it on the floor just so she could get out of bed, pick up the stuffed animal, and get back in. Freedom!
Excited as I was for her big girl bed, I still want her to nap. And the truth is, she still needs a nap! On Christmas Eve, I ended up laying on the floor by her bed for an hour and a half while neither of us napped. It was cute to watch her play quietly in her bed, but I realized that I couldn't do that everyday - my aching hips and shoulders told me so! But, I figured, if she didn't nap, she'd sleep well all night!
Christmas Eve Night
We finished Christmas Eve with Mom and my sister, eating clam chowder and playing games. Lily went down at her normal bed time and never once got out of bed. Chase and I went to bed at midnight, but at 3am I heard it. A cry. I went to Lily's room and she had lost her pacifier. (Please don't judge me. I know she's 2. We'll get rid of it... eventually. I'm just not ready for that yet!) So I found it for her, tucked her in, turned on her music box, and went back to bed. For the next hour, I listened to her turn her music box on over and over and over again.At 4am, I went in and told her this was the last time she could turn on her music. She bawled. So I grabbed my pillow and a blanket and figured, "She'll be asleep in a few minutes." WRONG. I laid there on the floor next to her bed from 4am to 6am. She didn't try to get out of bed, she didn't fuss, she didn't talk to me, she just didn't sleep. *sigh* Here are some thoughts that went through my head as I was awake in those wee hours:
- I'm not ready for the infant phase again.
- I'm so glad I'm not Mary 2,000 years ago, pushing out the Savior of the World on this night
- That was not a silent night
- Will this toddler bed be worth it?
- Maybe we should have left the crib up
- Lily's never going to be able to sleep with her Baby Bit Francl sharing the same room
- I hope she sleeps for at least a few hours more
- Lily's going to be a mess for the big Francl Family Christmas on Christmas Day
- I'm grateful that I get to sleep on my toddler's floor - she is a blessing and someday I will wish that I could live this night again.
I got up, told her that she needed to go to sleep, turned on her music box, and went back to my bed. After 20 minutes, I thought we had won the battle - I didn't hear her, and I thought the music should have shut off again. However, 20 minutes after that, she cried again. I grabbed the egg crate mattress pad from the closet, my 3 pillows, my big comforter (Chase and I each have our own), and made a semi-comfy bed on the floor next to the big girl bed. *sigh* After being awake from 3-7am, I told Lily she needed to go to sleep, I laid down on the floor by her bed, turned my back to her, and waited. It took about 7 minutes and she FINALLY fell asleep. We all slept till 10am on Christmas Day!
Christmas Day
After a leisurely morning, we headed to Chase's parents' house for the day. Lily (who was now used to big presents), found the biggest present and tried to claim it. Turned out it was for Grandma Gayle, but Lily had fun sitting on it. :)
With lots of activity all day, I was actually glad to be at the Francl grandparents' where Lily was used to sleeping in the pack n play. So that's where she actually napped that day *whew!* After nap and before supper, we opened presents. Lily got a ball in one of her gifts, and here she is concentrating on learning to catch. (Truth be told, she didn't actually catch the ball when I took the picture, but she's getting much better - her daddy works with her regularly on her ball handling skills.)
After Christmas
From her cousin Ella, Lily got a Hello Kitty tent and sleeping bag - these have quickly become favorites around our house. On the 26th, Lily and I cleaned the house and put everything away while Chase was at work. I took down Lily's kitchen set (which was in our extra-wide hallway) to make room for her Hello Kitty tent. This was a good move. We'll get the kitchen set out again sometime after Baby Bit joins us, I think.
The tent is a 3ft x 4 ft tent with a total height around 3 ft at the center. It's super cute, but I can attest that pregnant mommy doesn't fit in it very well... That didn't stop us from putting the bean bag in there and snuggling in for some reading time tonight. Lily didn't seem to mind that my feet stuck out the end!
Fish n Chips
In other news, we now have fish. I can't remember if I've blogged about them yet or not - I know I've put them on Facebook. It wasn't really planned that we'd get fish. Chase and I just went to my work Christmas party at which there was a white elephant gift exchange. I was thrilled to have a number kind of in the middle-end. 29 out or 40. Perfect. It meant there'd be plenty of good stuff out there to steal, but I would have options on the gift table too.I was leaning toward stealing these coffee mugs from one of my coworkers. (There is a perfect shape of coffee mug - I've only ever known 1 cup with exactly that shape. It's curved so that when you cup your hands around it, they both fit perfectly, but then the lip of the cup comes out so it's easy to drink... yeah. I met this cup when I worked at Hillsdale College. We fought over the cup. Whoever got into the office first in a given day got it. I've been trying to find another one ever since. *sigh*) The mugs were close to the right shape, but they weren't quite there. So instead, I stole the "Fish n Chips" bag - a can of Pringles, a small container of fish food, and 2 live Walmart goldfish!
Chase was less than supportive - he didn't think fish were a good idea. (I'm not sure if he's come around to them or not, yet.) But none of the last 11 people stole them from me - CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?!? I made out like a bandit! :)
Lily was THRILLED with her fish. Chase lovingly helped her name them "Chovi" and "Ann." They get fed 2x daily, and they get talked about SO much more than that. Lily loves them! They've kind of become community supported fish. Originally, I borrowed a big vase from my mom for them, but another coworker (not the one I got the fish from) offered to give us a small fish tank with a little castle in it. Today while we were shopping, Lily picked out pink gravel for the tank, and we got water conditioner to make tap water safe for little "Ann" and "Chovi."
Tomorrow (once the water has had time to adjust to room temp), they move from the vase ghetto with filthy water to a 3 room mansion with sparklingly clear water:
And there is a little girl who can't quit talking about getting them moved:
Lily
She is simply the best. Becoming a parent does things to your perspective. No longer is it about having things I want, but rather I want what will make her experience of the world around her more enjoyable and exciting. She's hit this phase in the last week or two where she is making longer sentences or statements (like, "Mommy, look! There's a Hello Kitty ornament on our Christmas tree!"). And she gets so excited to get the idea out that she stumbles around in the middle of the sentence because her mouth can't keep up with her thoughts. It's absolutely adorable and wonderful! And, I think, the vast majority of moms out there know exactly what I mean.I've often wondered at Christmas time about Mary. It's impossible to imagine what life was like for her. I mean, how did they even cut the umbilical cord (as my sis-in-law pointed out)? Not to mention how did she feel with a bunch of delusional, stinky, dirty shepherds with some crazy story about angels coming to see her baby. Was she seriously up for that visit? But I don't wonder if she was delighted in seeing her children take delight in the world around them. She did. And while Christmas is about Christ and the Gift of Life He brings to us, it's also a reminder to delight. Delight in the little things, delight in the gifts, delight in our families, delight in life, and delight in One Who Gives Life.
Merry Christmas from our family to yours.
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