A Christmas Skipped, but Made UP

Later that afternoon, since Brianna was napping through the Bonkoski family Christmas gift exhange, we caught up on Christmas gifts after her birthday party get together. Again, she just had a blast unwrapping each gift. Ahh, to be two again...

B turns 2 - continued...

Instead of a party at our house this year (due to lingering illnesses), we decided to invite whoever could come to Pizza Luce and feast on deliciousness! It has amazing pizza, and just as delicious gluten free pizza. Before leaving for Pizza Luce, Gammie stopped by to give Brianna her birthday gift one on one. She had so much practice over Christmas that as soon as she saw the gifts, she wanted to open them. Jon was finishing getting ready, and I kept having to tell her to wait for daddy. It was a challenge but she was able to wait! 

 Once we settled into our seats and ordered our pizza's, Brianna got another chance to open gifts. It was an arts and crafts type birthday, with paint, paper, markers, and the like. We thank everyone for your gifts, she enjoys them all immensely!

I wanted to have something special for Brianna to top off her birthday - what better than a yummy gluten free red velvet cupcake with freshly topped cream cheese frosting. Does it make your mouth water?

It was a perfect end to a fabulous lunch and wonderful celebration of our little girl. We love Brianna so much. She is particular about everything and helps with anything. She cares deeply for family and simply just loves to play. Who knew someone so little could have so much passion!

 Thank you to everyone who was able to make it, and all those who were there in spirit, to help make Brianna's birthday so special. I know she enjoyed the company!

B turns 2

After running across my mom's krumkaka makers, I thought it would be fun to make some this year. It was my first ever attempt ever and we even made them gluten free! Little did I know that the first batch,  made with my mom, I completely forgot to add the eggs. I checked and rechecked the recipe as we mixed it but... I still forgot. Turns out, they still tasted good anyway! 

So, after one semi-failed/mostly-successful first attempt, I thought I'd make a little more for Brianna's Birthday (krum)cake. While she napped, I whipped up another batch. It's not a quick process, but I was in the krumkaka creating mood. (Note: krumkaka makers don't work well on electric stove-tops.) It was a pretty peaceful process until I realized oil was burning under the maker on the electric coils and the entire upstairs was very smoky. It was time to turn on the fan... not so peaceful anymore.  

Anyway, so after krumkaka making and Brianna's nap it was time to open gifts! She was well versed in the ripping paper aspect and was so excited to see the gifts. I asked her to sit down, and she sat right down- no hesitation. When something so great is at hand, she has wonderful listening ears.

One of the gifts Brianna received for her birthday was a little farm animal bowling set. She thought is was pretty cool and started knocking them down instantly. Please don't ask what Carl is wearing. Have I mentioned we were all sick. This outfit, must have looked good at the time, otherwise it was the only thing clean...

THEN... it was Krumkaka time! We even lit a candle and she knew how to blow it out. Check out the enjoyment!

Aye Me

Resting up the day after Christmas from all the excitement and sickness, Carl struck a pose during his nap on the couch. It's funny how certain poses our kids take seem to be carried down from us. You just have to wonder... Is he really mimicking us or is it really just that comfortable? No matter what the answer, he is super cute doing it!

On Christmas Day, On Christmas Day

Christmas morning we packed up as soon as we could and headed over to Gammie and Gampie's house. Like I mentioned previously, we were having some rough nights, so we seemed a little sluggish getting out of the house. Thankfully, all the gifts were already at my parents house from the evening before (Christmas Eve with my extended family), leaving us one less thing to remember, or I'm pretty sure we would have forgotten them. 

Yes, this is our dog. I caught him just as he was readjusting, but his front half of his body was on top of Carl's carseat. It was a, "they caught me" moment for him I think.

The joys of opening gifts and then sharing in their wonderfulness. Thanks to everyone for the amazing gifts. We're having so much fun with our new toys.

She also (as did the rest of us) had a great time being with cousins, Aunts and Uncles. She climbed on to Uncle Jerimy's lap and made herself cozy, even managed to get him to read her a book. There are many wonderful things about the holidays, but one that I love most is being able to gather with as much family as possible and share stories, laughter, and memories, whether it's for hours or a few brief moments.

Our Christmas morning picture... What Brianna really needed here was a nap, but unfortunately she wasn't going to take one all day. Carl's happy though, and completely ready for pictures. He seems to always be camera ready!

~Here's a few pictures of us while we opened gifts~

What says Christmas more than Dance?

I'd say it's quite fitting to dance during Christmas - I mean the joy of the season is just too great to keep inside!! My niece and I were burning up the dance floor. I don't claim to be a professional, but I do just want to have fun. 

On Christmas eve we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house to break bread and spend time together. To start the festivities we got a VERY cute picture with them. We found out later, the picture would be used for a special new book for Carl.

We had a little time before the rest of the party arrived, so we helped grandma lay down some snow (since we were lacking some outside) because the Christmas bear needed something to stand on.  Then we read part of Grandma's Christmas book from when she was little.

 THEN... Uncle Jeff arrives! She loves her uncle!

AND Aunt Shelley came too! Carl loves Aunt Shelley!

If it seemed Brianna disappeared during the gift opening, it's because she was taking a much needed nap. The night before (Christmas Eve eve) we went to urgent care to get Brianna checked out (for the second time that week) and turned out she had an ear infection and she was not doing well. She was having problems all week - just not able to sleep - which made it a challenging week for all of us. So we let her sleep. But Carl enjoyed the added attention, working through each gift with purpose.

It was his first Christmas Eve celebration, what memories!

 Oh... and his new blanket!

A little of this... a little of that!

Do you see what I see?

While outside picking up after Eko (usually unprecedented mid-Dec because of all the snow), a HUGE hawk swooped down over the creek, disturbed the ducks, and landed on a tree limb in our neighbors yard - just a few feet away from me. I thought it was cool, so I quickly and silently ran into the house to get the camera. Thankfully he was still there when I got back. The only thing was, try keeping a 2 year old quiet so she doesn't scare him off, or worse yet, him get agitated and fly by her.
He nicely perched while I took his picture, then flew back the way he came, again disturbing the ducks. I love our backyard!

Then there is Carl, who opted to borrow his Sister's pink warm marshmallow jumpsuit to go outside with us. He'd rather not go through the embarrassment, so he slept through this outing!

Once back inside, we made some yummy Christmas wreath cookies. Brianna did a great job decorating with red hots and sprinkles. We had to wash her hands a few times during the process though because the sprinkles kept melting in her hand and she would get upset. She's a little funny about dirty hands.

On a different note, who says you need to a phone to talk to your (Imaginary) friends. I never knew a remote could had a dual function! Enjoy!

More Lights!

Throughout the holiday season, Brianna realized quickly that Christmas lights were pretty cool, and all she wanted was "more lights". No matter how many I pointed out, it never seemed good enough. Perhaps, silly me, I thought we would go see a lights display that would be so much more than what we see driving around our neighborhood. Again, it wasn't good enough! I'm sure it was wonderful to her, which is why she kept asking for more lights... but the way her little voice sounded, it was no where near her anticipation level. Just ask Uncle Jerimy and Aunt Meg - they'll tell you!

Check out Aunt Meg's blog for more pictures and a wonderful video. Unfortunately, we weren't able to capture the "more lights." Maybe next year!

Thanks for the invite and piling in to one car to enjoy the light spectacular. I'd say, new tradition?

Carlson Family Christmas

It's always a joy to be together and catch up with Jon's Aunt (his mom's sister) and her family.  Every year we get together to spend time with on another, open gifts, and celebrate Christmas with Grandpa Bill. This was our second chance to Celebrate Christmas and open gifts, with Thanksgiving with Betsy, Dave and Justin, being the first. I'm pretty sure Brianna was loving the extra opportunities to dig into wrapping paper. 

 

 It's SO fun because there are a ton of kids... so laughter and noise permeate the room! With Brianna able to walk around and interact more this year, she was off with one or the other of the older kids. They were so responsible and if I came looking, they politely said where she was and who she was with (as if to say, no need to worry, we got her!). THANKS to everyone who helped her feel apart of the big kid group and played with her. She loves you all!

Grandpa Bill and Vi were delighted to have everyone around and be able to share in the Christmas spirit. We sang carols, had yummy snacks, and the kids exchanged gifts. What a blessing it is to have these memories!

 

This year, the gathering also landed on Jon's mom's birthday. So we were able to extend the festivities with a delicious flourless chocolate cake and birthday song.

And let's not forget Uncle Jeff - he's very popular with Brianna. For days after this weekend, she kept asking, "where'd Uncle Jeff go?" You are very loved.

Smiley Guy

You can always find ways to get Carl to smile. I think he just loves to show off. Here are a few pictures from the middle of December. You can also just start to see his two bottom teeth poking through in the top picture. And below is nap time. He wasn't in December, and still isn't, sleeping all the way through the night, so I have to make every nap count. I guess I decided to take pictures instead of nap myself! Can you blame me!?

Here he's trying so hard to figure out how to move so he can keep up with his Busy Sister B... at least he was right before I started recording.