Merry Christmas 2010

Seasonal Chic 2010 Christmas 5x7 folded card

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November

Here I am catching up on the highlights of November.... The most exciting news of the month is that Carter is binky free! It only took us until he was 2.5 years to get up the courage to get rid of it, but we finally did it! It got lost one day and when I found it I chucked it in the garbage so I wouldn't be able to give it to him ever again. He has adjusted amazingly well and only asked for it for one day and then got over it. Pretty amazing if you know how addicted he was to it! And it is a great relief to not have him whining and crying for his binky 24 hours a day.

Carter has decided that Matson is pretty cool now that he's more interactive. He greets him after every nap (no matter how late at night it is) with a high pitched sing song "Good Morning Matson. Did you sleep good?" He copies everything we say to the baby and makes us realize how ridiculous we must sound. :) He also likes to poke him and tell him how much he loves him. I'm coming to realize that gentle and a 2 year old boy don't go together so I'm trying to adapt.

Matson enjoyed his first Thanksgiving by sleeping through most of it.

He has become very into his toys. He likes to bat at his toys and talk to them. Sometimes he gets so excited that he lets out a giggle as he talks to his doggy toy. It's pretty adorable!

Kelsie is working on persuasive writing at school. She is currently writing a letter to me to convince me of all the reasons she should get an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas. She tells me her latest reason every day when she comes home from school. I saw her letter when I was helping in her class. It was quiet persuasive and well written, but I'm still not convinced. I think the problem is me...not the writer. She has been practicing the piano a lot to prepare for her first piano recital which she is very excited about. Her 3rd grade class went to see "Knuffle Bunny" which was on tour from the Kennedy Center in D.C. It was a fun experience for her.

This is Emily on Thanksgiving and the last time I saw her with that much color. She has had 2 bouts of Strep Throat in the last 2 weeks and has been so sick. The doctor thinks she probably breeds strep since she's had it 4 times in the last year and may need her tonsils out, but we're not thinking about that yet. She cried for an hour when I told her she couldn't go to school. She loves it so much! I had no idea a kid could love school this much but it sure is nice.

The hardest part of being sick has been not being able to hold her baby brother, and that about drove her crazy. She can't get enough of him. The nice thing (for me at least) has being able to spend some 1-1 time with her while she recovered. She is quite a talker if you get her alone. I've learned more about her. She was telling me about a friend on the bus that was feeling sad and left out. She was very upset about it and told me "I'd rather be the one that is left out then see one of my friends be left out." She was so sincere. How sweet is that?

Student of the Week

Emily was given the award of Student of the Week at her school.

This is why her kindergarten teacher said she was chosen:

She is such a hard worker. Emily always does her work neatly. She works quickly and quietly. She is a great friend. She is wonderful in writing and is a great reader! Her smile always brightens my day. :)

We are so proud of Emily. When she came home she was SO excited about her award but didn't really know why she'd gotten it. She was just excited to have her name called over the intercom to come to the office. First she told me her name was picked from a drawing and then she said maybe it was because she's always nice to everyone in the class. When I explained the award to her and read what her teacher wrote she was so happy and proud.

And the best part for the parents was that she got a free meal at Cafe Rio. Pretty awesome since it's our favorite restaurant ever. Hopefully it won't confuse the kids too much when they find out they have real kids meal there...not just free kids quesadillas. :)

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

One of my favorite Christmas activities is sending out Christmas greeting cards each year. Mostly because I love receiving Christmas cards from family and friends from all over and getting a little update on people I haven't heard from since last year. This year I was seriously considering opting out on the Christmas cards UNTIL I saw Shutterfly's new holiday card collection. I absolutely love their cards and I'm so excited to try something a little different this year. They have lots of new, modern designs that are so cute. Here is one of my favorites:

The folded greeting cards were the ones I plan to use. They have the traditional picture on the outside. But inside they have room to write out your message, complete with pictures to go along with it. I think this will be an easier way to send out a message along with the photo cards. Here is one example:

To see more examples of their Christmas cards go to:

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards

Shutterfly has lots of other photo gifts you should check out. I have used their site to make photo calendars and photo books. I am always impressed by the products I get from Shutterfly. Their products are very professional and high quality. The pictures are crisp and clear.

Here is a link to their photo calendars: http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars

If you are a fellow blogger and are interested in blogging about Shutterfly's Christmas greeting cards you can receive free Christmas cards!

Three Months Old

Blue

The other morning I was out running errands. We pulled into the Target parking lot and Carter became outraged. Our conversation went something like this:

C-What is this store?

Me- Target

C-It's red. I want to go to a different store. I want to go to Walmart.

Me-NO, today we're going to Target. Why don't you want to go to this store?

C- It's red and I like blue.

Me-huh? Is he serious?

Oh, he was very serious. You should have seen the look of disgust on his face as I placed him in the RED shopping cart. I'm thinking he might be taking his Cougar loyalty a little too seriously.

Smiles Captured

I've been trying for a month, without much luck, to capture those first baby smiles. Finally I managed to get a few pictures that capture the big, goofy, toothless grin of our Matson.