December 18

Another busy day! Tonight I'm getting some decorations and baking done for a dinner our small group is hosting for the special needs class at church tomorrow. Since I am not feeling so great or energetic, I simplified my baking plans tonight. Instead of baking cookies, I made peppermint bark. And what a good decision that was! Peppermint bark is so quick and easy to make, and it tastes really yummy too!!

December 17

So I've already reached the awkward stage of pregnancy where it is difficult to find clothes that will fit. My pants are getting too tight. I can rubberband them and they are wearable, but then I have to be sure that my shirts are long enough to cover up the fact that my pants are not completely fastened. It's getting harder to put together an outfit that I like and that is comfortable to wear.

At 13 weeks, I'm already looking like I did at about 20 weeks last time. It's a bit sad, but I know I was spoiled last time around because I really never got that big. And I know that many women start to show earlier with their 2nd child. I know this is normal. But it's still a bit stressful for me...I have about 186 days ahead of me where I need to find some sort of clothing to wear. And I prefer for that clothing to fit me and at least be somewhat in fashion.

My goal last pregnancy was to hold out on maternity clothes for as long as possible. And I made it for a pretty long time...I didn't have to seriously start wearing maternity clothes until I was 6-7 months, and even then I was still able to wear several of my regular shirts. I'd like to make that my goal this time, but it is going to be kind of tricky. But I hate maternity clothes; they are expensive and rarely do they fit in a flattering way. So I went shopping today to try to come up with an alternative...or at least something to buy me a couple more months of regular clothes-wearing!

And my solution: jeggings! They are jeans, but they are also leggings, hence the name "jeggings". I'm not sure if I am really able to pull off the jeggings. I kind of feel like a 30 year old trying to look like a teenager. But whether I can pull it off or not, it's going to be my new look. They are comfortable and stretchy, and they have a low rise, elastic waistband...so hopefully they will fit for a while longer still.
I really don't have money to be spending on clothes right now, but I am declaring this a fashion emergency! I think a couple more pairs of legging/jeggings, a few more long tunics or sweaters, and maybe a new pair of boots, and I just might make it through most of the winter without maternity clothes! (Unless my faithful blog readers see these pictures and tell me that I am making a huge fashion mistake here. Then I will listen to all of your sound advice and seek another solution to my clothing dilemma!).

December 16

Oh my, what a day! I am completely worn out.

It was the last Sprouts day of 2010. And it was another good day for Audrey at Sprouts. She was being so nice to the other kids. Sharing toys and telling the other kids "hi" and "thank you". She normally doesn't want any other kids anywhere near her, so this new attitude was a welcome change.
Audrey got to make two crafts at Sprouts this morning: a candle (shown in the picture below) and a gift bag. She really enjoys crafts right now, and she was especially excited about this candle!

Santa also made an appearance at Sprouts today! Audrey didn't pose quite as well with him this time, but she was still excited to get to sit on Santa's lap again. And after seeing Santa, she got to eat a cookie, which was the real highlight of the morning.
I had a Christmas recital with my piano students tonight. In September, it always sounds like a good, fun idea to plan a Christmas recital...but when the time comes to actually do it, it's just a lot of work at a really busy time of year! I even played a song at this recital, which added to the stress of the day.

While I was prepping for the recital, Audrey got to go with the Lanters to a Christmas party at the Early Learning Center...where she got to make 3 more crafts!! She also got to decorate and eat a Christmas cookie. Then Lindsey brought her to the recital, where she sat and listened and clapped for everyone, before getting to eat yet another cookie. I'm surprised she went to sleep tonight after all the sweets she had today!

In the midst of everything else, I got my Nook in the mail today, thanks to an early Christmas present from my dad! I downloaded a couple of books this afternoon, but I didn't have much time at all. I'm so tired and icky feeling now, but I'm hoping to stay awake at least for a few more minutes so I can try it out. After I've had more time, I'll post a full review of what I think about this electronic reading device!

December 15

Today Audrey and I did not leave the house, and we stayed in our pajamas all day! I had several things to get done at home, and no real reason to go out, so we just made it a stay at home day.

To keep Audrey entertained, I pulled out some toys that she hasn't seen in a while...one being this duck board game. I showed Audrey one time how to play the game (pick up a duck, look at the color on the bottom, then match that color to the circle on the coordinating color of lily pad). And she figured out how to play right away! She pulled all the ducks off and then put them on the coordinating lily pads, all by herself! I don't know that this is really an advanced skill, probably most two year olds could match colors (though the game is for 3-8 year olds). But I was still impressed that she was able to play a game by following the actual rules of the game. Yet another reminder of how quickly she is growing up!

On a side note, our Christmas cards arrived today. They look great. Except for the one typo on the inside of the cards. And that one typo is driving me crazy! It is totally my fault, as I'm the one who typed it. And it's really not that big of a deal, most people may not even notice. But it is a misspelled word on all 60 of our Christmas cards, and it is going to bother me to mail them out to everyone knowing its there. I still will mail them out, but it is going to bother me. That's what I get for waiting to the last minute to make my cards, and then quickly trying to finish in time for the free deadline on a night when I was feeling tired and sick.

So if you get a Christmas card from us this year, let's make a game out of it! Kind of like Where's Waldo...Where's the Typo?

December 14

I made this banner a few years ago to hang up at Christmas time. It's not really all that exciting, but Audrey loves it. She is always pointing to it and asking what's that? So we tell her that it says "Noel". To which she responds, "No-ho-el", which is how she thinks noel is pronounced.

She got this idea from our friends, who have a little boy named Joel (pronounced "ho-el"). So, Audrey must associate the rhyming sounds of Noel and Joel and she puts them together to create "no-ho-el."

Since she likes the word noel so much, we taught her about the song "The First Noel." She will try to sing the chorus, and it is just so adorable: "no-ho-el, no-ho-el, no-ho-el, no-ho-el." A video would make this story so much better and cuter, but all I have for tonight is this picture.

Audrey is starting to talk so much now, I need to be writing down all the funny/cute things she is saying. So, for my records, here are some random things she has been saying lately:

*She is starting to use sentences. One of her first sentences: "I wanna see Mommy (or Daddy or Santa or someone else she likes) now."

*Sometimes her sentence structure is a bit off. Today, I was carrying a bunch of stuff in from the car and I wanted her to walk instead of me carrying her. She isn't a big fan of walking in the frigid temps and the snow, so she said: "no wanna walk snow Audrey", which means "Audrey doesn't want to walk in the snow" (pronouns are also still difficult, so she still refers to herself in 3rd person often)

*She likes to try to help you by bringing you something that she thinks you want, and then she says "thank you Audrey" before you have the chance to tell her thank you yourself.

*She loves McDonalds. I feel like a bad mom because she is so familiar with the place at the age of 2. We really don't go there THAT often, but she loves it. If you ask her about McDonalds, she will spout this off in a very excited voice: "Dedonalds (McDonalds). Nuggets. Tee Ties (french fries). Apples. Pepup (ketchup). Milk."

*Audrey has learned from us how to talk to Maggie. And that is probably not a good thing, because we are always annoyed with Maggie. Her newest phrase is "Naggie, go away." And she says it very clearly and seriously. She has also figured out that the phrase "go away" can be used in reference to other kids. When Lindsey was babysitting our small group kids the other night, she said that Audrey kept telling all the other kids to "go away". Oh dear!!!!

December 13

Tonight Audrey and I decorated a gingerbread house. It took her a while to catch on to the idea that we were making something and not just eating the icing and candy. But she eventually got the hang of it...sort of. I'd say for every one piece she put on the house, she ate about 4-5 more! We worked pretty quickly, because I was kind of afraid of her getting a stomachache from all the sweets.

Audrey and I also made muffins this morning. We make muffins quite a bit because 1. it warms up the kitchen, 2. Audrey likes to help with baking, and 3. I like to eat muffins! After we get the muffins in the oven, Audrey knows that we have to wait for the oven to go "beep, beep beep!" and then we get to eat one. So she insists that we sit right in front of the stove and watch them until the oven beeps. Every time we make muffins, she wants me to sit right there next to her on the floor and watch the muffins until the oven beeps.

December 12

Whew! What a busy day today! Fortunately, I was feeling pretty good and made it through all the festivities.
This morning was the church preschool Christmas program. All the preschools classes (ages 2-5) participated, which included Audrey! She was the youngest kid there, and I was nervous about what she would do during the program.

She did well for about 3/4 of the time. She never looked too excited to be there, but she sat in her chair and was quiet. She did some of the actions to the songs they were singing.
She held up her Bible during the B-I-B-L-E song.
She pretended to rock baby Jesus with everyone else during Away in a Manger.
She picked her nose. I was both afraid and certain that this would happen at some point during the program. Audrey is obsessed with picking her nose lately. (If anyone has any tips on how to get her to stop this, I'd be happy to hear them). Lindsey happened to be sitting close enough to get a picture of her in action.
And towards the end, Audrey decided she had enough of the program and started to cry. It was kind of a long program, so I don't really blame her. They quickly brought her over to sit with me, and that made her happy again.
She is such a big girl! I can't believe she is old enough to participate in a Christmas program already.

I also have another set of pictures from our small group progressive dinner tonight. But I'm not feeling like getting those all edited/uploaded tonight, so maybe I'll save them for tomorrow instead!