Tabitha's 2nd Christmas

It's hard to believe that we have already had Tabitha's second Christmas.  I now understand why people would always say that the time goes so quickly.  It's seems not that long ago that it was Tabitha's first Christmas.

Tabitha had a fantastic day yesterday.  While I was thinking that she would grasp the concept more of opening gifts (instead she liked to just put them back under the tree!), we still had a great time. 

Here's a recap of Tab's Christmas weekend:

We started Christmas Eve off at the zoo.  As you can see, Tabitha is dressed appropriately with her zoo shirt on!

We then got dressed for church.

We prepared for Santa to arrive.  After everything was just right, Tabitha went to bed.

Tabitha awoke to lots of presents under the Christmas tree!

Time to open gifts!  Tabitha still didn't really get to tear at the wrapping paper, so mom and dad had to help a lot.  Many times she also insisted on putting the gifts back under the tree. 

When she had opend her last gift she gave Fred a big hug and a kiss.  We think that she liked her Cabbage Patch doll and the craddle for it; however, at the time she insisted that it was meant for her to sit in.  So, for the time being, mom and dad decided that because it requires adult supervision (in case she keeps crawling in it) that this gift would be put away for a later time.

Tabitha also got to do a lot of other fun things on Christmas Day, she....

-Skyped with her grandparents from Indiana.  You have to love the technology because even though they are many miles away they got to watch Tabitha open her Christmas gift from them and play with it.

-Tabitha played outside.  Instead of playing in the snow and making a snowman, she ran around in the grass and kicked the soccer ball in the 40 degree weather.  I reminded her that this rarely happens!

-Went over to her Minnesota grandparents house for dinner and opening Christmas gifts there, too. 

-While at the grandparents house her Auntie Abby called from Prague wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.  Again...amazing how wonderful technology is that we can talk with our loved ones halfway across the world!

All in all, it was a FANTASTIC day for Tabitha!

Getting ready for Santa!

Tabitha was prepping tonight for Santa's big arrival. She made sure he had all of the fixings so that he wouldn't pass her by.

A little note to make sure that Santa knew exactly which house he was at.

Getting everything ready.

I can't wait to see what he brings me!

Sick Day

Tabs had a little something this week, so she stayed home from "school" a couple of days. As she was playing in the basement, Fred had to come see what was going on. A few minutes later we found them like this:

From Tabitha: Oh Fred....you make such a nice pillow!

From Fred: Hey, how do you get this thing off of me. She thinks I make a great pillow, which by the way I do not!

Winter Wonderland

Unlike the title suggests, Minnesota this year has NOT been a winter wonderland. Last year at this time, we had snow up to our hips. This year, we've had just enough to cover the ground, only for it to get warm and melt everything.

So, one day while we still had snow on the ground, Tabitha and I headed outside to do a little playing in it. Oh what fun for a 1 year old! She loved walking around in the white stuff. There were constant smiles and laughs.

We didn't stay out long, but we look forward to playing in it when there's more of it to play in.

A trip to Elf-land

Yesterday (yes, I am really writing about something that happened yesterday...hard to believe, I know), Tabitha, James and I went to the downtown Macy's store to see their 8th floor display. Each year at Christmastime they deck it out with a fun display. This year the theme was "A Day in the Life of an Elf". Tabitha enjoyed walking around and looking at the moving figures.

After the elf-land display, we had the chance to meet Santa. I was a little leary about this because my plan had been to let Tabitha watch Santa from a distance, then gradually get closer as we would wait in line. We just knew that it wouldn't be as easy as last year, when she didn't care who she was held by. Because we went so early on Saturday morning, there wasn't a line, but it was also a "surprise" to see Santa...as he was waiting from behind a curtain. Which, I have to say is nice, because the whole world isn't watching you then. So, we entered. Tabitha immediately squirmed to get out of my hands. We decided to sit by Santa for a few seconds, and then eventually put her on Santa's lap. As you can see from the photo she didn't really care for it. The plus-side...she wasn't screaming like some kids. We decided to get a photo to capture the day!

Waiting for Santa

Meeting the guy in the red suit

Finally, to wrap up the day we watched a puppet show, which Tabitha LOVED! As her teachers at daycare tell us, she does great just sitting during music time, but I didn't know how she would do with a bunch of other fidgety kids. James got on the floor with her and they had a blast! For a 25 minute show she didn't make a peep or fidget.

Overall it was a great time...how do we know...Tabitha fell asleep on the way home!

Tabitha now has her first "walking" injury. She was at daycare and playing outside. Because she's just a peanut, I've had a hard time finding her boots that will fit her, so I resorted to buying boots a size too big, which to a little girl, means they are huge! Normally she does really well, but throw in a combination of running and an uneven ground she's bound to take a tumble. Unfortunately, that tumble came at the cost of some skin on her nose.

A little TLC on the wounds, and a lot of hugs and kisses made it much better.

Good luck Auntie Abby and Uncle Steve!

Tabitha's aunt and uncle are moving today. They sold their house in St. Louis and are trading it for a villa in the Swiss Alps. Okay, so maybe not a villa in the Swiss Alps, but at least an apartment in Zurich, Switzerland.

Steve landed a fantastic opportunity to work in Switzerland with his job for just shy of two years. Today is their moving day and they are headed abroad. Suitcases packed, boxes ready to be shipped, and cats with passports and visas.

Good luck Abby and Steve and we can't wait to visit you this summer!

Ready for winter!

Tabitha is getting used to bundling up for winter these days. Last year it was fairly easy because we were just able to keep her in her car seat, and put blankets over her to keep her warm. Now that she's not in her bucket car seat any more, and we have to physically take her out of the car seat, she needs the whole gammet of clothing.

While we were smart last year to buy clothes on clearance at the end of the season, we misjudged her sizing for this year. We bought 18 month jackets thinking that they would be fairly close to fitting this year. Wrong....because she's barely wearing a size 12 month, we had to get her a new jacket. (The good news is that the 12 month size snowsuit we bought last year for $5 fits and she can now wear it!).

The one accessory she truly enjoys putting on...in fact Tabitha begs to have it put on, is her hat. As you can see by the picture, it's all about the kitty. It's cute how she'll just walk around the house with it on. Hopefully, someday when she's a teenager, she'll enjoy wearing hats as much as she does now (okay, probably not, but I can wish!).

I just thought that I would post these because they are cute. They were taken about a month ago.

I love this photo. It was a quiet Sunday morning after church, and the two of them were just watching the squirrels in the backyard. The moment didn't last long however...soon Tabitha realized that it was too quiet and started seeing if Fred could fit between the two doors.

I'm finally getting around to posting more pictures from Tabitha's 1st birthday!

Think she got spoiled this year?

Ohh...this looks very interesting!

More gifts?

This bug house is cool! How come you don't like the real bugs we have in the house mama?

Yes, I am 1 and I am cute as a button.

What is this?

Hey what happened to that real cake you just put in front of me?

Why is everyone insisting that I eat this cupcake? I don't want to!!!

Fred...what else can I say? He did this on his own.

"We're off to see the wizard...."

I didn't realize this until after I took the picture...but Tabitha's got a Dorothy (from the Wizard of Oz) outfit. The blue dress and ruby red shoes. What fun we have dressing her up! (oh...but she chose her"bracelets" that day...aka some rings that she's able to fit over her hands).

Go Dada Go!

James ran (and finished) the Twin Cities Marathon on October 2 this year. Tabitha wanted to make sure that she didn't miss his first marathon, so she came out on a cool morning to cheer her dada on!

Tabitha with her sign

Ringing her bell for the runners

Goofin' around

Dada you are awesome...just 13 miles left!

On his way again!

I can see the finish line!

FINISHER!!

With his medal (too bad I didn't do a good job focusing the camera)

State Park #5

A few weeks ago Tabitha visited Minneopa State Park. The park is about 1.5 hours south of where we live, in Mankato where Elise went to grad school. We were hoping for a better view of the fall colors, but most of the leaves had fallen. However, we enjoyed a nice morning of hiking, playing in the leaves, and a picnic lunch in the warm sun. Yay for fall!

Dada...I am ready to go!

Playing in the leaves is a lot of fun!

Evidence that I was at the park.

Yum...fiber

It's so much more fun now that I can walk.

That's all folks!