one year

sometimes i can't believe just how much has changed

all in the short time of one year.

christmas at home

for the first time in our married lives, mike and i stayed home for christmas.

we've loved traveling in past years, and there is nothing like being with family for christmas,

but with two kids and one on the way, we decided it was too much hastle.

and we discovered that there is nothing like being home for christmas, either.

we started our christmas traditions inside our own home.

the kid's favorite was their advent calendars. nothing beats a piece of chocolate every single day.

we also took a trip to see christmas lights down in jackson.

the kids got to sit in the front seat with mom and we drove around the fairground spotting santas and dragons and trees.

on the way home, the kids slept and mom and dad listened to a recording of "a christmas carol" from the 1930s. it's a tradition from the fiske side that i quite enjoy.

on christmas eve, we decorated gingerbread cookies for santa.

tennyson decorated, maggie ate the sprinkles.

fun was had by all.

and after all the cookies were decorated, we grabbed the popcorn and snuggled on our couches watching "a year without a santa claus". it's one of my all time favorites.

santa came that night.

christmas morning started at 5:30am for us.

just like every other morning.

we opened our stockings on mom and dad's bed.

i think christmas morning could have ended here and the kids would have been perfectly happy.

we ate breakfast in bed, since it is one of my traditions that you don't get to see the tree until after breakfast.

maggie and tennyson had their traditional breakfast of eggos, and mike and i enjoyed my first attempt ever at cinnamon rolls.

then it was present time.

somehow santa knew just what the kids wanted.

the only toy tennyson wanted this year was the "m house". it's a scare floor from monsters inc that has figurines and doors that open into bedrooms and he hasn't stopped playing with it since he opened it.

in the afternoon, we skyped with our family.

 we had the missionaries and some neighbors over for a turkey dinner.

the kids both napped and recovered from the morning.

and we spent hours upon hours playing with all our new toys.

spending christmas at home was wonderful.

it was so nice to be able to enjoy the kids.

it was the first christmas that tennyson really understood and got excited about.

and the whole day, the lines from my favorite christmas song rang through my head...

"it's worth the wait the whole year through,

just to make someone happy like you,

and i'll never outgrow the thrill of christmas day."

november

i feel like november went by in a flash.

it was a busy month for us.

and a couple big things happened.

like when we found out we're expecting a girl,

and when mike accepted a job offer from general motors.

but the best part of november?

it seems always to be a month that is crammed full of family.

i like november for that reason.

and thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

we were very blessed this last month that my grandparents were able to come out to chicago to visit my family.

the week was full of custard and deep dish pizza and laughter.

my kids didn't go a single minute without having a playmate.

plus, we were able to make our way downtown a couple times.

i love downtown chicago, but it really comes alive at christmas time.

one of my favorites at christmas?

the museum of science and industry.

i would go there just to look at their trees.

and as if fate were smiling down on us,

this year was a disney theme.

and my kids thought grandma had taken them to disney world all over again,

and fell in love with christmas right then and there.

we were even more blessed that tennyson only had to go a week from the time we left chicago until the time they came up for thanksgiving.

and we were blessed to have someone to share that giant turkey with.

and the four (yes, four) pies.

ps... despite how absolutely amazing mike's turkey was, tennyson opted for the other traditional pilgrim feast of a peanut butter sandwich with a side of m&ms.

so that was our november.

on to december!

this month is going to be good.

mostly because of christmas,

a lot because of how much tennyson and maggie are loving the holiday,

with an extra topping of mike being on vacation.

happy holidays, folks.

we hope your november was as wonderful as ours.

baby number three

can i just start out by saying that i'm hoping, wishing, and praying that the next twenty weeks go buy just as fast as the first twenty did?

though i seriously doubt it is going to happen.

either way, i'm now halfway through my pregnancy.

and still i can't decide if i'm more excited to be done, or more nervous to be done.

because being done means i have a new baby.

but it means i have a new baby.

biggest news lately?

we're having a little girl!

we went back on forth on whether we wanted to find out.

well, really i did. mike didn't want to find out, but left it up to me, since i do most the preparing anyway.

so i went back and forth and tore myself up over the decision.

but ultimately, i guess you know what i chose.

and i have no regrets.

i'm sure it would have been fantastic finding out in the delivery room.

but i'm sure i would have been a bigger ball of nerves than i already am going to be.

i'd rather feel at least a little prepared,

because i get the feeling that having baby number three is already going to be a whole lot of crazy.

i'm still actually a little in shock that it is a girl.

i mean, i think that is what my gut was telling me it was,

but my gut was also being really indecisive.

it's strange because this pregnancy has actually been more similar to tennyson's.

and i was sure that craving meat and potatoes meant it had to be a little boy.

guess she'll just be a meat and potatoes kind of girl.

good news is, i'm still not really feeling baby move.
sure, i get little flutters here and there, but nothing too definitive.

this, to me, is good news. mostly because i felt maggie moving super early on, and she hasn't stopped moving since.

so i enjoy the little kicks i get here and there,

and appreciate the fact that not feeling her much now might mean that i don't end up with bruised ribs by the end.
and possibly maybe even end up with another tame kid like tennyson. though i don't have my fingers crossed on that one. i think he's kind of a freak of nature in that sense.

so here's to being halfway done.
and here's to starting our countdown to the end of march.

oh, and here's a freaky skeletor picture.
does it eliminate some of the creepiness with the fact that she's already posing with her hand under her chin?
yeah, i didn't think so either.
but either way...

i'm sure i'll have more updates in the future.

though, don't expect anything quite as thorough as with my other two.

they keep me way too busy to be able to pay much attention to this one.

eighteen months

maggie is eighteen months old today.
she seems so much older than that to me.
i don't know if it is a second kid thing, or if it is just maggie, but time seems to be moving slower with her.

my real hypothesis is that it's because she's so dang smart.
maggie already has upwards of one hundred words.
lately she's started using two word phrases.
her favorites are "right there" and "that one" and "no way".
last night she got into bed and looked me in the eyes and said "shirt off".

she also knows her shapes.
she's got square, triangle, rectangle, circle, and star down.
she sees letters and she tells me "abc!"
she can label most her body parts.

her one deficit? animal sounds.
every animal says "moo".
except the dog. that one does manage to get out a "woof" now and again.

maggie's favorite tv show is mickey mouse clubhouse.
she knows the names of every character and sings along to the theme song.
she loves pixar movies and winnie the pooh.
she likes to eat cheese and shredded meats. and anything that contains chocolate. her favorite food? it's a tie between pirate's booty, fruit snacks, and peas.

her favorite thing to do is read.
already she spends long stretches of time pulling out every book on the shelf and going through it page by page.
lately her favorite activity is to bring you a book and point to every picture in it asking "wat dat?".

maggie is a natural big sister.
she has a baby doll that she smothers in hugs and kisses.
she'll bring it over and tuck it in for good night.
yesterday she got really mad at the doll because it wasn't eating the roll that she was offering.
so we do still have some things to work on before baby actually comes.

there is a poem by henry wadsworth longfellow that perfectly sums up our little girl.

"there was a little girl

who had a little curl

right in the middle of her forehead.

when she was good,

she was very good indeed,

 but when she was bad she was horrid."

i think it's called being spirited.

truth is, we are glad maggie is around.

although sometimes we may forget it,

most the time she's the cutest human being on the planet.

when she's dancing and twirling and giggling around our living room,

i just can't imagine life without her.