The end of our 2017 (over 2 months late)

Clearly blogging has been at the bottom of my priorities list for the past couple months. :) So has taking pictures, so those are few in number, but c'est la vie. I'll just cover Christmas/End of the Year stuff and do a post on current life in a different post.

CHRISTMAS

We got to spend Christmas with my family this year. We spent a solid 2 1/2 weeks in Fresno, actually! We stayed at my grandparent's house; my family's house is just a couple minutes away. My sister Carissa came over in the evenings when kids were in bed to watch cheesy Christmas chick flicks on Netflix while eating our traditional snack of stove-popped popcorn with M&M's sprinkled on top.

We were lazy bums for the week leading up to Christmas, I must admit. Lots of lounging, teasing, eating the batches of "failed" fudge my mom made, letting the kids play. Well... letting Nicole play. Austin wanted to be held constantly because he had a cough, was overtired, and was cutting 8 teeth at the same time. I had noticed a couple new teeth coming through at the beginning of December, but I didn't even realize he was cutting that many until a few days before we left to go home. 8 more teeth! He has a total of 16 now! Ridiculous. He was back to his normal, cheerful self towards the end of vacation once he got through the worst of the pain. But anyways... really though, I was such a bum. Not to mention I regress to being an annoying teenager when I'm around my siblings. (I can't be the only one, right?!? Haha!)

My aunt and uncle had a Christmas Eve party at their house, following which we did our traditional walk through the streets of my grandparents' neighborhood to look at the luminaries. After sticking Austin in bed, we did a quick Nativity program with Nicole and let her put out cookies and milk for Santa. Christmas itself was wonderfully relaxed and low-key.

POST-CHRISTMAS

Two days after Christmas, we all headed up with my mom's side of the family (all her siblings and their families, plus my grandparents) to a cabin up in the Shaver Lake area for our annual Coleman Family Cabin Trip. My dad was the only one not there, but other than that we were all accounted for! 14 adults and 16 kids all in one big house from Wednesday afternoon until Saturday morning! (I'm counting anyone over 18 as an adult in that tally.) There were many games played (both indoors and out among the trees behind the house), many movies watched, and lots of tasty food eaten. Nicole claims that her favorite part of the trip was the hikes that she went on, one with her uncle and one with Doug and me. Poor Austin was in the peak of cutting those 8 teeth, so for the second and third nights he would wake up at 9 or 10 PM and not let me put him down for a good 3 hours (although at the time I didn't even think of teething because I thought he was just over-tired, over-stimulated, and uncomfortable from having to sleep in a pack-and-play. He just needed pain management! SO sorry, Austin!)

Aside from the sad baby at night and me getting a little 12-hour sickness that started as we left on Saturday (hello, hurling on the side of the road), it was a good cabin trip. There was no snow this year like there was 2 years ago, sadly, but it worked out because we didn't have to try to fit our snow gear in our packed car for the long drive from Utah to California.

After a couple more days filled with a little New Years Eve party, a zoo trip, and finally seeing Austin act more like his normal, happy, non-teething self, we headed home with 3 of my siblings in tow so they could stay at our house for a day on their way up to BYU-I for the winter semester. And... that was our Christmas vacation, in a nutshell!

A few pictures from my phone:

Nicole's lounge spot for reading books.

 Nicole got to be an angel in a little nativity production in nursery at church.

 The bubble machine saw a LOT of action while we were in Fresno. The kids loved it!

Exploring the backyard at Gigi and Poppy's house.

 Austin with his mandrake (and proper auditory safety gear, of course!)

 The whole Coleman Clan! (Minus my dad)

Cousins + instagram filter + being silly

Aaaaaand this cute one I took with my DSLR of my kids with my parents :)

The Focus of CHRISTmas

Just a small thought, as we get close to the 25th.

Christmas is not a holiday created by toy companies or Hallmark. (Hey, people believe that.) The word "Christmas" is shortened from the original term "Christ's Mass" and is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Our focus should be on Him during this season. Even for those who don't believe in Christ, we should keep our focus on kindness, love, service, and charity, rather than on what gifts we'll get, parties, and making the "perfect" commercial holiday experience for ourselves and/or our children. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for decorating cookies and visiting Santa... but we should spend some time thinking about the true Reason for the season, aside from simply reading the nativity story out of Luke on Christmas Eve/Day and then forgetting about it.

We have a kid-friendly nativity set from Little People. For the past two years when I got the set out for Nicole to set up, she arranged all the nativity pieces so that each person and animal could see the baby Jesus. (Her arrangement from this year is pictured below.) I never prompted her to do this; she did it herself. Children know intrinsically where our focus should be. Let's not forget it. I know I can do much better, that's for sure.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Christmas With Little Ones

I always knew that the Christmas season would be a million times more magical with children. My babies are still so young, but I'm starting to see the magic of the season reflected in Nicole's eyes. She plays with our Little People nativity set and groups all of the figures around the stable so they can see the Baby Jesus. The first thing she does after breakfast is rush downstairs to press the button that turns the Christmas tree lights on. She's helped me make some holiday treats and knows that the big man in the red suit is Santa (or "Teenta" as she pronounces it). Every morning we open one of our advent boxes to see what ornament she gets to put on our miniature tree that sits on the piano. She dances to my holiday music playlists and stays a respectable distance away from the lit fireplace, exclaiming "Hot!" and then curling up on the couch while we watch a show or movie. She snuggles down under her blankets at night like a pro, demands that we share our hot chocolate and eggnog, and eats fudge like there's no tomorrow.

Austin has no idea what's going on, but he does enjoy being placed under the tree so he can stare up at the lights, and I'm sure he appreciates the fact that the cold weather results in me being much more willing to wear him in the baby wrap than if it were summer.

A time of wonder, joy, love, and thankfulness. The innocence of my young children. Gratitude for the miraculous birth that occurred hundreds of years ago - the true reason for the season. It all combines together to make the end of the year quite an enjoyable, cozy, heart-warming time, even while living on a broken sleep schedule and pushing through postpartum mood swings. And I can't wait to start acting out the nativity with those babies of mine. We are definitely going to make Doug be the donkey because, ya know, dads give the best horseback rides. Obviously.

 ^^^Nicole and her crazy, un-tamable bedhead.

^^^Our little advent tree, mini ornaments and all. Only one week of boxes left to open now!

^^^Believe it or not, this was her FIRST time meeting Santa. And she didn't even cry. But she was a little concerned.

Christmas in CA

We had a great time hitting up my hometown for the holidays. Not only was Nicole perfectly angelic on the long 12-13 hour trip, she was also much more willing to play with and be held by my family members than when we came in August. It was great to see her act more like her normal, cheesy self. The hardest part of the vacation for her was the weekend we spent up at a cabin in the Shaver Lake area. I'll be making a separate post about the cabin trip though, so we'll leave it at that. (Sorry Shelby, I know you've been waiting for the pictures!)

These pictures are from Christmas morning. Nicole promptly mastered the art of tearing wrapping paper, and then got very bored of it. It's no fun to rip things when people are actually allowing you to! ;) After all, "The more forbid, the greater tastes the pie."

Also, I didn't realize how much my dad was hogging Nicole on Christmas morning until I looked at these pictures. We always call Jenna the hog, but do these pictures show a different truth?? ;) HA!

^^^ So concerned, sometimes. (Those eyebrows!)

^^^This is what happens when Dad falls asleep after presents have been opened ;)

The poor baby injured her left foot about half a week before we went to California, and so she didn't walk for my family until Christmas Eve. By Christmas, she was pretty much back to normal, and now that we're back home she's starting to learn how to run. A running toddler... what a great way to start the new year, right?

Cabin Trip pictures tomorrow, I promise.

Her First White Dress

We've been very busy the past few days! My family drove up to Utah to spend the weekend here so we could exchange belated Christmas presents, so they could meet Nicole, and so they could see Nicole receive her baby blessing (comparable to a christening, I suppose) in church on Sunday. Doug's brother and dad were also in town, and so the only family member we were missing was my bro Johnathon (less than 8 months until he's home from his mission!)

Nicole got all dressed up in her first white dress and was a perfect angel during her blessing. Wide awake, completely quiet, no diaper blowouts or spit-up accidents in the middle of the prayer... such a cute little sweetheart. But, once again, not very compliant when it came time to snap a few pictures. She's crying in half of them, making absurd faces in others, and has her eyes closed or a hand blocking her face in the rest. She'll learn to behave for pictures by the time she's in her second white dress when she turns 8 and gets baptized ;)

I do like the victory fist-pump she's doing in this first picture, though.

Nicole was passed around like a hot potato between family members all weekend and took it like a champion. We were even brave enough to take our baby girl up to Temple Square with my family to look at the Christmas lights. I had her bundled up in so many layers because it was freezing outside, but this girl loves the great outdoors (if she's crying, she'll stop the moment we walk outside), so she seemed to enjoy the trip and even slept in the car for the whole 50 minute drive there and back.

Aaaaand here's the only picture I have of my family from the whole weekend. Yeah. I'm bad at this "taking pictures" thing. I spy a snuggly-warm baby!

And here's the only picture I took on baby's first Christmas. Oh well.

It was great to have my family here. Grandma made sure to take advantage of every opportunity to cuddle her granddaughter, to the extent that the aunties were scolding her for being a baby-hog. Doug and I also agree that our families are the best ever and we are so glad that our in-laws get along with each other so well. I've heard enough in-law horror stories to be thankful that our families are both so awesome.

Merry Christmas!

I personally love receiving Christmas cards, and I had grand plans to have cards of our own this year. Weeeell... we didn't quite get around to those Christmas cards (things have been a little crazy with a new baby, ya know) so here's a quick self-timer photo we took and I decorated at the last-minute yesterday! We'll get those cards sent out next season!

Nicole clearly wasn't thrilled to be taking pictures. Funny little girl :)

Merry Christmas!!!

How having a baby gives me an enriched perspective on Christmas

Nicole will be 3 weeks old for her very first Christmas. 3 weeks isn't exactly old enough to decorate sugar cookies, pull ornaments off the Christmas tree, or enjoy the magic of Santa, so in many ways this Christmas will be fairly normal for the Kelly family. (When I say "normal", I mean not much different than how Christmas would be without a child.)

Nicole has helped me gain a deeper appreciation for the season in a special way, though.

I was sitting on the couch, baby girl was nursing, the Christmas tree was all lit up... it was a quiet, peaceful sort of morning. My mind kept marveling over the tiny human in my arms - how helpless, meek, and innocent she was. That was the day that The Piano Guys came out with their record-breaking Nativity video. I encourage you to watch it on YouTube, it's a beautiful arrangement. It had only been published online an hour or two when I discovered it, and I watched it immediately.

During the video, we see Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus. The magnitude of seeing that baby in the manger hit me hard at that moment - I looked back and forth between the video and the little girl in my arms in complete awe. I had heard the Nativity story my whole life, but it had never occurred to me with such potency that the Savior of the World began His life as a tiny, helpless babe like the one I held.

Needing to be cradled, to be comforted, to be cared for. The Greatest of us all was born in the most humble of circumstances, with no bed to be laid in and no room at the inn for his laboring mother. Having a baby of my own all of a sudden opened my eyes to how truly incredible the whole situation was. How amazing it must have been for Mary to hold that teeny infant and know what He would grow up to do.

Jesus was once a baby! You guys!!! A small and helpless baby like Nicole! I suppose I can't find the words to completely and accurately convey how this realization has touched me... but thanks to my baby girl, this Christmas holds deeper meaning than any before. May we all remember the real Reason for the holiday season and take a moment to appreciate the miracle that occurred years ago in the form of a tiny, innocent baby.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

It is done.

I put the decorations up, just like I said I would. Yes, even the scrawny, skinny thing that we call a Christmas tree. I still stand by the firm assertion that I have a perfectly good excuse for putting up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving. No regrets! Especially because for most of the weekend my apartment smelled like a peppermint mocha candle.

Forgive the short posts. I might be slightly MIA over the next week or two since, ya know, this baby could come any time now. (And I'm bad at pre-scheduling posts.) I'm just playing a waiting game!

In other news, I have officially joined the DSLR-owner club! Now I really really really need to learn how to shoot in manual. And work with RAW images. It's a learning curve, people. This will take practice.

For the weekend

The first snowfall of the season can be checked off the list! And on that note, I'm settling in for a cozy, warm, productive, stay-at-home-and-drink-hot-chocolate sort of weekend.

I will admit right now: I'm going to start putting up my Christmas decorations. Before you shake a finger at me, I'll just throw it out there that I normally wait until the day after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas... but I'm supposed to have a baby that weekend. I don't think I'll want to worry about decorations when I have a newborn. I pretty sure that's a legitimate excuse, so now I'm going to spend my weekend listening to dear Michael Buble's Christmas CD and adding a little holiday cheer to our home decor. And I will enjoy it.

Meanwhile, here are some posts for your personal weekend reading:

• One mom's thoughts on when a child's sickness messes up holiday plans (and that lamb costume is too cute!)
• Looking at this gorgeous quilt makes me want to be crafty and make my own
• This blogger put together a collection of free Christmas printables and I'm obsessed
• I was really intrigued by this post about the stigma of watching R-rated movies in the LDS church. Any thoughts from my Mormon readers?

Disney. So Much Disney.

The first half of my winter break has hardly been restful - after all, there is nothing more tiring than walking over miles of extensive Disney parks, standing in lines, and keeping an adorable 9-month-old nephew entertained and happy during a long day where he keeps missing his naps. I think I slept a full 11 hours straight when we got back because I was exhausted, and I could have slept longer... it feels so good to be back in my own bed again.

Jenna made me promise to take pictures (which I am usually very bad at) so I do have some to put on this blog, all for her benefit.

Day 1: Magic Kingdom
M.K. is the Disney World equivalent of Disneyland. Except the castle is bigger and cooler. A lot of the rides are the same, but I'm still bummed that they did not have an Indiana Jones ride. But I got some pineapple dole whip, so it's all good.

The others all indulged me and consented to eat lunch on our first day in the Beast's Castle. Basically, I just wanted the bragging rights of saying that I've been in a replica of the Beast's Ballroom. Look at that ceiling!!!! There are two other areas in the restaurant (the library and the West Wing) but I wanted to eat in the ballroom. It was probably the nosiest and least tidy because everyone wanted to eat in there and it was lunch (which is less formal than dinner - they only take reservations for dinner) but I wanted to eat there anyways. The Kelly family are real sports for indulging me.

And the castle kinda looks like it's sitting on the lamppost, but it's not. The lamppost was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Day 2: Hollywood Studios
This is kind of similar to California Adventures... but not. Yeah, not at all. The layout is completely different, and they have a rather different assortment of attractions. There's still a great backdrop to take your picture in front of, though! Side note: the humid, warm Florida air makes my hair very frizzy. I was not prepared for it!

Other highlights of the day: a live Indiana Jones show, Beauty & the Beast Onstage, the Dancing Lights during the evening (the lights on the buildings dance to the Christmas music), and eating pizza in an Italian restaurant. Yum.

Day 3: Epcot
This is it... the famous big, white ball.
And there's a whole ride inside of it! It's a pretty easy-going ride, but I liked it.

Epcot was a great experience... I fully enjoyed seeing all the different displays from different countries around the world. We had lunch in Japan (our chef made a cool Christmas design with our food), the little ride in Norway is fun, and if you go inside the big Mayan temple in Mexico there's a whole other world with a restaurant and a little ride. We ate there for dinner, and it was a pretty cool atmosphere, with the mini-temple in the background.

 ^^^ Cutest nephew ever

Side note to anyone who has not been on the orange (more intense) version of Mission Space: I would not advise going on a full stomach. Also, go in the evening so that you don't feel gross the whole day. All the spinning and G's threw my body out of whack, and I didn't feel normal again until I had a good night's sleep. I guess that's what simulated flight in a rocket does to you. There's a reason why they have a barf-bag disposal within reaching distance of each seat... and it's very claustrophobic. Try not to think about it.


Day 4: Animal Kingdom
(This was Christmas Day. It didn't feel like Christmas, really... it was the first one I've ever spent away from home!) In many ways, this part of Disney World is like a giant zoo. You can go on a safari ride and see animals such as rhinos, lions, hippos, giraffes, etc. or walk along various trails and see animals such as these:

Oops, that last one is not an animal... haha. I also got absolutely soaked on the river ride (compare it to the Grizzly River Rapids at CA Adventures). Dear Daddy, I now know how you felt when you got soaked that one time years ago. Except it's not so bad in Florida because it's warmer. But it took me half the day to dry. Also, Expedition Everest is pretty fun, especially if you're in the last seat. The Lion King show was great too, and it was fun to go eat at the Boardwalk and look at a cute little face across the table.

Fun fact: Animal Kingdom is so big that all 3 of the other parks - Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot combined - can fit inside it.

Day 5: Free-For-All
Basically, we used our last day in the parks to do anything we wanted to do again, or anything we missed the first time around. We hit up many of the fun rides (Tower of Terror, Rockin' Roller Coaster, etc) in Hollywood Studios during the morning and spent the late afternoon and evening in Epcot because I wanted to finish looking at all the different places around the world. It was all worth it because I found a fez to take a picture with and there was a whole section of merchandise dedicated to Doctor Who in England. Plus a red phone booth. I've always wanted a picture next to one of those.

I also got Gelato in Italy. Oh Italia, I will visit you (the real you) someday soon. For now, I'll just settle with taking an Italian class at BYU this semester! :D

I must say, Disney World and Disneyland are definitely entirely different parks, despite their similarites. Disney World had it's perks (more rides and attractions), but I still think California Screamin' is better than Rockin' Roller Coaster. I also like the nice, smaller size of Disneyland. It's a lot less tiring to walk through, and easier to get between the two parks. At Disney World if you want to get from one park to the next, you have to take a shuttle bus or a boat. So much walking. So much to do. So little time.

It was so much fun though. Definitely worth the frizzy hair and the tired bags under my eyes that I'm still recovering from. It's too bad my mother-in-law and other two sister-in-laws didn't come too... but we all enjoyed ourselves just the same!