Merry Christmas from the Pickers

Coincidence?

Tonight we took a few pictures of Nora playing in just her diaper....

then we realized, we've seen this picture before....

Yep, took nearly the same picture six years ago of our 5-6 month old. 

These kiddos were certainly cut from the same cloth:)

5 Months

At five months, Nora is...

• Loving her exersaucer, high chair, and bumbo...really anything that gets her up and able to see what's going on.  It is particularly sweet when she is in her exersaucer and she watches Luke play football or basketball ball with Daddy in the basement:)
• Sleeping like a champ at night!  Usually about 8:30pm - 7am.
• Starting to giggle, but shares them only sparingly.  I guess we're not as funny as we thought we were;)
• Nursing 4 times a day (wake up, 11:30ish, 4ish, bedtime)
• Napping 2 long naps (morning and afternoon) and one quick 20 minute nap in the evening to get through till bedtime
• Finding her voice and making more sounds
• Still moody with people other than Luke, Mom, Dad, and Papa, but it's not consistent, so we don't really know what it is that upsets her???  Sometimes she's ok with other "strangers" like aunts, uncles, grandparents, but other times she's very emotional when she seems them. 
• Learning to roll from her back to stomach.  She has done it a few times in her crib, which we know about because she cries a strange, muffled cry.  We go in an check her and she is on her stomach and not happy to be there:)  She's a side sleeper now, but we'll see if she ends up being a stomach sleeper once she gets better at rolling over. 
• So much fun right now with all of her smiles, sounds, gurgles, giggles, etc.  We are all looking forward to our first Christmas as a family of four!





Take 1: NOT happy about pictures



Take 2: MUCH happier:)

 

Christmas Favorites

There is so much to love about the Christmas season and I think everyone has their favorites or things that induce fond memories.  Here are a few of mine!

Music

All I Want for Christmas Is You, by Mariah Carey (Michael Buble's version is a close second) ~ It also makes me think of one of my favorite movies below, Love Actually, because a girl in the movie sings it.

White Christmas, by The Drifters (from Home Alone) ~ Love this version and it always makes me think of Home Alone.

Where Are You Christmas, by Faith Hill (from How the Grinch Stole Christmas) ~  Simply a great song.

Christmas Canon, by Trans-Siberian Orchestra ~ I've always loved Canon in D, so a Christmas version is jsut a bonus!

Christmas Is All In the Heart, by Steven Curtis Chapman ~  This song makes me think of Luke when it talks of the "little blonde headed boy".

Baby It's Cold Outside, by Zooey Deschanel (from Elf)  ~ I'm sure I heard this song before seeing Elf, but I honestly can't remember and I love how Zooey sings it.

Christmas Song, by Dave Matthews Band ~ Simply a great song.

I cannot even begin to choose my favorite Christmas hymns, so I stuck with my favorites on the radio.

Movies

Elf ~ This has become a newer favorite for me and our entire family

Miracle on 34th Street ~ Specifically the 1994 version from my childhood.  I even still have the VHS:)

Love Actually ~ This isn't really a Christmas movie, but it's set at Christmas time and I always want to watch it in December

The Holiday ~ Another newer favorite with great actors and a sweet story.

Timmy's Gift ~ This is an oldie but a goodie from my childhood, and yes, I still have my own copy on VHS.

Decorations

If I had to choose just one decoration to display for Christmas, it would absolutely be the WillowTree Nativity that my Grandma gave me over the span of several Christmases.  One of my favorite things about it is that Mary is holding the baby Jesus.  It feels so intimate and touching.  And, I just love WillowTree figures andtheir ability to show feeling without any facial expression.

I have most everything in this picture except for the angels

I also love having the tree lit in the living room. The warm glow is heartwarming and makes the room feel so cozy and welcoming. 

What are your Christmas favorites?  I'd love to know what makes this season special for you too:)

 

 

Merry Christmas!

Life with Luke

There is simply no shortage of fun things coming from Luke.  I only wish I could capture them all:)

 

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While playing football with Brent:

B:  "You got me in the calf."

L:  "Is your cow ok?"

 

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Luke's description of the chocolate star Christmas cookies:  "It's like you're eating a sugar cookie and they a chocolate kiss falls out of the sky like a rain drop."

 

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Luke told me our Christmas tree is fiction (because it's artificial) and if we cut one down it would be non-fiction.

(Always applying what he learns in school:))

 

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Luke brought home the information to fill out for when he is Star of the Week in class.  One of the sections was "I am a star because..."  Luke filled it in with "I am a star because I know football passing routes." 

(He is certainly his father's son:))

High Five for Friday

Life has been a blur since Thanksgiving, and it's honestly been difficult to see the positives in the midst of sadness in our family.  The Monday after Thanksgiving, we learned that my Grandpa (my dad's dad) has terminal cancer.  Until very recently, he was a very healthy 85 year old man who was active and fun-loving.  After learning he had cancer in his stomach, lung, and liver, he decided not to pursue treatments.  He has gone downhill very fast and has been in the hospital all but just a couple days since his diagnosis and plans to be transferred to a nursing home for hospice care on Monday.  It is very hard to see him deteriorate so quickly, but we are grateful that his pain is now under control and that he's getting the care he needs.  I've only been able to visit with him once so far and plan to see him again tomorrow, but he is on my mind every day. 

Needless to say, I have been preoccupied and it has really shown.  I've forgotten the most routine things, had a hard time motivating myself, and had trouble concentrating.  In the midst of a particularly busy couple days, I decided to change my perspective. 

Instead of being overwhelmed by the clutter in the house, I reminded myself that the clutter is a sign of a family of four living everyday life. A life we longed for and are blessed to be living.

Instead of being frustrated with myself over being forgetful and absentminded, I reminded myself to let it go and move forward.

Instead of spending all of my energy on keeping up or catching up with chores, I reminded myself that those moments were better spent focusing on my family.

Instead of stretching myself too thin, I decided to say no to a couple things so I could have a more peaceful pace. 

Instead of being annoyed that Luke ate the cookies I planned to bring to a cookie exchange, I smiled, blew it off, and made another batch of cookies (which ended up being hot out of the oven for the cookie exchange:)).

With ALL of that said, I am now ready and able to see my "high fives" again:)

• Nora has extended her schedule this week.  What I mean is that she had been taking 3 naps and eating about every 3.5 hours during the day.  The past two days she has taken one morning nap, one afternoon nap,  and just cat napped in the evening while on a car ride and she has eaten every 4+ hours.  The timing worked out wonderfully with our weekday routines (school pick up and dinner for the rest of us).  It's crazy how this change makes her feel so grown up all of a sudden!
• After three months back at Weight Watchers I've surpassed the 20 pounds lost mark!  I can't take much credit...it has honestly been breastfeeding that is making most of the difference because I haven't been all that strict with myself on the program.  I can take credit for going each week to weigh in, which keeps my sights in the right direction:)  I've got more progress to make, but this milestone felt good.

Not great comparison pictures, but I guess I can tell a bit

• I had the opportunity to spend some times with friends this week, which was good for my soul.  An afternoon with family friends last weekend and an evening out with some MOPS moms were much needed:)
• We have amazing kids.  Monday night after work, I realized that I hadn't grocery shopped since the week before Thanksgiving (and that was mainly for Thanksgiving dinner)...we were running low!  Brent had a basketball game mid-evening, so I brought the kids with me to two stores and they did great.  Ideal grocery shopping for me is a solo act on a day I don't work, but the kids were wonderful and we got it done on a work/school night:)  It was also great that it was a warm evening so being in and out of the car a few times wasn't bad at all. 
• Watching our kids together warms my heart.  Nora adores her brother and loves watching him, even if he's just relaxing in the same room.  Luke is amazing with Nora and loves to talk with her, read to her, and entertain her while she plays.  The kids also LOVE their daddy:)  Nora kicks, squirms, and lights up when Brent comes home from work and Luke chooses Daddy any chance he gets.  I could not be more blessed.