Our Merry Little Christmas

Christmas cuties!

Christmas with a baby! What fun!

And when you upsize your family, sometimes you downsize other areas of your life. Like Christmas! It may have been small (ish), but no less the merry. Here's how it went:

Choosing a Christmas tree
at the farmer's market!

Naturally, we had to have a Christmas tree. Snow was falling--as were
temperatures--as we picked it out. How ideal! And how freezing. It took all of five minutes to decide on a white pine, as all the girls were cold and wanted to get into the nice, warm treat shop (somehow Elise had remembered that we got chocolates last year when we bought our tree). Naomi, in a stroke of early Christmas blessing, was warmly napping at home with a trusted friend to babysit her--and never knew the difference. And we decorated! With two happy helpers, we ended up with ornaments clumped merrily around the tree.

Decorating the tree and the baby.

If the tree was one must-do of Christmas this year, another was making treats for our amazing neighbors (and in so doing, showing the kids that Christmas is as much about giving as it is about receiving). We spent a snowy Saturday making cranberry bread, fudge and spritz cookies. I'm not sure the girls particularly enjoyed delivering them in the cold, fading light of December, but the neighbors assured us the treats were delicious. (The girls were certain of this fact, too, having begged plenty of tastes.)

Me and my girls and our
tree!

Speaking of snow, we had some! Twice! New this year: Matt took the girls to the neighborhood golf course for some sledding. The five-year-old was content to start halfway down a hill for a non-scary ride, while the three-year-old was ready for some thrills. "But that wasn't very fast!" Elise whined after going down a small hill. "Again!" she shouted after a big one. They devised a safe-sledding system where Kalina would hold the sled for Elise at the top of the hill, letting go only when Matt was at the bottom ready to fight off any pesky trees that got in the way of a smooth ride.

Elise singing along.

We also got to see the girls in the Christmas singalong at preschool. Elise was first. Since she doesn't attend on Thursdays, she joined her class from the audience, and as such, ended up front and center. And I'm not just speaking as a proud mommy when I say that she carried the show. Her emphatic voice carried over to her singing, the result being that even towards the back of the chapel, Grandpa Tom, Matt and I could single it out. Elise also did most of the motions, even though she'd probably had only half the practice her classmates had. She must've known how stellar her performance, because she applauded happily after each song. Kalina, despite being nervous that she'd mess up, also did a lovely job. She stood straight and tall, sang nicely--and gave sweet smiles throughout her performance. Naomi, for her part, napped like a pro in the mei tai--so I thoroughly enjoyed my morning.

Kalina singing along.

Of course, part of the buildup to Christmas is choosing or making presents for family. With only a couple weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and a newborn, we couldn't exactly comb the stores, but Kalina and I made it to Target one Saturday.  Kalina carefully and sweetly examined each and every toy in the store (or so it seemed) to find the perfect Christmas present for Elise. Once I convinced her that we could buy more than just a tiny little plastic Care Bear, she picked out a purple bunny Elise could draw on with marker on and a small dog. For Matt, she later decided on a book about bunnies.

Naomi and her first Christmas
ornament.

Elise happens to be awesome at presents. Gifting is one of her gifts. We learned this a lot over the season, as she insisted everyone in the room take a nibble of every Christmas treat she received--no matter how tiny. So I asked the girl straight-up--what would you like to get Kalina for Christmas? A pink Hoppy Bunny (like the purple one she got for her birthday). Great idea! Unfortunately, Kalina is too big for it--but I had a substitution in place: a bouncy ball with a pony head on it. The idea sold, and is currently a favorite. How about for Daddy? A remote control airplane. Great idea! But too expensive? Nope: the one Elise pointed to on Amazon.com turned out to be both perfectly affordable, and well-reviewed. It's not remote-controlled, but still lots of fun: they've been having a spectacular time shooting it off on the golf course.

See the smile in her eyes? Thank you,
Santa!

For the rest of our family, I had the girls draw on kitchen towels with fabric marker, a project Kalina loved as she created some pretty elaborate scenes (a cave with stalactites, stalagmites and lava, for instance). Elise used cookie cutters to make T Rex's (who doesn't like T Rex's?) and a giraffe.

And what did the girls want for Christmas? Elise most definitely wanted a T Rex toy, and Matt convinced me to bite the bullet and get a startlingly realistic one for her. "She'll love it," he promised. "It's scary," I argued. Kalina wanted pet fairies. And other impossible things of her imagination.

Making cookies with Uncle Tom!

During the season, Baby Jesus reached celebrity status in our household, as did Santa. Sometimes, the worlds collided:
Elise: When will Santa Claus die?
Me: Um, I'm not sure he ever will die!
Kalina: He'll die, everybody does.
Elise, thrilled: But then he'll go to Heaven and then we'll get to see him!!
Sometimes I wish my kids weren't so excited about death.

Christmas morning!

The weekend before Christmas we had a visit from Uncle Tom, and opened our first presents along with Aunt Nancy via computer, and Grandpa. We also made Christmas cookies, which frosting-rookie duo Uncle Tom and Kalina both helped frost (Elise helped sprinkle and taste the sprinkles). And of course, there were plenty of games.

And when Christmas Eve arrived, we made it to church, then home to quickly eat supper, sprinkle reindeer food on the yard (mixed with magic glitter so the reindeer would be sure to stop at our house!) leave out a cookie for Santa (Elise: "A purple one so Santa knows it's from me!"), and head to bed (Elise: "Let's go to sleep so Santa will come!") Kalina worried a bit that Santa wouldn't come since Naomi's up all the time at night, but I assured her that he would be able to sneak in and out between feedings. Better be quick, Santa.

The sock is a little big for Naomi,
but the perfect size for Santa to fill!

Deep into our presents.

The next morning, we had to wake up Elise, who desperately needed to sleep in, at 7:30 because the rest of us were getting impatient. It took a couple shakes and a bit of, "It's Christmas! Let's go see if Santa came!" to get the girl moving, but soon we were headed downstairs. Kalina darted straight past the tree, not noticing the brand-new bike we left out for Elise--but doubling back, the big girl's excitement matched the little one's. Soon, Pink Bear was strapped in the seat and Elise was learning how to pedal it.

The bike on Christmas morning!

Next stop: the mantle. And Santa had come! The kids' stockings were full to bursting. Kalina, celebrating her sixth Christmas (seriously?!?), tore expertly through her stocking gifts and Elise, unable to distract herself from her new things, followed at a slightly slower pace.

A fairy named Alice and a
"baby" unicorn.

We took our time with presents under the tree, having nothing to hurry us for once. Most of the morning was filled with "I love it!" and "Yay!" We couldn't lose! Finally, I handed Elise the box with her beloved T Rex, camera in hand. She took off the lid, pulled out the tissue paper, and...gave a little whimper, ran behind the couch and hid. What?? Had she seen it properly? I pulled the previously beloved beast all the way out and held it out to Elise, but she only screamed, then started crying a little. Poor thing! She was scared of her Christmas present. How could her parents play such a cruel trick on her?!?

Elise finally made peace with her T
Rex, and is introducing it to Puppy.

Once Matt and I stopped laughing into our hands, we solved the mystery. We believe she'd seen the dinosaur's tail, and thought it was a little alligator. It does look quite real. We tucked it out of sight, and Elise consented to let it "live" outside. I was right!! It was too scary!!

Merry Christmas Naomi!

But the story doesn't end there. We quickly found another, more cheerful present for Elise. Ten minutes later, Matt tried to re-introduce the T Rex from a distance, and soon Elise was petting it and even hugging it--and then carrying it around quite happily and, later, making it eat a lemon and lettuce. I guess Matt was right after all?

Christmas at Grandpa Tom's
house!

We had pancakes for lunch, then went to Grandpa's for more presents and dinner. And on the way home, Naomi even consented to nap in her carseat so we could drive around a bit and see lights. How magical!

Tearing into a present
with Grandpa Tom. Okay,
maybe just patting.

Annual family pic. And this year,
there are 10!

The day after Christmas was as special as the big day itself, as Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Laura, Uncle Chris and Uncle Brian all arrived! The big girls basked in all the attention and activity, while Naomi showed off just how jolly she could be. Kalina's favorite thing was sneaking Grandma or Aunt Laura upstairs to help with her Legos, while Elise's was to ride circles in the living room on her bike with Uncle Brian keeping her from bumping into things. There were also plenty of treats, a few games, some music composition on Uncle Chris's iPad, a glow-wand treasure hunt, pasta necklaces and the arrival of a giant trout caught by Uncle Chris on the men's fishing trip.

Opening presents with the Odegaard
side.

Elise has become an expert at riding
her bike in tiny circles around the living
room, thanks to Uncle Brian.

And how was Naomi's first Christmas? I can't say the baby particularly noticed it, but she did look adorable in her Christmas outfit. And she certainly wasn't forgotten in all the celebrating--in fact, she was celebrated quite well! She received a sweet new Baby's First Christmas ornament, and back-ornaments from the collection Grandma is making all three girls. And Aunt Nancy finished her stocking just in time for Santa to fill it! Naomia's favorite gifts: a chewy toy from Santa, a chewy giraffe from Grandma, and the warm carseat cover I gave her early. Naomi's least favorite thing about Christmas was that she had to try to fall asleep all kinds of new places. Her New Year's Resolution is to never leave the house again.

Pasta jewelry with Grandma.

Naomi loved the attention!

Kalina's favorites: her fairy doll and her Lego vet set (that I had triumphantly tracked down for a reasonable price despite its fast disappearance from Amazon.com, Target and other easy places), the hoppy ball from Elise, the remote control tractor from Grandpa, and various Playmobil fairies.

Elise's favorites: Her T Rex, her puppy from Kalina, Playmobil penguins and bunnies.

And so, it was a big little Christmas, but a very merry one throughout!

Composing music with Uncle
Chris.

Our Christmas miracle trout!