Christmas 2015

This Christmas was extra exciting as it was Elise's first and Carter is old enough to really enjoy and get excited about Santa. Our festivities began on Christmas Eve around 4:00 when my parents arrived. Carter was so excited making trip after trip out to their car to help carry in the presents they brought. Then he stood and admired them all under the tree. We enjoyed a special dinner of ham with cherries, scalloped potatoes, sweet potatoes, dressing, and rolls. Carter had asked to drive through Christmas lights so Ty, Jeremy, and my parents took him after dinner while I bathed Elise and put her to bed. When Carter returned he took a bath and then we read some Christmas stories. Then it was time to set the cookies and milk out for Santa. I was sure to remind Carter the milk went next to the plate on the placemat since he poured the milk on top of the cookies last year. We were all surprised that he really wanted to eat Santa's cookies and then really wanted to drink his milk as he carried it over. He was so funny! He went down quickly and easily for bed as he was quite tired!

Elise was excited for a special Christmas Eve dinner!

Putting Santa's cookies by the fireplace.

You know that saying, as excited as a kid on Christmas? Well, that's how I felt that night. I was so excited thinking about Carter opening his presents and seeing what Santa brought that I couldn't sleep. When I finally fell asleep I woke up multiple times and struggled to fall back to sleep. It was ridiculous! I would wake up all excited thinking Carter would probably wake soon and then I'd check my phone only to find it was 3am! I finally fell into a hard sound sleep around 5am which was interrupted 45 minutes later when Carter was up and ready for the day. I talked him into laying down in his bed for a while. So he and I headed in and laid down for a bit. We heard Elise a little before 7 so we got up to head in. I pointed out that Santa had left him something under his little tree on his bedside table. We took his car book which was complete with wheels and his package of fruit snacks into Elise's room. While I nursed Elise, Carter noticed she also had a car book under her tree and pointed out that she didn't have fruit snacks, concluding that Santa must know she can't have them. We read both books, Carter ate his fruit snacks, and we played for a bit. 

Carter and Elise playing with their car books from Santa.

Finally at 7:30 I just wasn't able to hold him off anymore and we headed into the kitchen/playroom to check the fireplace for a sign that Santa had come. Carter actually bypassed all of that to see his Oma and Opa who were sleeping on the futon. Once they were up he ran over to check everything out. He was quite excited to see the unwrapped presents by the fireplace and the stockings filled with goodies. He went to pull down a stocking which was held up with one of those heavy stocking holders, and the stocking holder fell off the mantle and hit him in the arm. We helped him get his stocking and he enjoyed looking through it all. Later he went to pull down the dog stocking to show them when I had left the room and the stocking holder fell and hit him in the face. It was pretty rough with him getting a big bump by his eye and a bloody scratch under his nose. I cuddled him for a while and he was feeling much better. After the crying that ensued after that accident Ty woke up and came in. We all ate breakfast while we waited on my brothers to arrive before we opened presents.

Playing with the wagon Elise got from Santa.

Carter loved the bath tub finger puppets Santa brought for Elise.

After breakfast Elise went down for her morning nap and we opened Santa presents. Pretty much each present Carter opened he wanted to stop to put it together and play with it before opening any more. Each book he opened, he wanted to read before opening his next present. It was a lot of fun and extended the present opening by a decent amount. Once we were finished by the fireplace we headed into the living room to open presents. Carter was really excited and kept wanting to open presents that didn't belong to him. He helped me and my mom sort the presents into piles for who they were for. Then he opened more presents. When he was done opening presents he played with his new train tracks while Elise started to open presents since she had woken up from her nap. But then Carter wanted to go outside. So we stopped opening presents while he played outside with my mom, my dad, and Jeremy. Thomas and Ty rested inside and I cleaned up all the wrapping paper and put toys away.

Sis was tired from her busy morning!

He got lots of books and took lots of reading breaks!

I had Carter come inside for lunch and a nap after about an hour outside. I laid down with him for his nap and fell asleep for about 15 minutes with him before getting up and heading in to open presents with everyone else. We like to play a guessing game with our presents. You can get multiple points for presents for guessing something broad and then getting more specific for an extra point. For example, guessing something is a piece of clothing and for an extra point guessing it's a jacket. You could also guess something is a movie and for extra points, the actual title of the movie. It's a lot of fun. We take turns, one person opening at a time and everyone watching and hearing their guess. Carter woke up as we were finishing our game and was content to play with his train some more while we finished opening. Then Elise woke up and we had her open her presents. She would start to rip the paper or pull tissue paper out of bags, but then get distracted with something else so it took her quite a while to get her presents opened and finally by the end I just opened her last few for her. I'd say her favorite toy was probably her eggs we got her. She had a blast pulling them out of the carton and opening them up.

Elise worked so hard to open her presents but kept getting distracted.

Another reading break.

It was nice to get all the paper, trash, and toys picked up once everything was opened. Carter, Elise, and I played in the hallway with Elise's new bowling set she got for Christmas while people loaded their presents into their cars. Then I headed out for a run while Carter, mom, and Elise walked to Jeremy's house where dad and Jeremy were working on putting together some of his Christmas presents. When I finished running I showered and drove over to pick up the kids since it had gotten dark and there are no sidewalks between our house and Jeremy's. We had leftovers for dinner so I pulled everything out and got Carter and Elise food while we waited on everyone else to head back over. That night after the kids were in bed we played a new game we got from my Uncle Doug which was quite funny. We had such a wonderful day and enjoyed all the time spent with our family. I know next year will be even more fun with Elise being more involved and Carter getting more excited about Santa!  

Glow on the Green

I was excited to attend an event this past Sunday called Glow on the Green. It was the 4th year for the event but we hadn't been any of the previous years. It was held at a really neat park about 15 minutes from our house. We frequented the park this summer for storytime, free concerts, and a special children's day event. The park is mostly just a large space of grass tucked away within downtown. There is a small splash pad and 2 separate stages on each side. It works out great because one act can be setting up as the other is playing. We've been to lots of concerts where people played back to back due to this. We've also been to events where there is live music on one stage and activities on the other. The event advertised Santa, arts and crafts, vendors, hot chocolate, and the lighting of the park. The Turkey Day 5k we ran on Thanksgiving started and finished at the park so we had seen all the trees and bushes wrapped in Christmas lights then and pointed them out to Carter to get him excited. The event started at 3 with the lighting ceremony at 6 sharp. The lighting ceremony was staggered with lightings all over town spaced out within 30 minutes of each other so you could travel to each one. I searched multiple times and never could find a listing of all the lightings throughout downtown.

When we arrived there was a group playing different kinds of drums along with some singing and Carter loved it. He headed straight for the grassy area and stood staring and listening as they played. Eventually he started dancing. We searched for a while before my mom asked and found out where Santa was. We headed in and only had to wait behind one other kid for Carter to visit Santa. He wasn't so sure about getting in Santa's lap until Elise did and then he hopped in with her. My dad said Carter was all eyes for the girl waiting in line behind us and he thought looking at her was Carter's motivation for getting in Santa's lap. I didn't notice because I was too busy taking pictures. I did notice that Carter wanted to stay after his picture was done to watch the kids behind him get their picture with Santa and then tried to follow them out of the room, so I'd say my dad was right. I wasn't sure what Elise would think of Santa but actually felt Carter would be more of a wild card since Elise is so easy going and I was right. She immediately looked up at Santa and started to pout her lip, but then changed her mind and reached for his beard. Then she started playing with the ball dangling from his hat. She is just such an easy baby!

Carter intently watching the drummers with Opa.

 

 

 

Can you tell which child allows me to pick out clothes and which doesn't?

 

After pictures with Santa we headed back out to the pavilion area where Carter continued to dance in the most hysterical ways and would yell out, "To the rescue!" mid-dance while thrusting his fist into the air. I was loving every minute of it. Then we headed back down to the grassy area and pulled out a ball I had packed for Carter to play with. Much to Carter's delight the girl he had been eyeing by Santa and her little brother came to play with us. We played for a long time before the ball rolled down a hill and the other kids wandered off as we went to fetch it. Carter lamented that he wanted to find his friends. I suggested we go back to play some more and see if we could find other kids to play with. He sadly said, "I don't want to make new friends. I want to play with those friends." So we walked a few circles and then he wanted to go up to the pavilion area to walk around. He knew we were there for lights and was excited to tell me the lights were on. Since it had gotten dark the lights in the ground had been turned on. I giggled and knew how much he would love the tree lighting if he was excited about the flood lights!

Sweet dance moves!

With about 30 minutes to the lighting Carter started getting tired and wanted to stand next to me to twirl my hair. My mom and dad treated us to hot chocolate and we all attempted to retain body heat in the meantime. Carter wanted to go back up to watch kids get their pictures with Santa and the line was out the door. We decided next year we'd go early to get our picture with Santa, leave to eat dinner, and then go back for the lighting. It wasn't too busy until about 5-5:30. Then it started getting packed. They had us count down to lights on which Carter loved and then all the lights came on at once. It was so awesome. There's just something magical about watching a bunch of twinkling lights come on at the same time. I just kept looking to my left, to my right, behind me, and back. I couldn't get enough of the beauty. I was holding Elise when the lights kicked on. I didn't look at the lights, I looked down into her face. It was so neat to see her reaction, her surprise, and the lights reflecting in her eyes. I loved every part of Glow on the Green, from playing soccer with Carter, taking pictures of the kids with Santa, and seeing the lights illuminate the night. A few days later we were driving in the dark and we could see the lights from the highway. It was awesome. I'm already looking forward to our next visit to look at lights!

Thomas got cold and borrowed Carter's stocking cap.

Elise borrowed her Oma's gloves.

Enjoying some hot chocolate while we waited.

 

 

 

Run to the Lights 5k

Last year we ran the Run to the Lights 5k for the first time. It was such a fun race for a great cause and we were all really looking forward to it again this year. Read about last year's race here. The race is run at Silver Dollar City. It starts in the park and immediately heads out into the parking lots for the first 2 miles and then heads back inside the park for a weaving last mile. The first half mile is pretty much all down hill which makes for an extremely fast mile and then the rest of the race is mostly uphill as you work your way back into the park and finish up the steepest hill in the race.

The race starts at 10:15 and last year we didn't arrive early enough to do a whole lot before the race because we left after Ty got off work. This year Ty took a half day and we arrived in time to pick up our packets and head into the park right at 6 when packet pick-up started. It worked out great because we grabbed a little dinner and then had plenty of time for Carter to play and ride rides. He had a blast in the play area and then we rode the train. The train ride was the highlight of my night. Mom had Carter sit on the side so he could see out really well. Then she had me sit beside him. I was wearing Elise in the carrier and she kept craning her head around to stare at Carter while giving him a huge grin. Carter would laugh every time and then lean in to give her a kiss. Most of the train ride was spent with Carter belly laughing at Elise as she gave him her best open mouthed smile. Part of the ride includes stopping in front of a light display as the story of Jesus' birth is recounted. As different characters were mentioned they lit up. The boy sitting behind Carter kept saying, "Oh, wow!" as each piece lit up. Each time he did it Carter would turn to stare at him. He eventually stopped but each time something lit up Carter would turn to look at him to see if he was going to say it again. After the train we rode the carousel 3 times in row. Carter was riding on a bear with Oma beside him. When he would go up Oma would say, "You are taller than me!" Then as it went back down she'd say, "Now you're smaller!" He was belly laughing each time and would look at her waiting for her to say it as he went up. It was so sweet to watch. I rode on a little carriage bench with Elise and she enjoyed looking around. After the carousel we headed to ride some pretend hot air balloons that go in circles. On the way Carter found a water pump and played with it for quite a while and exclaimed, "I'm having so much fun!" Once at the hot air balloons Oma and Opa rode with Carter while Elise and I watched.

Enjoying the carousel.

Carter was getting really tired, walking slowly, and wanting carried so we decided it was time for him to head back to the hotel which was really a cabin. Right when I was getting ready to text Ty who was off riding rides with Jeremy and Thomas, he texted asking where we were and started heading our way. It was around 9:00 and both kids were quite tired. I had hoped Elise would get a little bit of sleep in the carrier but she was too interested in looking at all the Christmas lights and people. She was so tired she had her thumb in her mouth but wasn't even sucking it. We decided to walk back to the car thinking it would be faster than waiting to ride a shuttle, but got lost heading all the way to parking lot 5. By the time we made it to the car Elise had finally fallen asleep in the carrier. Unfortunately when I moved her over to the car seat she woke up and started crying. Ty headed back with the kids to put them to sleep while we all headed back to move our car closer and then go back in the park for the race. By the time we were in the car moving toward a closer parking lot it was 9:40 and I needed to use the restroom. When we parked I got out and jogged to the bathrooms for a warm up and then jogged back to everyone else so we could be together at the start. I got a little over a half mile warm up in and felt good.

Thomas stopped off at the bathrooms as we headed toward the start. I knew last year I had been 8 seconds away from placing top 3 in my age group and I was nearing 20 weeks pregnant. The course was pretty difficult for me carrying all that weight in front while going up and down hills, downhills were the worst! I hadn't been prepared for the difficulty of the course mentally, but this year I was fully prepared and remembered the course quite accurately. I stashed my sweats behind some decorations in a garden area and then at the start decided I didn't want my gloves so I stashed them in a decorative barrel. We were led toward the starting line by a man in a nutcracker costume and I noticed some obvious walkers in front of us so we moved a bit further up. We were decently close to the front when I heard the woman next to me talking about how she was hoping to run around 31 minutes. I'm always baffled why some people think it's necessary to be up front to start when they won't finish that far up. There's no way Ty would ever line up that close to the front and he runs over 5 minutes faster than her and her friend she was standing with!

As they started the race we had to walk a little bit to the starting line and then took off. The race starts out so fast as the entire first half mile is all down hill as you make your way into the parking lots. Then it flattens out and you run out and back multiple times in the parking lot before heading up the first large hill and running mostly uphill for the rest of the race. During the downhill in the beginning of the race I heard someone next to me say, "These downhills kill me because they make me stride out too much." I looked over and was a bit surprised to see it was Thomas. I was passing people like crazy in the first section, passing huge packs of runners. Once we made it into the bottom parking lot and started running out and back on the flat parking lot things were thinned out and I counted 4 females ahead of me. The first female I saw was wearing a yellow shirt and was in front of Jeremy. The next one was a short distance back from her wearing a purple shirt. Then not far ahead of me there were 2 girls running together. The girl in yellow appeared to be struggling and the girls right in front of me looked really strong. I \[ade it a point to focus on how I felt, not pace, as I knew with all the hills my pace would vary considerably. I knew the first mile would be fast and it was as my watch beeped telling me I ran a 6:25 first mile! 

Starting the second mile we headed up a long, steep hill that turned as you crested the top. Then you had another long but slight incline. It was during this section that I passed the girl in yellow. Then we turned and ran a flat straight away before turning and running a slight incline all the way to the park entrance. I caught up to the 2 girls ahead of me and ran next to them. I went through mile 2 in 7:09. As we entered Silver Dollar City the girls picked up the pace and pulled away from me a little bit. I enjoyed looking at the lights and it was beautiful! I focused on the girls ahead of me and saw them catch up to the girl in purple who tried to go wth them but began to fade. I was feeling really strong and continued to close the gap on them as we weaved our way around rides and concession stands. The workers directing us got really excited as they saw us coming, telling us we were the first females. With about a quarter mile to go I knew we were getting close to the finishing hill which, although brutal, I had dominated last year out kicking multiple runners including 2 women in my age group. I kept telling myself I was strong and I could catch those girls going up the hill. I passed the girl in purple before we hit the hill. One of the girls who had been running together had broken away and was ahead by a short distance. I passed the first one on the hill and was catching up to the second one as we reached the top. We turned a corner toward the finish and I sprinted around her as people were yelling that we were the first women and I heard a worker yell, "Here come the first girls!" I was shocked as I crossed the finish line and saw the clock showing 20 in the minute place! I had run the last mile in 7:03. I couldn't believe I had broken 21 minutes on such a challenging course! It wasn't until I was wandering off that I remembered to stop my watch and saw the course was either short or my Garmin had trouble with distance due to all the hills. My official finishing time was 20:36 which would put me at 6:52 pace for 3 miles. I was impressed that I had run the same pace on this difficult course as I had for a flat course just a few weeks before.

I forgot to stop my watch as I crossed the finish line.

I grabbed a water and walked down to watch dad and Thomas finish. I realized I must've missed them go by so I headed back up to the finish line in time to hear them announce my dad was crossing. I found him and congratulated him, found Jeremy and Thomas, and then headed out on a cool down to find my mom and walk back with her. Everyone was running and walking toward Silver Dollar City as I was running away. One guy saw me and informed me I was going the wrong way. I thanked him and continued on. At which point he panicked checking with the workers directing traffic to make sure he was going the right way. I cracked up that he was concerned he and the thousands of other people were going the wrong way just because he saw me going the opposite way! I found mom with a probably a mile and a half to go and walked back with her. Dad was inside the park and walked the rest of the way with us. I had been worried shorts would be too cold for the race as the temperature was just over 40 degrees but here I was walking over a mile in just shorts and didn't get cold until the very end, mostly because I was so wet and sweaty.

Ready to cross the finish line.

After watching mom finish I went around collecting my stashed clothing. I put my sweats on first and then picked up my gloves. Then it was time for deliciousness as I ate a Christmas tree cookie and drank hot chocolate as we waited for awards. From what everyone had said as I was running, I thought I had been top overall female but it turned out there was a woman way up front finishing in 18:57. I think she must've been running in a pack or something so none of them saw her. Jeremy and Thomas had been standing by the awards area as they did drawings for prizes and said it would be interesting as the announcers were a bumbling mess. They were correct because I was announced as Lisa instead of Liz and they said Jerry and then Jiminy for Jeremy's name. It was quite comical. Before getting married I was accustomed to people mispronouncing my last name, but I've never had anyone mess up my first name! I placed 1st in my age group, was 2nd overall female, and 21st overall out of 1,246 total runners! Jeremy also won his age group finishing in 19:46 and placing 13th overall. Thomas came in next finishing in 22:38 which put him 7th in his age group and 55th overall. Dad just missed a medal in his age group, taking 4th place in 23:37 which put him 73rd overall. Mom walked the race in 54:22 which put her 66th out of 97 in her age group. On our way out I grabbed a cookie for Ty and a hot chocolate to drink in the car.

Jeremy with his first place medal.

Enjoying some hot chocolate while receiving my medal.

When we arrived back at the cabin we found Ty asleep with Elise in his chest and Carter in the bed beside him. I stood in the door soaking up the sweetness before shutting it so they wouldn't get woken up. We had tried to be quiet coming in but dad dropped his wallet in the kitchen, knocked something off the counter, laughed really loud, and then turned on the bathroom light which shone into the room where the kids were sleeping. That last one was before we had figured out where they were, but I told him he had 4 strikes regardless. I quickly showered and came out to find Ty up and talking with everyone. It sounded like everything had gone decently well except that he ripped trim off the car in his haste to get bags out of the trunk because Elise was crying. Then as he got Elise set up with a bottle, which she fed herself, he turned on tv for Carter and the only cartoon he could find was The Simpsons so Carter has now seen a wildly inappropriate cartoon, but it could be worse and I'm sure he was too young and too tired to understand the inappropriate jokes. Other than that it sounded like things went well. I was extremely grateful that he was willing to do that on his own as this is one of most fun races we do and I was also extremely relieved that it went as well as it had! Lucky for me, Ty has no interest in running such a hilly race so it looks like I'll get to run again next year! He has already said it will be easier for him next year as Elise will no longer be a baby.

Christmas Round 2

Last week our Weekly Learning Theme was Christmas, but I figured instead of doing a post about it I would document our Christmas celebrations with Ty's family.  Friday afternoon we left to visit Ty's family at Carter's nap time.  We arrived a little bit before dinner and just missed his brother and sister-in-law, Paul and Amanda, who had headed out to one of her family's Christmas celebrations minutes before we arrived.  We enjoyed a delicious turkey dinner with Ty's parents and Aunt Netta.  We took Carter to see some drive through Christmas lights.  He loved them and waved at each of the lights as we drove by.  After Carter went to bed we sat around talking and were just preparing for bed when Paul and Amanda made it home so we stayed up for a while talking with them.

Bedtime stories with Gma.

Saturday morning we had a Christmas breakfast with Ty's paternal grandparents, Carter's Gigi and Papa.  Carter had a blast playing with their new puppy, Muffin.  He would run laps through the living room and kitchen while she chased him.  Carter scored some awesome new toys from his Gigi and Papa as well as Ty's Aunt Tina.  One of his favorites was a pair of kid binoculars from Aunt Tina.  He was so hilarious pointing them at people and laughing as he looked through the magnified lenses at his subject. Gma made an egg casserole with a lot of cheese and Carter tried some with no repercussions later in the day!  After all the playing and running Carter was exhausted!  As Ty pulled him out of the car back at Gma and Gpa's house, Carter said, "Daddy night night?"  Ty responded that he'd get to take a nap once he got inside. Carter excitedly said, "Thank you, daddy!"  While Carter napped the girls did our nails with nail wraps.  We were still working on them when Carter woke up so he went on an adventure in the woods by the house with his Uncle Paul.  When they came inside Carter watched, wanted to help, and put his hand out for Gma to do his nails.  The whole time he was constantly yelling "Auntie Manny!" to Amanda to make sure she saw him.  He loves his Aunt Amanda and it's so adorable how he says her name!

I see you!

Helping Gigi open a present.

Doggy pile with Auntie Amanda, Uncle Paul, and Muffin!

We matched!  I swear the size of my belly makes hers look concave!

Exploring with Uncle Paul.

Carter getting a wrap on his thumb nail.  Everytime he sees my nails he says, "pretty!"

Watching Aunt Netta do Auntie Amanda's nails.

Saturday evening we did our family Christmas.  After dinner we made chocolates.  Carter had a blast stirring his chocolate, throwing bits of smashed candy cane in, and messing up my chocolates by spilling the chocolate out of the wrapper and throwing in random ingredients.  Rocky and Leina surprised us all with matching pajamas after chocolate making.  We all changed into our jammies for a present exchange and interactive read aloud.  Carter again got some fun toys, both cars, and got distracted playing for quite a while.  Then Leina got out her nativity set and had Carter help place the characters where they belonged as she read about them in the story.  Ty even pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight to use as the star.  Carter loved the story so much that he said, "Baby Deesus" and made kissing sounds as I was carrying him to bed so I picked up the baby Jesus out of the nativity set so he could give the baby a kiss.

Gma got Carter a special elf apron that was absolutely precious!

Lots of chocolate was eaten during the making of our treats.

Carter's chocolate dipped pretzels.

Family jammy photo.

Sunday morning was a lazy morning playing with Uncle Paul, Gma, and Gpa.  Then we enjoyed another Christmas get together with Ty's maternal grandparents along with his Aunt Netta, Aunt Gena, Uncle Karl, and cousin Jessica.  We all got candy and lottery tickets as presents and then enjoyed baked macaroni and cheese and pigs in a blanket for lunch.  Carter was playing with his Gpa and then came into the room to show me he had a basketball in his shirt so he had a belly just like mommy.  It was the cutest!  When Carter went down for a nap we played some cards.  Everyone stayed for quite a while and then Ty's friends, Chris and Candice, stopped by with their children, Adelynn and Liam. Carter loved Adelynn just like always. He wanted to hug her, kiss her, and play with her hair.  At one point Carter was hugging Adelynn and she said, "Carter won't let go!"  I had to ask Carter to let go.  When he wanted to kiss her she wasn't looking at him so he grabbed her face, held it in his hands, and kissed her.  My little wild man!  He also liked Liam, calling him baby and getting down to stare into his face.  Carter sat in my lap and then wanted me to put Liam in his lap.  It was adorable!

Sipping "coffee" with Uncle Paul.  Every time Paul had coffee Carter wanted some too.

Boy band on the ukelele and flute.

He rushed to give Amanda hugs when she got home from church.

Whose belly is bigger?

It's a hard one to judge!

Hugs for Adelynn.

This was when Adelynn said Carter wouldn't let go.

Baby pile!

It was so hard to say good-bye to Paul and Amanda on Monday morning as we didn't know when we'd see them again.  They flew back to Florida in the afternoon.  Carter loved seeing his aunt and uncle so much.  It was such a fun-filled weekend and Carter loved all the attention from family members he doesn't see enough.