The Twelfth Day of Tradition

As I made my list of traditions to talk about on the blog, I decided to save "Church" for the twelfth day. It seemed perfect to write about that topic after coming home from Christmas Eve service, our first at Joy. I had looked forward to this particular service all month. The kids would wear their Christmas outfits for the first time and my parents were coming with us. Then, I could talk about it here. Oh, what a beautiful service I thought it would be.

Then the snow came. We got our first blizzard warning ever. As the snow fell faster and the wind blew at unheard of speeds, we started to question whether or not we should go to church. Yes, it was something our family had been looking forward to but would it be safe. We certainly would never endanger our children - just how bad was it? Finally, we conceded that driving would not be in our best interest, and we would have to miss church. Five minutes after making that decision, my phone rang. It was our dear friend, telling us that church had been canceled. Ironic that I saved this tradition for tonight, isn't it?

Looking back over the twelve traditions that I have described over the past week and a half, I have seen how they have changed over time. Some have been done for years (such as the ornaments, which we have done since Sister was born) others are new (such as the Christmas Performances). Some have stayed consistent year after year (such as getting a new Christmas outfit), others have undergone changes (such as church being canceled). Nevertheless, these traditions are important parts of our lives and will continue to be so over the years.

The Eleventh Day of Tradition

Christmas Program: Since Christmas traditions are always evolving, I wanted to include a new tradition for our family. In the past, Sister has had Christmas programs in her dance classes. This year, however, we have been bombarded with Christmas programs that she has been a part of. Last Thursday, her Mother’s Day Out put on their Christmas show. They read a poem and sang several songs. Sunday, she was in the church Christmas Performance. Here are a few pictures from the performance (BTW, thank you to everyone whom sent me pictures, I really appreciate all of them!):

The Tenth Day of Tradition

Pictures: Once you get those cuties all dressed up, what else is left to do but take their pictures? I love pictures and we have thousands saved on our computer. Some years we have pictures done; this year we are going to take own pictures. Check back next week to see what shots we get from them.

The Ninth Day of Tradition

Christmas Clothes: One of the most exciting parts of Christmas are the beautiful outfits. I love the dresses and hair bows, the little boy shirts and vests. I start shopping early, and usually get their outfits from a consignment store or JBF in August or September. Sister loves to wear fancy dresses and Brother…well, I’m still in that easy stage where he wears whatever I put on him. Check back tomorrow to see what tradition we fulfill in our cute outfits…

Brother and Sister last year in their outfits.

The Eighth Day of Tradition

It looks like we have reached the week of Christmas, and time to talk about the eighth tradition: family. I have plenty of not-so-pleasant memories of extended family and Christmas from my childhood (that will not be shared here and now – trust me, there isn’t a blog big enough for all that). As a result, we have worked out a strict holiday schedule so there are no surprises or guilt trips. Christmas Eve is always spent with my family. Christmas morning we have our little family time, during which we read the Christmas story (and this year, we are adding a new tradition of having our Birthday Biscuit Breakfast on Christmas morning). Christmas lunch is with Aaron’s grandparents and extended family. We enjoy one more Christmas, with Aaron’s parents, siblings, and their families; this is the only one that isn’t scheduled ahead of time, but it is usually the weekend after Christmas. I am very thankful that the family we visit is close to us – the furthest we travel is Owasso or Mounds (depending on which of Aaron’s grandparent’s we see that Christmas). The one sad part about this Christmas is the family that will not be here. My brother will remain in China until January, when he comes back for a month long visit. Nevertheless, I know that Christmas is more than just a day, and we will celebrate our time as a family when he does return. In the meantime, I am thankful for emails, blogs, and Facebook as a way to communicate with one another while we are apart.

Last year's Christmas with Grammy.

The Seventh Day of Tradition

Silver Dollar City: A couple of years ago, my parents decided that rather than give my kids toys for Christmas, they would buy us a season pass to Silver Dollar City. For the past two years, we went to SDC’s Christmas with my parents. Last year we went on the day before Christmas Eve. It was BELOW FREEZING! This year, we decided to go as early as possible. Between everybody’s work schedules and when our passes worked, we chose the Sunday before Thanksgiving. This year, the weather was perfect. None of us wore coats; long sleeves were sufficient for the beautiful weather. As the kids get older, they have more fun at SDC with their grandparents. This was Brother’s first year to ride a ride; next year he will be able to ride a plethora of rides (as long as they aren’t closed for the weather!).

To read more about our SDC trips, look in my archives. Yes, it would have been helpful if I labeled these...but I didn't. You're a big boy or girl; you can find them all by yourself.

The Sixth Day of Tradition

Dance: In case you haven’t figured out from previous blog posts, my daughter likes to dance. A lot. She started taking dance when she was a year old (please save your angry emails about how that is way too young to start a kid in an extracurricular activity. I wasn’t crazy about the idea at the time but it turned out that she loved it, so we stuck with it). Her old dance school had Christmas Performances at the Riverwalk during the Lights On Ceremony. In theory, this is a great idea. In practice, it is bitter cold and miserable. Last year, Sister got so cold that she cried before she went on stage (but refused to leave when we gave her that option). Of course, as soon as she got on stage, she stopped crying, put on a big smile, and did her dance. Not surprisingly, she cried again after she got off the stage. As much as I liked much of that dance school, the outdoor Christmas Performance was not one of them.

This year, Sister’s dance school did a small, in-class recital. This was a welcome change for us since we began a new tradition of dancing in the Nutcracker. Sister really enjoyed this experience and already is talking about dancing in the Nutcracker in the future.

(Sister after performing in The Nutcracker)

The Fifth Day of Tradition

Decorating:When I was a little girl, I would help my mom get out our artificial tree, set it up, and decorate it. Now, my daughter helps me get out the artificial tree, set it up, and decorate it. The same tree. Yep, the tree that is as old as I am is still around and in our living room. Of course, I didn’t always have it. When Aaron and I were early married, we bought our very own $20 tree. It was all of five feet tall and had thin little branches. But it was our tree and we were very proud. When Taylor was two, we thought it might be nice to eventually get a bigger tree, but were in no rush. However, my parents were looking for a smaller tree, since my brother and I were grown and they didn’t want to mess with a six foot tall tree. We decided to trade trees, which ended up being the perfect solution for everyone.

Of course, you can't forget the stockings, hung over the fireplace. If you look closely, you'll see that there is nothing holding them in place except for the picture frames that they are tucked under. This isn't really the best solution, and I'm sure one of these days they will fall, causing the frame to hit somebody (probably myself) in the head. But, until that happens, or I find a better way to hang the stockings (or Christmas ends and we put them away - the most likely of all options), this is how they hang.

The Fourth Day of Tradition

Christmas Cards: I LOVE Christmas cards! Every year I look forward to sending and receiving cards. We always do a family picture on the card and it is amazing to see our progression over the years. The real joy is receiving cards from our friends and family. I really enjoy seeing other families, especially those that live far away.

Below are the two pictures I used on this year's card. I couldn't resist the amazing picture of the kids together (thank you Jennifer Foster with Heaven To Earth Photography!) and found a great online deal where I got 50 free cards with free shipping (hurray for free Christmas anything!).

The Third Day of Tradition

Advent Calendar: This is a new tradition for us, as Sister has finally reached the age that she understands the concept of days, weeks, and months. Although I originally planned to make an Advent Calendar, we ended up making a paper Advent Chain instead. Each day, Sister tears a link off of the chain, I read what it says, and we talk about how it relates to Christmas and what we can do to incorporate it into our daily lives.

The Second Day of Traditions

(This should have been posted yesterday. However, as I finally got a chance to sit down at the computer around 8:30pm, Brother woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep until 11:00 (which could start a whole new tradition of being flexible around the kids). So, you get two traditions today.)


Angel Tree: We don’t buy presents for our kids (shock – gasp!). Instead of giving our kids gifts, we let them buy presents for kids that need presents. We go to Woodland Hills Mall and pick out children the same age and gender of our kids and go shopping. Brother has been too young to really participate, but Sister has enjoyed finding things for the kids. We also talk about why we need to help those that don’t have the means to buy basic necessities, such as clothes and diapers.

The First Day of Tradition

This is my all time favorite Christmas tradition, and I wanted to start the blog with this one to give those that might want to copy a chance to incorporate it this year. Every year we get each of the kids an ornament that symbolizes something they did that year.

For Sister we have the following ornaments:
2005: Baby’s First Christmas
2006: Princess slipper (this is the year our princess learned how to walk)
2007: Cell phone tree (this is the year she learned how to talk and loved to take our cell phones and carry on an entire conversation with herself)
2008: Heart with a ballet slipper (this is the year of her first real ballet recital)
2009: Nutcracker (this is the year that she first danced in the Nutcracker, something that she had prepared for over the span of four months)

For Brother we have the following ornaments:
2008: Baby’s First Christmas
2009: Tennis shoe (this is the year that Brother learned to walk and he wasted no time is walking fast!)

Also on the “special tree” is the ornament that Aaron and I were given for our first Christmas as a married couple and an angel that I received as a child.

The Twelve Days of Tradition

For those that read the Joy Newsletter, you may remember that I wrote my article about incorporating Christmas traditions with your family. I believe that establishing traditions with your children (or each other if you are a couple) is very important and outlined a few that you can do at home.

Here on my blog for the next twelve days, I am going to tell you about twelve of the family traditions that we have in place for the Christmas season. Each day, I will describe a different tradition; perhaps it will inspire you to do something with your family. Speaking of inspiration, I have to thank my dear friend, Maria, for inspiring me to write this blog. Her blog is always worth a read.

Post-Nutcracker Party

After the Nutcracker, we went home, scrubbed the makeup off Sister's face, changed her clothes, and went to my parents for dinner. They surprised Sister with a cake and her own Nutcracker doll. When she saw it on the table, she exclaimed, "Hey, there is a story about a girl who gets that very same doll!"

Sister adores her Nutcracker doll. This is my favorite picture of the night:
Following the performance, Sister has also decided to change her name to Clara. The problem is, she can't seem to remember the name, and continues to ask us, "what's my new name now? You know, the main girl that everybody watches?" Yes, my daughter is the performer!

She discovered that pulling the lever on the back of the Nutcracker would make it's mouth move. Here, she is having a "conversation" with the Nutcracker. For the record, I have no idea what they are talking about.

Here is Brother, asleep at the show. In his defense, he fell asleep long after Sister's part ended.

I am so proud of Sister. She has worked so hard, attending rehearsals every Saturday for the past two months in preparation for this show. Her role was short and she was probably the youngest in the show, but her smile could be seen from the back row. During the curtain call, she came out with the other Baby Angels for applause. However, instead of leaving with the group , she stayed on stage while the Big Angels came out, received a second round of applause, and then walked off stage! Afterward, she was so excited, and telling us how much she loved dancing in the show. It was a wonderful day for her.

Getting Ready for the Nutcracker

Grandma came over to help Sister fix her hair and makeup. Notice the counter full of makeup and various beauty products. Apparently, it takes that much stuff to make a ballerina.

They wouldn't allow us to come backstage or take pictures during the performance, so I have no pictures of my angel in her costume. But, I did manage to get a quick picture before she scampered to the dressing area with the other dancers.
Back at the house (Blogger managed to mix up the picture order), as she danced in front of the tree.

Can you tell which child is more excited about going to the Nutcracker?

Brother actually did great at the show. He watched almost the entire first act in awe. The second act he switched between nursing and watching until finally falling asleep in Grandma's lap fifteen minutes before the end of the performance.

Nutcracker ~ Family Pictures

Sister on the way to her big show.

Mommy and Sister
Daddy and Sister.

Sister with her Grammy and PaPa.

Sister and Brother with Grandma and Grandpa.

Silver Dollar City ~ Christmas 2009

Every year, my parents take us to Silver Dollar City for the Christmas season. Last year, we went December 23; it was below freezing outside and we were miserable. This year, we went November 22; it was warm, sunny, and beautiful!

Last year, Brother spent the entire time in a wrap. This year, he got to participate and had a great time.

There were only a few rides he could go on. We weren't sure what he would think of them. Sister insisted on sitting next to him so she could hold his hand. It must have helped because he had a great time on the rides.

Of course, Daddy and Sister went on some big-kid rides as well.

By the end of the night, Brother snuggled on Grandpa while everybody watched the lighting of the Christmas Tree. Luckily, he woke up in time for the Parade, during which he pointed and "talked" the whole time.

Thanksgiving

We went to our annual Thanksgiving at Aaron's aunt's house. After lunch, they got out the golf cart for the kids to ride:

Now, for The Thanksgiving Challenge: Get a picture with both kids looking at the camera and smiling. Can it be done?

Good picture, except Brother is looking away...

Now Brother is looking but Sister has a mouth full of carrots...
Finally, a picture with both kids looking at the camera AND smiling!!!

It's Begining To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Thanksgiving afternoon we decorated for Christmas.

Sister was able to help this year. Here she is, showing off our finished product:

We have a small tree for our "special" ornaments. Each year the children get an ornament that represents something they did that year. This year, Sister will get a Nutcracker ornament, since this is her first year to dance in the South Tulsa Children's Ballet Nutcracker. Brother got a shoe (you can see it on the bottom left of the tree), since this is the year he learned to walk.

The four stockings, hung with care:

My Little Dollhouse

I don't normally take my camera to birthday parties. I mean, come on, it's hard enough to interact with my two kids at a party to begin with. However, when my friend told me that her daughter's fourth birthday party would be at "My Little Dollhouse," I knew I had to have the camera ready.

We arrived at the same time as our friend, Q. Sister and Q used to spend a lot of time together when her mom and I worked together at Natural Lullabies. Sadly, the girls haven't seen each other in quite some time, which made this a special treat. We went in together where B, the birthday girl, helped them pick out their perfect princess dresses. They made their way to the makeup counter where they got their nails painted, makeup applied, and hair fixed.

As an extra fun surprise, Sleeping Beauty joined the party. Make no mistake, this was not a person dressed up as Sleeping Beauty, it was, according to Sister, the REAL Sleeping Beauty. Apparently, Sleeping Beauty went to Beauty School (perhaps that's how she got her name?) as she fixed all of the girls' hair.

Of course, what makeup and hair would be complete without glitter. I'm talking loads of glitter. Brother had glitter residue on him hours after we came home.

I was in awe of how still and quiet these girls sat waiting for their turns. I don't know if it was the amazement of the princess or if this place sneaks something in their glitter dust but these girls were amazing.

Sister, all dolled up:

You may not be able to see the glitter in this picture, but I assure you, it's there!

The Prince and The Princess:

After all of the girls got their hair and makeup done, it was time for the fashion show. Each girl had a turn to come onto the stage. Sister did her little dance, complete with spins and jumps:

A group of the girls danced together on the stage. Of course, Sister was right there in the action. Her favorite part of the party was dancing on the stage. At one point, Sleeping Beauty and another worker brought all of the girls on stage and they did the "Princess Pokey," which is pretty much the "Hokey Pokey" but has them put in their diamond ring (instead of hand), glass slipper (instead of foot), and tiera (instead of head).

The attempt to get a picture with all of the girls together. Easier said than done:

Sister and her best friend, E, making silly faces:

Sister and E getting ready to eat cake. And ice cream. Notice they are not wearing the princess dresses at this point. I can't imagine why the people at "My Little Dollhouse" wouldn't want a group of four year olds to wear their dresses while eating and drinking.

The cake. I mean, (drumroll please), the cake!

Sister and I at the end of the party. It would be a nice picture if the balloon string weren't in her face.

One last picture of Sister, E, and Sleeping Beauty.

What a party!