The Christmas Card Question

I think with the invention of FACEBOOK the entire Christmas card sending ritual is becoming questionable. Throughout the year, we post on FACEBOOK a few of our favorite moments and a couple of great pictures. As this holiday season rolls around, the question is - do we need to send out photo/xmas cards?

I think the answer is yes. I still have friends who are not on FACEBOOK (although that number is shrinking). I also don't have business associates on my FACEBOOK page. I try to keep my worlds somewhat separate. Many of my older family members still don't have a computer. Additionally, how do I know if people are actually checking their social network sites?

Here is the real reason to send out Christmas cards: they make people happy. I love going to the mailbox each day during the season and seeing how much the children of my friends and family have grown. Reading the holiday letters entertains me. We keep all of our cards from the year before so we know who to send cards to the next year and it is fun to compare cards from year to year.

Finally, I write on my xmas cards. I try to write a small personal note on the back of each card. It only takes a few minutes, but for those few minutes I am talking to an old friend, a dear family member, or some other person who means something to me.

I will send out cards this year. I will treasure the ritual of sitting on the couch with a black sharpie, an address book, last year's cards, stamps, and write to each of my people and sharing a memory of them - if only for a few moments.

Now - how to choose which card -- which picture -- what saying. Religious? Non-Religious? Oh, the decisions. I will be using shutterfly. I have made about three Shutterfly books and loved them. Additionally, a few years ago we had shutterfly xmas cards and adored them. We tried other places with "cheaper" price and ended up with cheaper cards. I couldn't stand last year's card.

I really like this card for this year.

And, I will continue to use SHUTTERFLY for my books. They are so fun and easy to make!

Happy Halloween!

She did great. EG said "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you " each time. We went to about eight houses and then came home and handed out candy. She was fearless.

Bud Lite Year

Two weeks ago we decided that EG should see her first movie. It was a chilly Saturday night and instead of Sesame Street we put in Toy Story. Every night since then we have watched the first 25 minutes of Toy Story. It is pretty cute to watch her learn about Woody and "budlityear".

She has transitioned into her toddler bed. We bought her an OK to Wake alarm clock. We worked with her for days and days until she learned that she can't come out of her room until the light turns GREEN! It took a month (like everything does with her), but now she stays in her room until 5:30 a.m.

We are all very excited about fall....cooler temps...pretty leaves...pumpkins....

Night One with the Toddler Bed

One 3 a.m. wake up. We think she woke up a little confused and scared. After a diaper change and some hugs it was right back to bed. There was a 5:20 a.m. wake up call.... We will see what tonight brings.

Toddler Bed

EG is becoming a "big girl" so fast. She has gotten taller, talks non-stop, asks "why" all day long, and this morning she crawled out of her crib. She came barreling into our room and said, "I got out of my crib all by myself." I was completely out of it and it took me a few seconds to figure out what happened. When we both figured it out, M and I just started laughing. EG was VERY proud of herself.

We then spent the morning going to church and pondering if we should:
a. keep her in the crib and threaten her not to get out
b. go and buy a mattress and box-spring and put it on the floor
c. go all out and convert the crib to the full-size bed it will become one day -- this would also mean buying all new bedding (which I had already picked out....and loved)

I really wanted to visualize what her convertible crib would look like as a full size bed. I googled for awhile and found some pictures. We then realized that her crib could become a day-bed. Holy cow. Super easy. We went upstairs, pulled out four screws, found the old crib skirt (which we almost sold on ebay), and voila a great transition from crib to "freedom". We had no idea the bed would do that. We should have really paid attention when we bought it. We did that all before nap.

Nap was funny. She was told to "stay in her room and take a nap". She played for an hour. She destroyed her room. We had already "super toddler proofed" the room a few weeks ago because we figured this was coming. M went up every 30 minutes and reminded EG to take a nap. Finally, she fell asleep and slept for an hour.

This evening she went down in her new "toddler bed" and within 5 minutes she was out. We will see what the night brings and we will see how early she "visits" us in the morning.

A summer in pictures

I am now 2

She is now a 2-year-old full force. Demanding, full of hugs and kisses, and talking up a storm. Here are a few pics....the one with the orange hood is her Halloween costume from last fall....she just had to try it on and then wear it for 30 minutes.