Christmas 2012

Christmas was definitely a success this year! Elizabeth was able to attend as a full-fledged little person this year, instead of just as an embryo with waving arms and legs like she did last year. Evie was actually able to appreciate and participate in our Christmas traditions this year, too. For example, when we were still in Idaho for Thanksgiving, Todd helped my dad and brother put their lights up on the house before the major snowfalls in December made the roof too slippery. Anyway, as soon as they turned on the lights to make sure that they work, Evie wanted to go outside to gawk at the pretty "nights," and we practically had to wrestle her back inside. Since then, every time we drive past a lit house at night, she excitedly points out the lights to the rest of us. So, when we finally put up our own Christmas tree and decorated it with our own lights, it was as if Christmas had come early. ;)

Every year, our local mall has Santa come in for a couple weeks before Christmas, and people can come in with their own cameras to get free pictures with Santa. We did it last year, and Evie seemed to do well, so we thought that this year would be really fun for the girls. Unfortunately, we waited a little too long, so when we finally got around to visiting Santa, his shift was almost done and his helpers wouldn't take the time to just do pictures of the girls with Santa. Instead, we all got pushed onto his lap for a few quick pictures. This was the best one of the lot:

When I was visiting a friend of mine, her kids showed Evie a fun toy that they'd just received from their Grandma: a singing Christmas tree that lit up and sang "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." It was actually cute and not as offensively annoying as most other singing toys I've come across. Evie was enthralled! Her new-found love of lights, combined with her appreciation for all things musical, made this the most enchanting toy she'd ever seen. My friend's little boy very kindly offered to let Evie borrow the dancing tree for a few days, as long as she took care of it and returned it before Christmas Eve. Evie eagerly accepted the offer, and we were treated to endless choruses of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" for the next week. She loved that tree so much that Todd and I looked up where it came from so we could get one of our very own. We finally found out that it came from Macy's, so we headed over that night to see if they had any left so close to Christmas and how much they were. It turns out that they did have a couple left, and they were even on 40% off sale, so we headed home with our very own dancing tree in tow. On Christmas morning, Evie headed straight for that tree, and we finally had to take it away so she would open her other presents!

She finally did open all of her presents, and she got quite a great haul, too! I was finally able to collect Evie and all of her great gifts into one place a couple of days later, before breaking down the tree for my birthday:

Then, of course, I gathered Elizabeth and all of her gifts together in one place, and did the same thing with her:

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Christmas Angels

Tonight, our family received a miracle. Todd and I had just put the girls to bed and were watching "It's a Wonderful Life" when the doorbell rang. A couple of minutes later, his parents called down to us and told us to come on upstairs. When we got there, we saw a huge box, full of wrapped presents, most of which were addressed to our girls! The side of the box held a sign that read "To the Todd Jacobs family: Merry Christmas!" We currently have the box tucked away upstairs so that the girls don't find it before tomorrow night. I was already excited for Christmas this year because we planned it so that we were going to be able to give our girls a better Christmas than last year, but now it will be even better!  I had so much joy in my heart that it started to leak out of my eyes. Someone out there loves us very much; enough to go out and spend lots of time and money picking out wonderful gifts for our family and then wrapping them up for us. If this kind act was yours, please know how much we appreciate your generosity! Thank you so much, our Christmas angels, and I hope, whoever and wherever you are, that you have a wonderfully Merry Christmas, too!

Favorites

I have a small confession: When I was pregnant with Ella, I was worried that I'd secretly favor one child over the other. I thought, since I've known Evie longer and Ella is a relative stranger, that I'd unconsciously prefer Evie over her little sister. Or I thought, since Ella is littler and needs more care and attention, that I'd unconsciously focus more on her and basically ignore Evie altogether. Either way, I was worried about favoritism, and I would lie awake at night, haunted by the thought that I might love one of my children more than the other.

Then Elizabeth was born. Sure, the first few weeks were strange as we adjusted to having a new little person in our family. But now, several months later, I've come to a new and wonderful realization: I don't have a favorite! Don't get me wrong, my babies are not clones of one another; they're actually very different people, and that difference is what is so liberating. I love each girl differently than I love her sister, but not less. I love the very differences that make each girl unique. Evie looks like a mini-me of her daddy, but she acts more like me. Ella has my same coloring, but she acts just like her daddy. Evie is more bouncy; Ella is more calm. But they're both my babies, and each one has a part of me in her somewhere. Plus, I cheat just a little bit: I still tell each girl that she's my favorite, but not in a way that would make the other jealous. I tell Evie that she's my favorite brown-eyed baby girl, and I tell Elizabeth that she's my favorite blue-eyed baby girl. And the two of them together are my absolute favorite babies in the whole world!

Hobbit Baby

I'm sure most people have seem the scene in the first Lord of the Rings movie where Pippin talks about all of the meals hobbits enjoy in a single day:

Whenever I see this scene, it reminds me of Elizabeth; she nurses so many times--and so regularly--in a single day that sometimes I'm convinced she's actually a hobbit changeling!

Breakfast:

     6:30 am

Second Breakfast: 
     9:00 am

Elevensies:
     11:30 am

Luncheon:
     2:00 pm

Afternoon Tea:
     4:30 pm

Dinner:
     7:00 pm

Supper:
     9:30 pm

Midnight Snack:
     2:00 am

And yes, she adds an extra meal that isn't mentioned in the movie or book, but I'm sure that hobbits would love the idea; this girl's appetite would make any hobbit proud! I'm proud, too! I've been exclusively nursing Elizabeth for 5 months now, and she's a healthy and happy little girl with adorably chubby cheeks and a triple chin.

Bon appetit, my little hobbit baby!