New Toys

Seema loves to color. Actually we all get in on the coloring with her new Aquadoodle that Santa brought her!







New John Deer boots that Uncle Chris gave her.

Christmas celebrated at our house

This was our first gingerbread house. It was one of those kits. Seema just wanted to eat all the candy she could get her hands on without us knowing.





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This year we decided to host a 2 day event. My main goals was to have the family together. That's really all I cared about this year. We didn't cook the big turkey or go all out on a feast. Instead we had a simple Christmas Eve dinner followed by a couple movies, then Christmas Day brunch with a few more movies and games, then a simple dinner of manicotti and salad. It went pretty much as I had pictured.

Christmas Eve table

Grandma and Seema reading a snowmen book

All the movies we watched these two days

She was too tired from all the morning's excitement of opening gifts.
Napping while waiting for our Christmas guests.

Almost ready for Santa to come

December To-Do's

• Outside Christmas decor.
  Check.
  The drive way is lined with white lights and the wreath is on the door.
• Christmas Tree
  Check.
  This year's theme is red and white/silver.
  Seema has done very good with not touching the ornaments, presents, or nativity
  
• Wrap Presents
  Partial Check.
  
• Gingerbread House
  Check.
  We had a blast making this Sunday. Our first gingerbread house as a family.
  
• Christmas Movies
  We love that ABCfamily is having the 25 days of Christmas with Christmas movies galore.
  
• Christmas Cookies
  Check.
  Made Magic Cookie Bars.
  
• Snow
  Check. We got 3 inches the last time. It's snowed twice so far this month.
  
• December Daily Scrapbook Album
  Partial Check.
  It's started, just a bit behind. I'm still on day 12 and it's already the 22nd. Will be playing catch up this week.
• Christmas Eve and Christmas Day planned
  Check.
  Christmas Eve we're hosting dinner, then snacks and movies.
  Christmas Day we're hosting brunch, then simple dinner.
  

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I'm preparing for 2009. Trying to think of my goals for this coming year and what I want this year to be for me and my family. I am fully inspired my Ali Edwards. Ali does a "one little word" that you think about the whole year through. Like it guides you through the year and inspires you daily.

These are the list of words I have so far (trying to narrow it down over the next couple weeks)...
Accept {to regard as normal, suitable, or usual}
Appreciate {to be grateful or thankful for}
Discover {to see, get knowledge of, learn of, find, or find out; gain sight or knowledge of}
Invest {to use, give, or devote (time, talent, etc.), as for a purpose or to achieve something}
Moments {A particular period of importance, influence, or significance in a series of events or developments}


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Pictures coming soon....

• Seema with Santa
• Making our gingerbread house
  

The Spirit of Giving

I am so excited to be able to join in the spirit of giving this year. I am teaming up with Giving is Awesome and 360+ other photographers internationally to offer my photography services to a deserving family. Visit my photography blog for more details and to nominate a deserving family that you know. http://tinyurl.com/5aonp8

The winning family will receive $300 in custom photography from me. The person who nominated the winner will receive $100 print credit from me.

The winner will be announced on December 29th, 2008 on my photography blog.

Open your heart to someone this holiday season -- and thanks for giving me the opportunity to open mine.

Sarah

Christmas Fun

Only 8 days until Christmas! I'm no where near as ready as I was suppose to be. The biggie on my list is to still plan out Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day brunch.

Feel free to play along if you want. If you do, post a link to your blog in my comments section. I love to read what everyone puts on these things.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? A little of both. Bags for gifts that I have to deliver. Paper for gifts that sit under my tree.

2. Real tree or artificial? Artifical. We have a pre-lit 6 foot (which no longer is as tall as it used to seem) one. It was a well spent $20 at a Black Friday sale a few years ago. It needs replaced though. I would like it to be a bit taller and more filled out. Plus now the middle section's lights don't work anymore so it looks a bit funny.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually we pull out all the Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving but this year I wasn't hosting Thanksgiving so I started putting everything up on Thanksgiving Day before we headed to my parent's house for dinner.

4. When do you take the tree down? Sometime in January. I tend to be a slacker in this department. Last year I think everything was packed back up by the 15th.

5. Do you like eggnog? Not really.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Nothing really sticks out to me.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Punit. If he wants something he just goes and buys it. He doesn't let anyone have a chance to get it for him first. ugh.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Seema. Any 18 month old would be easy to shop for!

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. I got it for Christmas last year.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I mail out Christmas cards.

11. Worst Christmas gift you've ever received? Not sure on this one either. I tend to blank on these "past times" questions. lol

12. Favorite Christmas movie? It's a Wonderful Life we used to watch every year as a family. But now with half of us kids moved out of the house we don't. We really enjoyed Home Alone 3 this year.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? When I get my gift list together.

14. Have you ever recycled a gift? Only for White Elephant gift exchanges at work.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Peanut Brittle, Peppermint White Chocolate Bark

16. Lights on the tree? Yes, white.

17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? If we travel it's only 20 minutes from our house.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Possibly, if you give me enough time. lol

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star

21. Open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? We open 1 gift on Christmas Eve. It's always the gift that has Christmas pjs in it.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? People who are in a rush or grumpy.

23. Favorite ornament or theme color? Red and White/Silver

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Cranberry Sauce with real cranberries in it.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Realistically? New backdrop. Some cash. Unrealistically? A new house with the layout that would work for our family.

Wishing you sweetness

Seema's first candycane.

Few outakes from our Christmas card photos

I'm not going to show all of them because I want you to be surprised when you get your Christmas card.

Thanksgiving Week

Seema made some Thanksgiving projects at "school" this week. We'll be taking them to the Grandparent's house tomorrow, as decorations.

Turkey hand card "I gobble til I wobble".
Turkey candle. Glass baby food jar with tissue paper around it, Seema's hand turkey on the back.
Cornucopia she colored the different fruits and veggies.
We'll have to wait and see what she makes today.




Since I have a half day of work I'm planning on putting up the outside Christmas lights.
I have plans to craft this weekend. I'm so excited! Some of these will be used as gifts, some we will keep. I'm going to be making some ornaments and trinket boxes. Plus working on our Christmas cards. Still need to get a good picture of Seema for it. hmm....

Date Night, part 2

Now since Punit is working a more "regular" shift, 7am-3:30pm, and doesn't have a 2nd job anymore we have a lot more family time and couple time.

Last weekend we planned to go out to dinner (which was yummy) and go to the movies. Ended up instead having to way 40 mins for a table so we missed the movie. But we're going tonight.

We're going to see FireProof. Have you seen this movie? I've heard it's pretty good from both men and women. Plus, the babysitting group at church mentioned it was a great date night movie.

Aunt Colleen is coming over the watch Seema tonight, and she's spending the night. :)

She wasn't having it

she so did not want to get her picture taken or have her hat on, but I still love this picture.

Gift Ideas for Seema

View my wish list on Wishpot »

whew

for now, at least. Punit came home Thursday afternoon with no pink slip. He lucked out on this row of layoffs. There's more coming though.

This means he'll probably be transferred to 2nd shift in 2 weeks. If that happens then Seema will continue to go to the same daycare. All will be nice and smooth.

Seema got a check up on Friday.
17 months old
Height: 20.1 inches
Weight: 22 lbs 8 oz.
No longer goes to sleep with a bottle. (We'll be working on the paci next, though she doesn't have it tonight. Cross your fingers that I get enough sleep.)

We both got our flu shots. We're hoping for no flu this year. Last year we had it really bad and it was horrible!

New Skirt

I cannot believe how "old" Seema is looking lately.

Check out her curls

Don't be fooled like Mom, this is NOT my first sucker. I love these!

Playing outside. Wearing the new skirt Grandma made for me.

Yep, that's right, Seema has a brand new one-of-a-kind skirt. Made especially for her by Grandma. Now she's not one to be all girly and it makes me to happy to see her in a skirt.

Happy Diwali

from our family to yours!

New Words

Seema's saying a lot of new words lately. She's becoming quite the copy cat too.

Her newest is shh! with the finger up. It's the cutest thing.
We were watching Betsy's Kindergarten Adventures on PBS over the weekend and they were in the library and the librarian kept saying Shh! and now she does it.


She loves popcorn, dried cranberries/raisins/etc, plums, all kinds of soups.

We have been working on going to bed without a bottle. It's been going pretty well, some nights are harder than others though.

Next will be some potty training.

Pumpkin Farm

We went to the pumpkin patch and farm Friday mid-day.
Come to find out they weren't actually open to the public at that time, just for schools and groups that had reserved the stop. rofl! Oh well they let us tag along with one of the groups so it worked out. :)

Now that Seema can walk she loves exploring and I love it too.

She pet the goats, the calves, the cows... we saw the chickens.


We played on the playground (they had tire swings that were horses and other fun stuff!)
We went to the pumpkin patch.
We saw the pigs, and smelled them too! phew
Then we got to see how the cows got milked and got to feed one of the calves a bottle. Well we watched. I knew if Seema got to close to that milk bottle she might be the one being feed instead of the calf.

Still on vacation...

well sorta.

Had lunch with Mom, Dad, Lizz, and Matt today. Jason's deli.. yum!




Then, followed Lizz & Matt to Target and they started the baby registry there.
We had fun!

Enjoying the not-so-sunny-weather

I am on vacation from the "regular" job and instead I'm doing some much needed catching up on the photography job. :D And this is the week it decides to rain! It has been in the 80s and sunny until this week!

Oh well. Most of what I'm doing has to be done inside, but a little sun would be nice.

I enjoyed (a much needed) massage, facial, manicure, and pedicure this morning. It was just wonderful. ahhh...

She's WALKING!!!

At 16 months old she figured out how to walk without holding someone's hand or holding the furniture!! YAY We are so proud of you. :)

Week in the Life: Hot Topics... daycare and the weekend

TGIF!! Switching the format up a bit.


Daycare.
Daycare center or in-home daycare? Which would you choose and why?
With DH's recent job change and soon-to-be shift to 2nd shift we have been thinking about how our daycare needs have changed. We will only need daycare M-F from 2:30-5:30pm.


Most people celebrate this period of time off the clock. Why do we let our jobs rule our lives? Shouldn't we "live to work" not "work to live"?
I like my 8-5 job but I do like my weekend to focus on my family, some r&r, and on my photography business.

The Weekend.
What are you plans for this awesomely beautiful autumn weekend?
Tomorrow late afternoon we are heading to the pumpkin patch for photos and to pick up a pumpkin or two. :)

Week in the Life: Wednesday ::Success::

I'm proud to report that Seema is back at daycare today. Finally after 10 days of the chicken pox they are gone!

Sorry the past couple of days haven't included photos in the posts. I've been a bit behind with going back to work and then watched the Presidential Debate last night. I'm going to try and add some tonight.

• Punit leaves for work at 6:15 every morning. We don't wake up until 6:30 (hopefully S wakes up closer to 7)
  
• Good Morning Seema!
• Breakfast of cherrios and dried cranberries on the ride to daycare.
• Yummy Pumpkin Spice latte for me.
• bye-bye Seema, I love you! Have fun at daycare today. :)
• Off to work.
• Blog hopping and a bit of facebook checking *blush
  
• Weight Watchers meeting during lunch break. I joined 2 weeks ago and I'm proud to say that I'm down 1.5 lbs as of today. Hoping to shed a major amount of weight.
• Grocery shopping after work.
• Dinner was a yummy soup.
  

I can't wait to turn the clocks back! I hate that by the time we get home after daycare and work it's almost dark. No more evening photo sessions with my baby. :( No more playing in the yard after dinner or going to the park. :(

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I am addicted to baby shoes!! They are tiny, but oh so stylish and cute. If I could Seema's whole closet would be filled with them.

Win a free pair of Kai shoes! Just go to this site.
Aren't they so cute?

Week in the Life: Tuesday

• High ho, high ho... back to work I go. :) Seema and I enjoyed 4 weekdays together and now we're trying to get back in the swing of things.
• Last night I packed 3 sack lunches, each with names marker on them. Seema still has one, lonely chicken pox on her cheek so she went to Grandma & Grandpa's House today, instead of daycare. I miss her as I sit here at my desk. It feels so weird (and my butt is aching from sitting for so long).

Week in the Life: Monday

• Another early morning wake up call, but 5am is a bit better than 4 am. :)
• Breakfast: apple slices with peanut butter
• Cleaned the kitchen, did the dishes, 1 load of laundry, vacuumed the main areas.. feeling totally productive today
  
• Lunch: mac n' cheese and green beans
• Check emails
• Check Facebook. Add me?
• Choose our family photos outfits. Can't wait! (Seema: cranberry, Mom: burnt orange, Dad: brown)
  

Week in the Life: Sunday

Why I need a true entry or mud room... so I can fill it with coat racks and shoe racks. I love Ikea, don't you?



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• Woke up to Seema crying at 4 this morning! This is the second day in a row. She's actually working on tooth #10 also. So that 2 teeth on top and 1 on bottom all coming in at the same time. You know it's just the start of a "not so good" day.
  
• Breakfast
• Bath time for Seema.
• Watch Betsy's Kindergarten Class on PBS.
  
• Daddy got home from work.
• Morning nap for Seema.
• Watched DIY and some Mtv recordings.
• Lunchtime. Seema ate great! Grapes, chicken with noodles and veggies.
• Afternoon (and much needed) nap for Seema.
• Refreshing shower with some refreshing awaken salt. Love this stuff!
• Laundry
• drink a bunch of water
• edit some photos

It it vacation time, yet?

Week in the Life Project

I like this idea. Ok, so I like reading what people do and I like sharing what I do. lol
I love including photos too!
This idea comes from Ali

We got our first iPod about a month ago. Punit takes it to work to listen to music/podcasts to help the hours fly by. I recently found a TON of podcasts on iTunes that I like.
Here's what I'm subscribed to, tell me what you are listening to?
Baby Time - yet to start listening to, but they are downloaded
fitMusic.com - yet to start listening to
Greys Anatomy Official podcast - I've heard from Carey that these are good, hope to listen before Thurs
Manic Mommies - so far I enjoy this one
Motherhood Uncensored - yet to start listening to
PediaCast: a pediatric podcast - L.O.V.E it!
PregTASTIC - yet to start listening to (downloaded the post-pregnancy one)
The Diva Cast - listened to 1, not sure if it's for me though. Seemed to waste my time some.

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Seema updates...

• teeth # 8 & 9 showed up Friday. #9 is her first molar. Ouch!
• She loves a game of peek a boo from within the closet. ROFL!
• She is starting to walk between 4 and 8 steps, when she wants too.
• The chicken pox look like they might be starting to scab over possibly by tomorrow. They look like they were drying out tonight.

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• My daughter hasn't "used" a paci since she was 6 months old. Then this week she found one in her toy bin and decided that she loves them. What makes that happen? I'm letting her use it for "comfort" since she's sick and teething right now but then they will be gone. She now groans instead of talking and I don't like that.
• I could just sit there and watch her crawl in front of me and still have an amazed look on my face, like I did the first time she did it. I still can't believe that she can crawl!

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It's free (minus s&h)! You can get it here and it arrives in about 10 days.