Christmas Holiday 2013

This year I was determined to start some meaningful and memorable Chambers family Christmas traditions! Holidays were always so fun for me growing up and I want it to be that way for my children as well. Some traditions just happen! But others are made on purpose, so I came up with at least two "things" to do on purpose this season that hopefully would invite the spirit of Christmas, give us something to look forward to, and be a whole lot of fun!!

First, I created a "Christ book". 

I found this through Pinterest (in the words of my husband, "Finally 1 great thing out of 1,000 pins). You assemble the book in a binder and each day read a part of the Christmas story. It is complete with pictures and songs and scriptures with explanations.

On the website, sewdangcutecrafts.com, she explains which order to put the pictures and songs and such. I did have to buy my own pictures but easily printed out the rest of it and assembled. If you are looking for a fun way to help tell the Christmas story- this is great! I love when someone else does (most) the work for me!

Creighton really liked the Christ book for the most part. There are 17 sections so you can read at least 1 story a day before Christmas, and maybe go through it twice if you do more than 1 a night. We were still reading it after Christmas. Some nights our tradition fell by the wayside.. but that's okay. The scripture reading part was boring for him, but he loves to look at the pictures. I am pretty sure he has the story of Samuel the Lamanite almost memorized.

Another tradition I tried to start was an advent calendar. I created one using different ideas I had seen on Pinterest.

This over the door shoe hanger was perfect for our calendar because it had 24 pockets! Each day had a candy in the pocket and a note with something fun to do to celebrate Christmas. Well, it was worth a try... we only completed a few days. Creighton wasn't as excited for this one as I had hoped, but maybe next year! 

It was difficult to be consistent with our "new traditions" because evenings can be difficult to get us all together unfortunately. Two nights a week Cason has class, I have to work until 8:00 pm 1 night a week and then I have mutual... 

Despite the business of schedules one thing we always make time for is family!!

Creighton and Macey Jo have so much fun together. It is so sweet to see them play together! He has been a big help in teaching Macey Jo to walk. He grabs onto both of her hands facing her, walks backwards and says, "You can do it baby sister. Good job!" When referring to Macey Jo he tells people, "This is my baby." She just adores him and wants to be where he is all the time. She loves to play with cars and makes vroom-ing noises she has learned from him. He gets down on his hands and knees and chases her around and she just giggles and giggles. She has a special laugh for when she is having a good time with her brother.

Daddy has also been making more time for Macey Jo... meaning he has been the one to stay up or get up with her at night. He is such a good daddy. (Miss Macey has decided she doesn't want to sleep. Ever.)

I am sure not a day goes by that we don't read at least 1 book. But over the Christmas holidays we get out the Christmas books and have to read each one several times a day to get our fill for the next 11 months. Of course Creighton's favorite is "Mater Saves Christmas" and Macey Jo liked to pull off the pop-up Sesame Street characters in the Sesame Street Christmas books.

After reading each book 4x in a morning, mommy calls it quits and then Creighton "reads" them to himself!

We spent some time with cousin Kyle and Macey Jo decided he would be her new boyfriend. She wouldn't leave him alone and was hugging him and kissing him the whole time. He was a good sport and just sat there. Reminds me of when she played with another cousin, Tyler, several months ago...

Poor guy.

We are grateful that so much of our family lives close. Mommy didn't have to work for over 2 weeks due to the holidays falling on days I work. I had planned on giving Grandpa a break from watching the kids. However... they just love him so much!! We did spend plenty of time at my mom's eating good food, watching movies, and playing. Playing with Aunt Sidnie is so much fun!! Creighton had a hard time not going to Grandpa's house on a regular schedule. He would say every morning, "What Sunday (day) is it? Church day or Grandpa's day?"

I had a good time decorating the tree this year (with my new favorite crafting supply- deco mesh). Pictures of the kids with it were a must!!

He is so handsome. I can't believe he is almost 4 years old!!

No shortage of giggles with these two. Creighton has turned into quite the comedian. Last Sunday morning I said, "Creighton, let's get dressed for church." (He was in only his underwear.) He said, "Why do I have to get dressed?" I replied, "Because we are going to church." Then he said, "No! It's so my teachers (nursery teachers) don't see me in my panties!!" And then we both laughed for a long time.

This year I knew would be the first year Creighton really understood the idea of gifts and Santa Clause. One of his first Christmas gifts was some money from Big Daddy and Inonna so he could pick out his own Christmas present!

I decided to let him go to the store and just pick out whatever he wanted. And all he wanted were these two little Tonka trucks. It would have been humorous to anyone watching and listening as we went back and forth... 

Me: How about this? Do you want this?

Him: No. I like my trucks.

Me: You can have your trucks and this.

Him: No

Me: Well how about this?

Him: No

And so on... I told myself to be grateful I didn't have a greedy monster on my hands so we helped Macey Jo pick out a Snow White baby doll and left the store. Creighton does love movies and we had really wanted to see Frozen so we took him and Macey a few days later to see Frozen and let Creighton get a popcorn. He loves popcorn!! Then we went to eat for "chicken nuggets, french fries, chocolate milk, and fry sauce." 

We had fun with the money from Big Daddy and Inonna. I went later and finished using the money and bought more gifts and books for the kids to have wrapped under the tree.

A few weeks later Grandma and Papa sent Creighton and Macey Jo some gift cards and THEN he decided he wanted EVERYTHING he saw in Walmart. But finally settled on Disney Planes Legos.

This year Creighton had a secret Santa. Someone from Cason's work secretly left this on his desk for Creighton. Christmas Eve he was in heaven with this remote control Jeep.

Christmas morning I finally woke Creighton up at 7:30 am. Macey had been up for an hour and I was so excited to see them with their gifts. It didn't take much cohersion to get him out of bed...

Santa always brings the best gifts! By far the hit of the morning was the Kitchen-set. Macey Jo and Creighton wouldn't leave it alone and wanted to make Cason and me food. Cookie Monster, Abby, and Elmo voices have filled our home for days...

Macey Jo was so glad to have Creighton there to open all of her presents for her. He is so willing to tear open any package!

What a wonderful Christmas morning we had! So many new toys to play with, I had two little kiddos who were on sensory overload. I am grateful I decided  forgot to buy AAA batteries so half of the toys couldn't make any noise.

Of course the kids have had so much fun playing with everything new the past week. Creighton helped me prepare for the toy overload and the day before Christmas we packed away a lot of his older toys downstairs to the playroom. I was happy to have the extra space upstairs.

Now Macey Jo's room has become the fun room to play in. It use to be Creighton's room. But he can drive his remote control car(s) in there and play with her neat new toys like the Ariel car and the Kitchen-set.

We new it would be a Beautiful New Year, and it really has been. The start of a new year means our tiny babe will be 1 in just a few days! We can't wait to celebrate!!

What About the Chambers?

It has been a while since I posted what our family has been up to! Let's work our way backward...

The past few days we spent in Salt Lake City, celebrating Thanksgiving with several members of the Chambers family. 

We just love holidays at our house, because it gives us a reason to dress up our already cute kiddos in adorable seasonal wear! Our cousin Tyler (7 months) also dressed up for the occasion. We were happy to spend time with Tyler he is such a happy boy. Macey loves to attack smother him with love and Creighton tells him, "You are a cute baby Tyler." 

Not only is baby Tyler cute, but so is our loveable Macey Jo, growing so big and almost 11 months!

The kids found themselves very happy to be at Grandma and Papa's house. Creighton greeted each of them several times with a, "I missed you!" It is something he has been saying a lot of lately and I just adore it.

With a visit to an ice cream shop and plenty of movies to watch, Creighton had a great vacation! I learned he loves the "pinecone movie". He watched Ice Age for the first time when we last visited them and he sure remembered and insisted on watching it again. Once we figured out that "pincecone movie" translated to "acorn movie" (Ice Age), all was well.

Macey Jo was happy to find that Grandma and Papa's house was similar to hers and felt right at home...

plenty of floor space for crawling...

stools to balance herself on and push around...

cupboards and drawers to explore...

and even yummy (and sticky) Lucky Charms! (Yes... that is a yellow marshmallow in her eyelash)

Our Thanksgiving feast was delicious! It even put some of us to sleep!

We had a fun time at Grandma and Papa's being with family and acting (or dressing) just a little bit silly!

When it is not the holidays though we can find other fun things to do!

Creighton like to play in the backyard with the dogs and collect them food. He gathers up the apples that have fallen from the tree and tomatoes from summer's garden he can find and tries to feed them to the dogs. He is always watching out for them! He decided a while ago that we needed to have a birthday party for the doggies and told me several times, "We need to hurry and decorate, Callie's friends will be here for her party soon!" 

Creighton loves birthday parties (because most parties we go to the birthday-person lets Creighton help them unwrap their gifts). He also has been reading a lot of "Curious George and the Birthday Party". We read it several times a day. In fact he has the book memorized. While reading it, you can stop at any point and he can finish the word or phrase. His own birthday is not for another 3 months and he is already looking forward to it.

This is Creighton and his "mango" balloon. I was blowing up balloons for a baby shower and he wanted his own balloon so I blew him up a yellow one. "It looks like a mango!" he squealed. It sure does. Creighton loves to go outside and gather the dogs food from the garden because he loves gardens. He is already planning what we should plant next year. Eggplant being on the list... Not sure about that... He also lets me know that the garden has stopped growing and that I need to water it and give it sunlight. Again, it sure does. However, the concept of the seasons changing is not something he wants to understand. 

He is good at helping me to remember that as a mother, the most important work I will do is within the walls of my own home. A few days ago I was hurrying to get together things for my mutual activity before taking the kids to grandpa's house for baby-sitting so I could head to work. Creighton could tell I was frustrated (I couldn't find what I was looking for) and I was being short with him. He said, "Mom, I just love you." I immediately calmed down and remembered how much I love him too. He and his sister are more important than anything else in the world to me.

Two weeks ago as I was getting Creighton dressed for church he told me, "Church is cool mom." And then last week he said, "I like going to church!" Though you wouldn't believe it when halfway through sacrament meeting he is begging to go home. Most of his excitement is to be with his teachers in his Nursery class. He loves them. And he has also made a special friend in our ward with an 88 year old woman who just adores him and brings him a special baggie of treats each Sunday. 

Creighton is also excited for another boy in the family! His Aunt Whitney is having a baby boy mid-January.

We threw a "Cookies and Milk" party for Aunt Whitney and our baby boy cousin because we are so happy for him to be a part of the family!

Just before the baby shower was Halloween! What another great reason to dress in holiday attire!

Macey Jo's shirt says, "Daddy is Under My Spell." Truer words have never been spoken. Those two have a very special bond!

It was fun to make Creighton's Lego costume. In years past I have decided for him what he would be but I decided this year to let him choose. He still didn't quite understand the idea of Halloween and choosing his own costume was a big decision for him. So I "helped" him decide to be a lego! But he DID pick out the spray paint. A green lego he was. We got one of these two reactions: "A lego? That is awesome! What a clever idea! I love it!" or "What are you supposed to be? A dinosaur?" 

Daddy had class on Halloween night so we spent it with our Grandma and Grandpa. Creighton's BFF, Grandpa, took him out trick-or-treating. They had a great time.

I wish I could say that I made Macey Jo's costume. After all the, "Oh! She is so adorable!" That was the question to follow, "Did you make it?"

Our beautiful peacock sure did steal the show everywhere she went.

This is Macey Jo with her friend, Ali, the ladybug. Macey Jo's grandpa baby-sits Ali also. They are just 6 weeks apart and have a lot of fun together.

We did the traditional pumpkin carving. Which means... Daddy cleans out the pumpkin, mommy carves what Creighton wants, and daddy finishes it because mommy's arm/fingers get tired. In case you didn't know...  this is Jake the pirate!!

We also tried to take the kids to a family-friendly Halloween concert the ISU civic symphony was performing. They played for 1 hour some Halloween-ish songs and an hour prior to had an area set up for kids to play instruments. I thought Creighton would love it. I was wrong.

He did love shaking this noisy tambourine. (Is that what it is called?) But try to get him to sit and play the piano, blow into a flute, or play the oboe... FORGET IT! Sometimes my child is so embarrassing in public. I just want to scream, "You are the reason we don't do nice things!"

Yeah, Macey Jo liked the shaking instruments as well.

Just not sure that my children are ready to be introduced to the fine arts just yet.

Macey Jo... this doll is almost 11 months! She has been up to just about everything as of late!

No baby food for this big girl! She would rather eat what the family is eating! Of course mashed potatoes are a favorite. She eats as though she has 20 teeth in her mouth, but still just the 2 tiny ones on the bottom. Much to her daddy's dismay she loves sweets! 

She can be found playing with shoes (and leaving presents inside) and playing in any water that can be found. Loading or unloading the dishwasher is just impossible when Macey Jo is awake. She loves to splash in the water and remove all the silverware and stick it in her mouth. Delightful.

Whenever Creighton takes a bath that means Macey Jo has to take a bath. She gets so excited to hear that bath water!

They play so well together in the bath.

But she is like her brother and doesn't like her lovely locks washed. 

This girls hair is growing long and thick! Grandma Wilde likes to put it in a ponytail smack on top of her head! Here is what she looks after we take it out...

Like a Who down in Who-ville!

I tried to put curlers in her hair a few weeks ago. Her hair would have been cute if she would have kept them in. But she quickly ripped em out!

She has an interesting choice in toys, and they are mostly unconventional. But sometimes she will play with something "normal".

Another check up recently let us know that she is growing well and right on track. What a wonderful blessing for our family!

To finish... a quick update on Mom and Dad!

I am still working as a hygienist 2 days a week. The new dentist I work for is still awesome! What a difference a great employer makes. I am serving in the young women's in our ward and it keeps me more busy with meetings and mutual. I have decided to not be so worried about having the house super-clean all the time. I have much more important things to do (like play with kiddos!) Some weeks I do awesome making homemade dinners, I love homemade food and have found some awesome recipes. And yet other times, seems like the weeknight meals have been Costa Vida, Jimmy John's and Papa Murphy's. Glad to have them! I am planning our Christmas festivities this year. I created a "Christ book" to help us remember Jesus Christ and made an advent calendar so we will have something fun to do to celebrate the holidays each day of December.

Dad is finishing his semester at ISU strong. One more semester and he will be done! We are so happy he will graduate in May with a baccalaureate degree in Political Science. He is enjoying his job with the Utility Billing department and hopes to find a different position with the city upon graduation. His boss has been awesome about letting him take his lunch to attend class on campus. He serves as 1st counselor in the bishopric. It has its struggles but he does wonderful. Most of the struggling is me. Sometimes I feel he is gone a lot. One Sunday it was 9:00pm and I was feeling so alone, I had only seen him a few minutes that day. I called my mother-in-law, all teary, to see how she dealt with her husband being gone all the time for all his church assignments. It is difficult but I know we are blessed for his service. He is a good man.

What about the Chambers? We are doing well!

Chambers Family Fall Pictures

Photos by Adrianne Vaughan.