Flashback : A Christmas Tale

Disclaimer:

I do realize January has ended. And Christmas was in December. But hey, it's been busy. And for several reasons, it took a while to compile pictures from our Holiday ventures. But I wanted to document for posterity sake.

So a 'Flashback' To Caris' First Christmas:

We spent Christmas Day in Gonzales at Grandma Blundell's. We had a wonderful morning and Santa came to visit Caris! He brought her a swing for her tree :) So exciting! We had a special time with Caris on her first Christmas morning. We then had a traditional Christams lunch; Grandma Blundell cooks the BEST dinners!! It was a beautiful, relaxing day. And Caris got in a good Christmas nap (the best kind of nap :)

Ready for school with her new back-pack!

Daddy G gave his daughter her first cross necklace, beautiful sapphires. A very special gift :)

The Blundell crew

Christmas Eve, although unfortunately the majority was spent in the car, began and ended with visits from Santa. We woke up at JJ and Susies' to see a beautiful white Christmas blanket and found Caris's wagon and pony! So excited. Then Enter: Winter Wonderland.

When we arrived in Gonzales late that evening, we went to the Boysen's for Christmas Eve celebrations with the extended family. Lots of Aunties and cousins to love on Caris! Such a fun gathering of family to play with Caris to celebrate the season for the next several days.

When we arrived, Santa had left Caris a beautiful rocking chair to open Christmas Eve (He contracted with Grammy Jane to do the work :) Caris loved checking it out, even though she was pretty worn out from the days adventures, she was ready to play in her rocker! We spent the week spending time with family and taking trips to the country to soak in fresh air.

A few days later, Garrett's immediate family came to our home to celebrate our 'personal Christmas :)' Grammy Jane prepared a wonderful dinner and we had a great evening celebrating. Caris was definitely spoiled by her Aunts, Uncle, and Grandparents! It was a very fun night and good time to spend with everyone.

Mittens and gloves! So fun.
Ready to bake with Aunt Alli! Such a cute gift from Natalie :)

A few days prior to Christmas, we ventured down to Albany the to celebrate with the Jones clan. Festivities included a Chili Cook-off with local friends where Garrett's lobster chili debuted, Jones family 'skit night' where the Blundell's placed second with our rendition of 'All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth', and Wii tournaments. We had several beautiful dinners and spent many hours in the magic of Christmas.

Christmas participated in her inagural time honered Jones girl tradition and received Jammies from Grandpa JJ (with back-up by Susie :)

We loved getting to spend so much time with family!! We took advantage of the fact that we were able to travel this year and made sure to make the rounds to visit as many people as possible; as we aren't sure how often we will have another opportunity to have this much time off for the Holidays. It was a really wonderful way to celebrate Caris' First Christmas. Thank you to our families for making it so memorable :)

A Perfect Day

Last week, I took a day off to take Caris to her check-up and spend some quality mommy-daughter time.

When G came home and asked how the day was, I was happy to announce

'It was a Perfect Day'

Yes, the perfection was highlighted by a FULL day of nothing but Caris and punctuated by some time with G in the evening.

But what I was referring to was a bit more superficial.

I had the kind of day where all things went our way:

Caris slept until 7:30. A perfect time to start our day.

She fed herself breakfast, which allowed me to finish some much needed kitchen chores.

Lil C took her nap at the perfect time and for the perfect length; I had plenty of time to shower and get ready before our appointment.

Her eating schedule was appropriately timed to meet our days needs (pre-appointment feeding, pre-playdate, etc.)

We hit ALL the GREEN lights on our drive to the doctor. (In the Houston med center!!)

We found a parking spot on the first floor right next to the elevator (In the Houston med center!!)

We were EARLY to our appointment, and seen right away.

Caris napped right before our time with friends. Equals HAPPY Caris.

I share things because I REALLY appreciate these things.

The moments where all goes right.

Because typically, we are a 'two-poopy-diapers-on-the-way-out-the-door-all-bundled-up-forget-(insert neccesary item)-running-10 minutes-behind-slightly-off-schedule-never-quite-ready-and-hit-lots-of-traffic' kind of operation.

And I am thankful for those days. For the imperfections. For the joy we find in each moment. For the chaos and the crazy.


Each day is perfect, in it's own right. Don't get me wrong.

But I was especially happy to have that PERFECT DAY.

We need those every once in awhile to handle the chaos that typically comes.
And it supports my theory that our Caris has a little of Lady Luck on her side :)

Truly, how can any day with this face be anything but perfection??

9 Months of Caris

Lil' C turned 9 months this week. WHAT?? Which officially means her life outside my belly has exceeded her life within. (p.s. I'm glad your out :)


And our 9 month-er is looking much more like a big girl these days. I think appearance-wise, the last month or so has seen the most dramatic change. The 'baby-double(triple) chin' is vanishing; although the VERY pinchable, squeezable cheeks remain :) Becoming a little girl right before our eyes. Literally, she woke up from a 3 hour 'growing nap' and I saw a different girl than our infant. Hard to believe.


Some fun Lil' C facts at the 9th month of life:

- C is saying 'MAMA' very clearly, and putting it to use appropriately. Says 'DADA' or 'PAPA' pretty clearly, though not on command:) We also are fairly certain she said 'BALL' while playing with her favorite toy which is in fact, her balls; I mean we are pretty convinced as it was right on.


- Caris will also say 'Buh By' and wave her little rubber-band hands when leaving a room. Love love love this.


- My favorite new thing is receiving 'Caris kisses'; lil' C loves to hug mom and plant a big kiss on her cheek :) PRECIOUS.


- Caris weighed in at 20lbs 15oz at her check-up (granted she may have lost at leas a pound in BM's that morning...those were some fun diapers!) and measured at 28.75 inches; making her 80% and 85% respectively. The doctor's assessment at the check-up was a 'very healthy girl'


- FOOD is by far Caris' current favorite thing. She is feeding herself beautifully and we introduced more finger foods into her diet last week, which she took to right away and quickly perfected. Girl's got a great little pincher grasp. She already earned the unofficial-but-no-doubt-highly-coveted-title of 'Best Eater' in her school (including the next class up. oh my.) Girl loves to eat. Especially Cheeri-O's. Who knew a handful of O's could keep the little one so entertained for so long?? Thanks to our new 'Sassy Seat' (from Grandpa JJ), Lil' C is content in the kitchen!


- Caris' current favorite toys: her new chairs, of the rocking (painted by Grammy Jane herself! it's ADORABLE) and reading/lounging variety (from Auntie TJ!) - she loves to try to climb in them and will rock rock rock in her rocker and read read read in her reading chair; her shopping cart (thanks Grandma Susie!) and walker/rider (courtesy of Aunt Natalie and Uncle Jordan) - lil' C will stand and play for up to 30 mintues with her shopper and she's even managed a few steps with her walkers; BALLS - the senso-balls, her sports bag (from our trainer, Aunt Shelby), and ball popper (love it Aunt Alli!); her drum set (from Uncle Bobby, along with drum lessons, right??) - which teaches her the ABC's in Spanish AND English, a music lover for sure; and her cute little riding pony (thanks Santa! ) - which Caris quickly figured out how to operate and bounce, bounce bounces. Caris, you also love playing with your blocks and baby doll (who you crack up at! so funny).


- Outdoor time is a favorite, all though we have to be very bundled lately! As seen previously, Caris LOVES to swing, ride in her wagon, and walk in her Bjorn.


In your 7-9th months of life, Caris, you became a professional road-tripper:

- We traveled to Albany for Thanksgiving, Aunt Shelby's graduation from McMurry (YAY!!), and for pre-Christmas. Traveled to Gonzales for Christmas. Drove to Dallas for birthday's. College Station to visit Aunt Alli. Visited Texas City. And ventured up to Waco to take in football and basketball games.


- You experienced your first major and minor snowfalls, blizzard and white-out included.


- You went on several country walks, your first basketball game (which Baylor won!!), met your friend Cambell, and found out about several new friends arriving. You had lots of family visit and were a wonderful hostess.


- You had your first Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years and celebrated well.


In short, you have been busy. And growing. And learning. And loving life.

And we LOVE your little life.

Putting Santas Loot to Good Use

We were finally home long enough to start putting some of lil' C's Christmas goodies to use! And now it is way above the freezing temperatures we've had lately, 35 degrees above actually. So a day off + Dad + Mom + warmish weather + new toys = fun day with happy Caris.

Cold

It's cold here. I'm pretty sure we still live in Texas. Houston, at that. But with all this snow and below freezing temperatures, I wouldn't know. So much for our globe getting warmer!

Which tangentially reminded me that I never published several Christmas posts...(see below, and forthcoming). We are behind on lots of life's tasks right now (hopefully soon I'll be able to finish what I've started and recount the holidays!).

and so until then, on another note...

....................................................................................................................................................................

It's been a challenging week, on several levels. And so I am sharing an image that has been on my heart and mind this week as I sought guidance from God, prayed for sweet friends, and was inspired by the faith of these dear friends.

Caris is entering what seems to be a period of transition in the area of movement. Trying to figure out how to independently get to the location of her intention. However, she dislikes the idea of crawling. Now walking, that mode of transportation highly appeals to our future biped. Lil' C loves to stand and is downright giddy when she is able to do so while holding the hands of one who has mastered the art she aspires to.

In that moment, she is able to achieve what she strives for: walking. Little wobbly step after little wobbly step, lil' C can transport herself upright. As long as her tiny hands are clasped tightly in her parent's larger versions. Periodically glancing up to see if we are still there, her face beaming with joy. Smiling, proud, ready to see her world from a new perspective, Caris longs for her parents to hold her hands and allow her to 'walk'. Without her hands in ours, she would most assuredly not be able to continue with the forward progress she desires.

But lil' C most certainly gets tired. Her legs aren't quite yet ready to walk. And she gets frustrated. She can't do it on her own. And in those moments, Caris very clearly wants to be carried. She lunges towards her parent, saying 'mama' or 'dada', arms outstretched. Quite obviously needing to be picked up. And instantaniously, her tears are gone. She is completely at peace in her mama's arms.

Lately, I have held on to the image of God doing much the same with His children. Walking right beside us. Present, in a very real way, to His child. On our own, we cannot arrive at our destination successfully without our hands reaching up, grasping those of He who is much stronger, much more skilled at walking. Someone who is A Master in the art of guidance.

My steps are often very wobbly. And I find myself searching. But when I remember to look up, I see the One who has never left my side. Who has supported me, held my hands, and provided strength along the way. And then my face beams with joy. And I realize that the next steps are not so scary, for they are not mine to take alone. I have Someone there to take them with me.

And we get tired, or are unable to take these steps on our own, He is most certainly there. And if we look toward him, arms outstretched, He will lift us up and carry us. And we can find comfort in our Father's arms.

I wonder if God uses a Bjorn?