Somehow, December came and went, and here I find myself in the post-Christmas blues–knowing that it’s time to take down the tree, family time has come to an end, and winter break is almost over–not sure how time can go so fast! We had a nice Christmas, but a little different without my dad around (he has been stuck in Asheville for a week with kidney stone issues–he was supposed to fly in last Thursday night, but still can’t fly).
The weekend before Christmas, we celebrated our little family Christmas by taking the light rail up to the Macy’s Christmas display and going out to dinner. Abby got Dave a cabin Lego set, and me a necklace with the initials of her and the new baby.


We enjoyed our traditional Christmas Eve/Christmas Day celebrations with extended family in Iowa–Saturday at the farm, Saturday night-Monday morning up in Webster City. Santa and Mrs. Claus even made a surprise visit to the farm! Abby was excited, and even sat on his lap twice.

After church on Christmas Eve, it was time to get ready for Santa up in Webster City. Abby came prepared with her cookies, some notes for Santa, and reindeer food. When it came time for bed, however, she became teary and afraid–she was worried that Santa was going to come into the room she was sleeping in and watch her sleep–Santa is a pretty strange concept for a 3 1/2 year old!

In the morning, Abby was not sure she wanted to go check her stocking–she was concerned that Santa was still there. After reassuring her that all was okay, she went out and was excited to see what Santa brought–just what she had hoped for…a nice soft teddy bear and a baby doll!

Breakfast with the cousins was delicious as usual, then after the adults arrived, we had fun opening gifts. Our Christmas meal was down at my aunt and uncle’s farm this year, and Abby and my cousin Connor had their very own table set up in the living room. Abby loves her buddy Connor, and he is so good to spend time with her. After the meal, we headed back to Webster City for some bingo, Minute to Win It, Salad Bowl, and other games. I love how much fun our family has together! We definitely missed having my dad in on the fun.

After a quick swim at the hotel on Monday morning, it was time to head back to Minnesota–our car that has been having issues on and off since October had issues on the way down to Iowa, and needed to be brought back in for the dealership to keep problem-solving. We were supposed to do our family Christmas on Monday, but since my dad hadn’t made it in yet, we postponed. That gave Dave and one of our family friends some time Tuesday/Wednesday to paint Abby’s new bedroom–Dave’s going to start working for our friend on Monday, so it was a good opportunity for him to learn helpful tips about painting. Abby loves her new room, which is a good thing, because she was not thrilled to be switching rooms. Now she has a lot more space for her toys and books, bigger windows, and best of all–a spot for her dollhouse so it’s not in our living room! :)
We decided to do our family Christmas on Wednesday, even though my dad wasn’t there–my brother had to fly out Thursday afternoon, so we were running out of days to celebrate. Lots of good food was consumed, and many nice presents were opened, but it wasn’t quite the same without my dad. He was at the hospital, so unfortunately couldn’t Skype, but we did a little speakerphone conversation and Greg recorded some of the gift opening on his ipad.






Dave’s family came up this morning, and with everyone’s help, we were able to get Abby moved into her new room, set up her new bed and closet/toy organizer, and even put the crib up in the baby’s room. There’s still A LOT to organize, and lots of Christmas clean-up to do, but I have to keep reminding myself it doesn’t all have to get done today…




We’re still hoping my dad can make it for New Year’s, even though Greg has already taken off for Chicago, but hopefully we can all be together in a couple of months when the baby is born! Two more Christmas celebrations to go–Dave’s extended family Sunday, and his immediate family sometime when everyone’s schedules coordinate…