It's the holiday season....

We are in full swing of the holiday season here in the Bashaw household!  It started with a very lovely Thanksgiving weekend.  We spent Thanksgiving in Cedarburg, enjoying brunch with Gammy, Grandpa, and Aunt Mary, and then Adam, Rochelle, and Kaden came into town and joined all of us for Thanksgiving dinner.  As usual, everything was very yummy, and it was so wonderful to be together.  The table is getting mighty full... and next year, there will be 2 more highchairs pulled up to it!  We are all very excited and thankful for the soon-to-be arrivals of Baby Girl Rymer and Baby ??? Bashaw!  I think Miri's favorite Thanksgiving food this year may have been her mommy's cranberry sauce.  She also loved turkey and pumpkin pie.  The highlight of Black Friday was not shopping but instead a "pizza party" with the Rymer family crew.  On Saturday, we had the Kaisers, Crenshaws, and Jennifer over to watch Badgers football.  As usual, it was a lot of fun to be together with some of our closest friends.  And... they surprised me with a baby "sprinkle" to celebrate Gummi Bear!  I am so lucky to have such amazing friends.  They surprised me with a cake and flowers and gifts.  I was so incredibly touched by this gesture and *may* have shed a tear or two when Erin showed up with the cake and announced their intentions!  Here's a few pics.

yummy cake!

the Kaiser family (how gorgeous and grown-up is Maddie looking these days???) and Jen

Me and Miri chilling with the Crenshaws
 

Then that Sunday, we had a quiet family day at home and put up our Christmas tree in our pjs while listening to Christmas music.  Miri was a very big helper with the lights and ornaments.  :)

 

 

We started not one but TWO fun holiday traditions on Dec. 1st.  First of all, we met our newest family member... no, not Gummi Bear!  It's Tuppin, our Elf on the Shelf.  Miri named Tuppin all by herself, and Jason and I think she did a great job.  He just looks like a Tuppin, doesn't he?

Miri has definitely gotten the hang of looking for him each morning to see where he's hiding after returning from his daily visit to Santa each night.  She has only needed clues from Mommy or Daddy a few times to be able to find him.  Also on Dec. 1st, we started our family Advent calendar... which Miri calls her "numbers house."  This girl is getting so good at her numbers!  We started out by giving her a piece of paper with the day's number on it and having her match it to the corresponding door on the calendar.  But after 2 or 3 days, we quickly realized she didn't really need it for #1-10!  It's amazing how much this girl knows.  I was shocked to realize that she is pretty darn reliable with recognizing AND naming the numerals for 1-10, and even more so when I realized earlier this week that she can recognize and name at least half the letters of the alphabet consistently.  She has also learned the days of the week at school and can recite them in order!  This in addition to knowing her colors well since the end of October, being able to count to ten since early November, and also actually understanding the CONCEPT of counting and being able to fairly reliably count objects/ pictures for several weeks now.  Such a smarty!  Jason and I are continually impressed by her knowledge and aptitude for learning. She is also mastering the game of Memory, both with an app on my phone and using her flashcards.  At any rate, I've way digressed.... what I really intended here was to let y'all know that she enjoys opening her Advent calendar each night and seeing what surprise is inside.  Of course, little miss sweet tooth loves the Hershey kisses, fruit snacks, and M&Ms, but she's also been loving the Christmas stickers and jingle bell necklace she's found on various days.
 

On the eve of Dec. 5th, St. Nicholas came to our house, and he left Miriam a pair of Christmas jammies (which you can see in the Chanukah picture below, LOL) and a wonderful Christmas book called Room for a Little One by Martin Waddell.  St. Nick (or just "Nick" as Miri calls him) also really surprised Miri by leaving her a stuffed reindeer at Gammy and Grandpa's house, which she has named Comet (Daddy helped with that name) and is napping with at this very moment.  :) 

Finally, Chanukah began last Saturday night.  Miri enjoys watching/ helping Daddy light the candles on the menorah every night, listens attentively to the prayer (no, Miss Smarty Pants has NOT mastered Hebrew yet, ha ha!), and has received a gift most nights.  We will have our annual Chanukah meal of latkes and matzo ball soup this Friday night (and this year, I'm all set with a game plan to attack the latke odor immediately so as to not have our house smell like fried goodness for several days.  So if anyone is looking to buy stock, you might want to do a quick buy and sell of Heinz stock, because I will be armed with LOTS of distilled white vinegar!)  Happy Chanukah!

So I think it's obvious that we are really enjoying the holiday season this year.  It has always been a very beloved time for me, but boy... nothing makes it more fun than being a parent!  Especially as Miri is starting to really understand some of the concepts and enjoy the traditions.  Although... she remains afraid of Santa.  Don't get me wrong... she definitely understand, likes, and talks frequently about the fact that he is going to leave her "pink and purple presents" (Santa may have to sit on his Christmas wrapping paper this year!), but she does NOT like the idea of him coming down our chimney, into our house, or anywhere near her!  She likes to look at him from Daddy's or Mommy's arms a safe 6-8 feet away, but I think if we were to attempt a Santa picture this year, it would of the screaming, petrified toddler variety (so I think we may skip it yet again this year.... I just can't seem to put her through it).  She also doesn't like the idea of leaving cookies for him... when I say we are going to give cookies to Santa, she emphatically tells me "NO!  Cookies for MIRIAM!"  Yep... she's her mommy's daughter!  :)