I took this picture of Liesel having a bad day not to embarrass her or belittle her, but because I think sometimes things are hard, really hard when you are a kid. Even little hearts can break and while we adults can get jaded about what's a big problem and what isn't, I think those small voices can sometimes get lost. Liesel was telling me about some things she was struggling with and I wanted to capture that moment when life wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Because this is the real Liesel just as much as the pictures of her smiling and happy are her as well.
I am a LION! I'm pretty sure Brent and the girls are all wolves- ha!
The kids in Ireland's gifted class met up for ice cream and she got to spend a little time with her boyfriend. She's just cut her hair and everyone loved it. Since it was so close to Halloween, he was dressed as Waldo.
I love that video so much! How excited Sydney is to tell us how she found her whiteboard and how Liesel is encouraging yet oh so cool about receiving that information. "Good job! I think I understand now."
I honestly can't remember why I took this photo- I think I was pretty proud of that top knot. In any case, Gita was more than willing to strike a pose for me! Love her.
Liesel made an animal cell as a cake with leftover Halloween candy. The centriole made of Twizzlers is my favorite. This is where remote learning is kinda cool sometimes.
I caught Gita trying to measure her bicep and it made me laugh.
Can we look behind her for a second at the view out our bedroom window? The fall leaves positively glowed this year. Stunning!
Ireland was pretty darn proud of this rose and butterfly she drew and I think she absolutely should be!
Another pretty painting from Brigitta. A rainbow-clad girl standing on a rainbow. How fun would that be?
Ireland created a candygram for her boyfriend's birthday. We had a lot of fun putting it together and I especially love that she didn't want it to be too intimate. They are a cute little couple and have more of a meeting of the minds than serious romance going on. They appreciate the nerd in each other (which is why she was sure to include Nerds).
Another fun remote learning moment- for gym Liesel had a scavenger hunt and had to track down a hat, glasses, a jacket and gloves and make it back before the buzzer. She looks so bad@$$!
Ireland's had to do a news report and I absolutely love what she came up with! So many different personalities- the weather guy is my favorite.
This is how my Dad works on his laptop. We call it his "belly computer" and I was stunned to find Liesel doing the exact same thing when she was tired of sitting at her desk one afternoon.
I made a goal to do 500 sit-ups every week in December. I mostly made it, and with the cutest encouragement possible!
I think we will forever look back on this Christmas as being the one, THE Christmas that stands out above all the rest. Not just because of the pandemic, but because that magical mix of gifting and loving and patience and heart all rolled into one finally... well we finally got it right. It was perfect.
Okay maybe not perfectly perfect. I'd learned how to poach eggs and though eggs benedict would be fun for breakfast. The sauce was a little too... bitter? It didn't come out quite right.
The girls were troopers though and finished it off aside from Sydney who struggled.
That's getting to be a tradition in and of itself.
The stockings were a hit! Ireland loved her ramen earrings.
Sydney was thrilled to get one pass on her Saturday chores.
As I do all the gift wrapping, I'm done with wrapping the odd-shaped item. I'm really glad the Dakota pillow was left out because Gita's reaction is so perfect.
As for the rest of the morning, I think the pictures really say it all. The girls were so excited to give their dollar store gifts to each other.
The hugs.
The squeals of excitement.
More hugs.
The anticipation they all felt, even when it wasn't their gift.
Their joy with each and every gift. I actually received this Christmas Starbuck's cup for free. But it was on Liesel's wish list so she loved it nonetheless.
I did also get her one from the fancy schmancy Starbucks Roastery which she loved as well.
Remember that gift wrapped in the pink flamingoes in Christmas winter wear? Here is Gita opening it and I have to say it was a joy from start to finish!
I'm still worried she's going to skate right into a car or shatter an ankle trying stunts but look how genuinely happy she is! You better believe she had those strapped on and was outside just hours after this photo. The last gifts were three small ones all with a tag that read To: Dad From: Dad. They were Echo dots for the girls bedrooms so they would stop moving the kitchen Echo around so they could have dance parties. They were so excited about those (mostly for the access to music) and Brent was happy to spend the afternoon setting them up.
We took our annual Pringles pic to send to the family.
This one is my favorite.
We spent the rest of the day watching Soul and basking in afterglow. Liesel noticed her gifts had a color theme.
After skating around, Gita snuggled up to the fire with that Dakota pillow.
Christmas this year was everything. It was exciting and peaceful. It was touching and beautiful. It was surprising and eventful. We did it. We had the perfect Christmas!
I think this was my favorite Christmas. Usually our schedule is so jam packed it's hard to slow down and just enjoy the season. In 2020, slow down was practically the medically mandated mantra! For once, we actually did slow down and actually got to enjoy the days leading up to Christmas.
I've always wanted to find some simple frames for our past Christmas cards and then hang them on the stairs. I finally lucked out with these simple brass frames that came in a variety of sizes and they were just perfect. Digging out those old cards was so fun and once I had them all hung, I just sat and stared at them. Every time I walked by I smiled! Christmas cards are my favorite part of the holiday season. I stopped by 3 different World Markets and bought them out so we can keep up this tradition for years to come.
I went a little berserk and somehow became obsessed with Christmas gnomes. There were these adorable pillows at Pottery Barn and the actual gnome itself at Pottery Barn that I just had to have. But they matched our duvet cover and what else was I supposed to do? I have to admit making the bed was a little cumbersome and while it's fun for the holidays, I do think there should be a limit to how many pillows go on a bed.
I wasn't the only one who got into the holiday spirit. Liesel decked out her room in the most amazing way! I had to take a video of her explaining all the little details:
As my job was winding down, I wanted to have Christmas taken care of so I had all the presents purchased looong before Christmas- before Thanksgiving actually! I was super thrilled with my wrapping job and decided it's one of my top 5 talents. If you look closely at the tag on this one, there's a silver present with a pink bow in the pile of presents- LOVE!!!
This one was my very favorite- the pink flamingoes in Christmas winter wear made me so happy. With four daughters, I love when the color pink can be used in interesting ways. The satin ribbon just happened to be what was left on the roll and it fit perfectly. Who wouldn't want to get this gift?
This is another one that just made me happy- it's a tidy little package with a fun tag.
Whitney surprised me with Rudolph antlers and a nose for the Pilot. Reagan usually does that with her car and I've seen them around town but it never occurred to me to do it myself. As cheesy as it seems, it created just a little extra oomph to our holiday spirit.
Only Sydney is in the dark about Santa and the Elf on the Shelf and it warmed the cockles of my heart to see her older sisters find creative places to place Lucy and then act all surprised when Sydney found her the next morning. It was such a fun way to start the day!
My Christmas house is definitely number 5!!! I love A Christmas Story and loved watching it with my family.
This was going to be our last year of pictures with Santa in coordinated pajamas. However, going to the Santa house and standing in the cold on one side of plexiglass just didn't seem worth it. Instead, we let Sydney write a letter to Santa. She insisted on addressing it herself!
I have to admit I haven't felt the closure I should that the Santa pictures are over. Maybe we will revisit that for just one more year... even though they will all be in the know by then. Hmmm....
Brigitta was the first one ready to wear her Christmas pajamas and she's imitating the bear on the front.
Hers were the only ones with a wolf right on her bum.
These cute Grinch kabobs were on the lunch menu but the marshmallows on hand were huge and the bananas cut a bit thick and honestly I don't even know what happened to the strawberries. No matter since the girls made a game of balancing that grape on top.
So close!
It's a tricky balancing act.
Brigitta finally mastered it.
Sydney's Girl Scout troop did bell ringing for the Salvation Army. Gita and I slipped around the corner and grabbed some hot drinks from Starbucks, stopping for a photo by the tree all lit up in downtown Crystal Lake.
We grabbed a quick selfie of the three of us after grabbing her when she was done. Sydney was so excited to be with friends again.
I felt closer to the family and it felt less hectic. Most of the holiday pressure falls on me and it was nice to have a lot of the burden taken off my shoulders for once.
