Christmas Catch-up, Part 1

Christmas does feel like ages ago, but it is just one memory that I don't want to forget. We had a great holiday season this year. Tyson had to work on Christmas Eve and wouldn't get home until 8 p.m., so we had to face the fact that we wouldn't be able to make it to my Aunt Karen's annual Christmas Eve party. We were bummed about it until we found out that our good friends the Olsens would be home alone as well. We planned a Christmas Eve party and had a blast! Gin and I cooked a huge dinner with ham, cheesy potatoes, etc.. which we barely made a dent in. The girls, Nina and Atley, opened their Christmas Eve pajamas. We played Seinfeld Scene It, had a white elephant gift exchange (thank you Asia Market) and watched the movie "Elf". It really turned out to be a great holiday and we feel so lucky to have such great friends to have shared it with.

Here is Nina warming up to the idea of opening presents.

Before I could even get out of bed Tyson presented me with my Christmas present. He wanted me to be able to use it that day. It was a NEW CAMERA! I have never been more excited. I have been wanting a new camera to capture all of Nina's "moments" and my old one was so slow at it. Please excuse the "fresh out of bed" look.

Here I am figuring it out.

Here is Tyson opening a gift from Santa.

Nina looks so excited, doesn't she? After much practice, she really got into the gift opening idea and couldn't get enough of it.

Naughty or Nice?

As Christmas drew closer we forced her to participate in all of the classic traditions, whether she liked it or not. The picture below is from our church Christmas party. Nina was obviously terrified that we would place her on this strange-looking man's lap.
Grandpa and Grandma Wood have a tradition of buying adorable Christmas dress for their granddaughters. I decided to dress Nina up, stick her in front of the tree, and take a couple of pictures. (Note to future self: Don't do this right before nap time, duh!) I do think her grumpy pictures are cute though. They are an honest and true part of her life, so why not document them.?
She warmed up to the idea.
It is amazing how a candy cane can make a small child so happy.
I just love this dress. Thanks a million Grandma and Grandpa!

Hats

I have started a new craft of crocheting beanies and flowers to sell. Here are a few pics of Nina sporting some of the ones I made.This picture cracks me up because it makes me think of the phrase "Like father, like daughter." This was taken on a Saturday morning during a Hawkeye football game. During these games Tyson is glued to the couch with his eyes glued to the TV. He must be rubbing off on Nina because she lounged on the couch for about 30 minutes (which is an incredibly long time for her), ate snacks and watched football.

Ooh, I can't get over those blue eyes!

I think this beanie is so sweet.

Trick or Treat

Has it really been over a month since Halloween? Oh well, I still feel the need to document that night, so here goes. You know the next post with be Christmas right? Wow, time really does fly. Halloween was a lot of fun with Nina this year. She loved wearing her costume and trick-or-treating. She had just started walking and really enjoyed going from house to house practicing her newly acquired skill. We only hit up a couple of our neighbors, which was nice because we got the chance to meet some of them.Nina's friend Atley came over to join us for trick-or-treating. They are only a few months apart and had a good time together. Here they are waiting by the door for more trick-or-treaters to come.

Here's Nina all suited up and ready to go.

My parents came up to spend Halloween with us and it was so nice having them there. Here's the trick-or-treating possee ready to set out.

Here's Nina heading to a door with encouragement from dad.

Atley and Nina raiding a candy bowl.

Here's grandma helping out.

Mom and Nina out and about.

We surprised Grandpa by trick-or-treating at our own house.

The Cutest Berry in the Bunch

Nina was a little strawberry this year. She actually loved wearing the stem hat, which I was worried about, and laughed at herself in the mirror when she saw it.

Nina and Tyson practicing for Trick-or-Treating.

I don't even know what to say. Isn't she darling?

The Lundy's sent Nina these cute pants for her birthday.

Hart Park

There's a cute park in town called Hart Park that we checked out a few weeks ago. It's a huge park that has a lot to see and do. Nina seemed to like feeding the ducks and geese the best. The geese made me a little nervous, since they were very "friendly" and bigger than Nina.

Tyson was helping Nina get a closer look.

Nina and me at the water's edge.

Here's Nina gazing at the ducks. There were peacocks, play areas, and a river at the park and it turned out to be a great Sunday evening.

The Festivities

Aah, the big girl car seat. I don't know why I was so excited to have her switch cart seats. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that she no longer screams the whole time we are in the car. From the look on her face, she's pretty content with this seat as well.
Here's Nina on her actual birthday enjoying one of her favorite lunches: chicken nuggets from Wendy's. It's one of my favorites too!
Tyson made Nina a Funfetti cake for her actual birthday. We couldn't find any candles around the house so there is a match stuck in. She didn't seem to mind.

Devouring the cake

Feeding cake to dad..mmm.

When Tyson's parents came out for Nina's birthday party we ate at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Que Pasa. Nina really loved the black beans.

With Grandma and Grandpa Fieldsted

Helping out with the birthday decorations

Nina and Grammy LoAnn

Nina's birthday party was a low-key affair, but was a lot of fun. We had a lunch with both grandparents and Uncle Tom. Nina opened presents and ate her cake. The rest of the adults had a great time watching football the rest of the day.

You can tell by her eyes how tired she was but being the crazy people we are we forced her to "enjoy" her cake. She picked at it for a bit, then lost it and had to go down for a nap. Maybe she was a bit overstimulated.

Pumpkin cupcakes for everyone else.

Nina got the plane from me and Tyson and Snugglepup from Grandma and Grandpa Wood. She puts them both to good use by pushing Snugglepup around the house. Very cute!