Christmas Tree vs. Curious One Year-Old

I must admit, I was very very concerned about our Christmas tree surviving the holiday season this year. Last year, Andra was content to just stare at the lights--but this year, she's into EVERYTHING...and I knew the Christmas tree would be no exception. The reason I'm so concered about a silly Christmas tree is because I treasure my tree more than most...it's somewhat of a family heirloom. Let me explain...

My mom collects Christmas ornaments, and it's a genetic disorder that's been passed down to me. :) Ever since I was old enough to remember, my mom would buy each of us kids several ornaments that represented milestones or events in our lives that year...usually Hallmark Keepsake ornaments. I'm pretty certain my mom single handedly kept Hallmark in business with her annual purchase of ornaments. My mom even saved my ugly Christmas 'ornaments' that I made in Sunday school when I was five years old.

When my sister and I got married, we both inherited our (massive) box of Christmas ornaments that my mom had bought us through the years. When most people get married, their first Christmas tree is a little sparse. Not ours. I think I had more ornaments than I had branches!

The point is...I treasure my Christmas tree because each ornament has special meaning to me and was purchased, or saved, by my mom who cared enough to treasure these memories for her kids and memorialize all the important events in our lives. So needless to say, I was a little worried to put these precious ornaments on a tree that I KNEW Andra would want to investigate. Thoroughly.

I'm proud to report, Andra has been an absolute angel with the Christmas tree. She must have inherited her mother's reverance for ornaments. My strategy: put non-breakables down low and breakables up high out of her reach. It's worked like a charm. She loves touching and playing with the ones down low. Our 'really cool' ornaments that make sound and light up are within her reach, and she especially loves the one that looks like an iPod and plays Christmas music (thank you, Hallmark). We've yet to break a single ornament this year. I'm so proud of her. This could only mean one thing: Andra's inherited the genetic disorder. :)

Happy Birthday to my Hubby

Turkey Day was even more special for our family this year because it happened to fall on Dave's 30th birthday. That's right, the big 3-0. I'm constantly reminding him that I'm still in my 20s, and will be for the next 15 months or so. :) To prove he's still young, he started his birthday by running the 4.5 mile Drumstick Dash in Broadripple (that's like a stroll in the park for this marathon man!). Then it was dinner with the fam.
Happy Birthday, David. Each year with you is sweeter than the last.

And this was his 30th b-day breakfast. His favorite: hot, fresh Krispy Kreme!

Just call me "Bruiser"

No, we didn't enter Andra in a boxing match...but it sure looks like it. Andra is borderline running now, so she's pretty tough to keep up with. And sometimes her legs move faster than the rest of her body. She's taken a few tumbles lately, and as luck would have it, she ALWAYS seems to land on the corner of a door frame. or coffee table. or any other hard surface. And it happens so fast that I usually can't prevent the bump. If you look at her head, you can see it's actually two separate bruises. Just as the first one was healing, she took another tumble and hit her head in the exact same spot! Poor girl.

In other Andra news, she's cutting her fifth tooth! And they're arriving out of order. She's got her four front teeth (2 on top, 2 on bottom). Typically, babies will cut the teeth to each side of those next...but Andra's decided to skip those and move straight to her molars. Just this morning, I finally got my finger in there and can feel a rough edge. Maybe this means more table food? :) Just in time for turkey day! She must've planned it.

My husband, the traffic cone

We're just two months away from the Disney Marathon, which means Dave's getting into the thick of his training. Last weekend he ran 20 miles (he's nuts), and this weekend was "only 13." He usually gets up before the sun rises on Saturday morning and sets out on his run. Now that it's getting colder, that's becoming a bit more challenging. So he was on the prowl for some running gear (a top in particular) that is simultaneously warm, but bright in color...since he's usually running in the dark. I think he found it. Hence, meet my husband, the traffic cone. This picture really doesn't do it justice...this shirt GLOWS in person...it's flourescent orange. It nearly hurts my eyes to look at it. I'm pretty certain the planes overhead could spot him. :)

Aren't these socks hilarious? He swears by them.

Happy Halloween

I think Andra enjoyed her second Halloween. We dressed her up as a clown. It's a hand-me-down costume that my mom made for Zayda a few years ago. I think handmade costumes have a little more love in them. :) So this was the clown's second go-round, and I doubt it will be the last!

Andra went to her grandparent's house on Thursday night to meet up with her cousins.

Here's Zayda as Dorothy...another handmade costume by Grandma. Hmm...I wonder if Andra will be Dorothy in a few years? :)

Complete with ruby slippers...

A not-so-happy clown with her cousins Zayda and Garrett (the Cowardly Lion!).

Grandma V. also took me around the neighborhood to show me off.

"Explain to me again why I'm in in this goofy costume..."

Our little trick-or-treater wasn't in the best of spirits Halloween night. We could tell she was starting to come down with something, and sure enough, we were up all night with a cough and fever. Now we're in full-blown virus fighting mode. Hope she kicks this one quick.