Christmas at the Zoo

Well, we simply weren't able to do it all before Christmas, so we had to visit Christmas at the Zoo AFTER Christmas. Andra doesn't know the difference. :)

They had a great train display in the gardens, and Andra really seemed to like it. She has a Christmas ornament with a moving train on it that she loves, so I figured she'd like these too!

Some moments I just try to savor...

Dave and I were really impressed with the lights at the zoo. They definitely exceeded our expectations. This picture doesn't do it justice, but it was such a neat setting.

Andra's favorite spot, as usual, was the aquarium. She LOVES the sharks and the penguins. I think she would've stood there with her nose pressed to the glass all night if we would've let her!

A Visit with Santa

Andra got to meet Santa just in time to tell him what she wanted for Christmas! Dave took the day off work and we spent the afternoon at the Indiana State Museum's Celebration Crossing. The three of us really had a lot of fun! The crowds were nice and light since it was a weekday, so Andra hardly had to wait to meet Santa. I was certain she'd cry and refuse to sit on his lap...but after a couple minutes of checking him out, she sat there very seriously. :) This Christmas stuff is serious, you know. :) I was proud of her for being so brave!

They also have a really cute kiddie train there, so we hitched a couple rides. It cracks me up to see these adults being crammed into these child size passenger cars. It just looks funny. Andra got to ride once with her Mom, and once with her Dad. I don't think she knew quite what to think of the train, but she seemed to enjoy the ride.

I

PIGTAILS!!!

I know it's ridiculous the things that excite me as a new mom, but in my mind, this is a MAJOR milestone. Andra's got pigtails!!! And they're adorable, if I do say so myself.

There's something about a little girl in pigtails that just melts me...especially when it's my own daughter. So after wrestling with her a little bit--ok, a lot--I was able to style her new 'do. It just made me giddy...and I'm swelling with pride. I know...silly. It does make me just a TINY bit sad though. She looks like such a big girl with with those little ponytails!

Out and About

 

We've been trying to battle cabin fever by getting out of the confines of our house as frequently as possible. My neighbor told me about this great gymnastics place on the east side of town, so we went to check it out. It was awesome!! What a great discovery! They have open gym for toddlers, and the kids can play in the ball pit (or just lay there...as Andra preferred to do), crawl around in the foam pit, jump on trampolines...it was such a good time! Here's Andra feeling out the trampoline...

 

Andra vs. the foam pit. The foam pit won. 

 

AND...last night Andra had a date! We met our friends Katy and Tanner, and their little guy Tate, at the Children's Museum. They went down the Yule Slide, but my flash didn't go off, so it's a terrible picture. But here they are at their romantic dinner afterwards. Chaperoned by mommies and daddies, of course. :) 

 

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.