Christmas Celebration

Christmas has always been a great holiday for my family and me so naturally it has been hard the past few years to be away from my mom and sister.  This year we were still unable to go and be with them since I am at the end of my pregnancy with Gabe but we managed to make it a wonderful celebration for Makenzi.  The biggest part of her Christmas was that she got a full new room completely done in Disney princess style plus new toys that are also all Disney Princess as well.  We were also able to get her some new clothing thanks to Walmart having a ton of 24 month and 2T clothing on sale for a buck.  This year was all about getting the most for the least especially since we are also getting ready for Gabe to arrive and needed to get little boy stuff.  It is amazing how much I was able to reuse from Makenzi for him but yet still didn't have nearly close to everything we needed.  But now we are in a better position to have him and after we get the house cleaned up from Christmas and get the rooms set up for "easy" on mom care of the kids, we will be just about ready for him. 

So this year we celebrated Christmas with Ty's family here in North Carolina. It was pleasant overall to be surrounded by family and watch Kenzi and Kinley, her cousin, play together as well as watch them both interact with their new cousins, Sarah and Dakota who are just 11 weeks old. Kenzi was very gentle with the twins and surprised us by being helpful or at least trying to be helpful.  She was mimicking me when they would be crying or making noise I would go and talk to them or comfort them and after seeing me do that once she tried to as well. Then one time she was baby talking to them sweetly and acted like she was gonna pick them up which we had to explain to her that she wasn't big enough to hold them yet but she could give them a kiss which she did.  She is just a big sweet heart and I can't wait to see her become a big sister, I know she is going to be a big helper and love bug. Anyway, we were able to celebrate with family which is how it should be and that made the celebration special.  I know that as time goes on that we will find we can't always have the big family gathering so the ones we can do are special.  The one tradition we are starting with Kenzi is a tradition passed along from my family where we open one gift on Christmas Eve, that being our Christmas Pjs, however we modified it to include her also opening her Christmas outfit to make Christmas morning a little easier with getting her changed.  That part may or may not last as she gets older.  We may drop having her open her out fit for Christmas and let her open that Christmas day but that is in the future and we don't know how things will be at that point.  Anyway, so she had fun opening those on Christmas eve.  Christmas day we got up and had breakfast with the family and then Kenzi opened all her gifts from Santa.  She had fun playing with them throughout the day and then after dinner was over with all the family we all opened the gifts from eachother and Kenzi also got to open the gifts from us in front of everyone however she got bored about 1/2 way through and just wanted to take her new toys and go play not open anymore so Ty and I had to open some of them for her.  We all decided that we needed to start opening presents much earlier than we did since both Kenzi and Kinley were getting grumpy towards the middle and into the end of opening the gifts. 

So that was Christmas.  One things I have decided to start doing for both out children is to start buying them next year's Christmas gifts in January this way I can get one or 2 Christmas gifts a month for each kid and they will have tons of Christmas gifts come Christmas and we wont be broke. I have also decided to start the month after their birthdays with buying their next years birthday gifts, I think just one per month on that so we can get them everything everything we want them to have, or that they want.  It just makes sense for us to do that and stash it away, granted I will have a running list of everything they get each month for those special days so that I don't buy it 2x and so I know what I still need to get.  Like this coming year for Makenzi I think we are going to get her dress up clothing from Disney princess dress up to Minnie Mouse since those are her favorites. And for Gabe we will start buying Winnie the Pooh stuff for starters and possibly some Cars stuff or Mickey Mouse stuff, we will see. 

Well, to wrap this post up and finish my little family update.  Kenzi is doing good.  We are about to start potty training her plus switch her over to a toddler bed which she seems to be interested in doing so I am excited to get that all going.  The sooner she is potty trained the easier it will be since her diapers are running us about $50 a month and Gabe's aren't going to be any cheaper.  She is also getting into her picky eater phase where she doesn't want to try new things and goes through fades where she only wants chicken or only wants shrimp.  Then some times she just wants buttered pasta or lightly sauced pasta, where some days she just wants snack foods like puffs or cheerioes.  It never fails to amazing me how I can take time and get her a bunch of food she liked yesterday ready today and then she doesn't want it.  I think she is starting to really pick up words now as well but not fast enough to keep her from getting frustrated with us when we don't understand what she wants.

Ty and I are also doing well.  We are stressing about the coming arrival of Gabe since we wont have a lot of help when we need it but everything will work out.  Just have to modify sleeping arrangements and get everything ready and brought down so I can have everything within reach.  I think he is more nervous than I am but he will never admit that but we are both ready for Mr. Gabe to be here already.  Well, I hope that 2012 will be an amazing year for all of us.  I am ready to say good bye to 2011, a very hard year, and am looking to the future in a positive light.  I wish you all a very happy new year and will post on how we celebrated ringing in 2012 once we have done so.  I hope you all had a wonderfully merry Christmas and happy holiday to all my friends who don't celebrate Christmas. 

Getting ready for Christmas...and Gabriel.

Life here has been hectic.  Lots of unexpected mishaps that have worked themselves out finally and thus our life is starting to actually feel like its getting settled down here in New Bern.  Though money is tough for us just like everyone else we are trying to keep a great and happy air to our holiday preparation.  We have been able to buy some Christmas presents for Miss Makenzi, of course we wish there was more for her but we do what we can, and I am sure many of you are feeling the same about your own children. We have decided this year is going to be a Disney Princess kinda year which I know she is just going to love.  On top of getting ready for Christmas with decorating and trying to keep ornaments on our tree, which is now bare half way down thanks to a special little girl, and cleaning the house; we are also getting ready for our family addition, Gabriel, who should be coming into the world either the end of December or beginning of January.

For the pregnancy progress update: so far so good, the doctor assures me that everything is going great, no sugar issue and my blood pressure is doing great and stay low.  However, I am feeling extra tired lately and have noticed a loss of appetite as of late, mainly because when I eat a whole lot I get an upset tummy and then Gabe decides he is going to kick and push on everything he can to cause me pain.  Oh well I am sure the doctor will just tell me it is normal like everything else I have worried about.  Gabe has been very active in the last few weeks and enjoys to be active so I am hoping that he wares himself out so when he makes his big entrance that he will just want to sleep all the time and let me ease into having 2 children.

Update on Makenzi: She is growing like a weed big time.  She has been eating like crazy and has been on the cranky side of things which I think means she is either getting those 4 missing teeth in or she is going through a growth spurt.  With that said I have started to switch her clothing over to 18 month size clothing and have her 24 month and 2T clothing waiting in the wings in case she does a big growth spurt.  I like to be prepared and so we are doing our best to keep things in order.  Shortly after Christmas we will be switching her into a toddler bed so that I can get the nursery fully set up and ready for Gabe so when he is ready to go into his own room it'll be ready for him.

I feel like there is still so much to be done before the little guy gets here and so much we still need to get for both him and Makenzi, but I just have to take it one day at a time and do a lot of shopping around to find that perfect price and piece. I have made a lot of pieces that would have been bought other days, like his name plaque for his door, and the letters for his wall.  I made 2 blankets and 1 quilt and am working on a knit blanket for his as well. I also made out great with getting supplies to make our 2011 Christmas ornaments which turned out great. I even made one for either Gabe if he decided to come before Christmas or just a family ornament if he decided to wait until the new year.

Coming up in the next week I will be announcing when we are actually scheduled for Gabe's arrival and what scramble we are going through, as well as, announcing what we have left to get for both kids before Gabe gets here.  I will also be working on getting a second additions for this blog which will high light everything I have for sale from my hair bows to my quilts as well as knit blankets, hats and scarves. This will have pricing as well as great pictures too.

Well, life is getting better every day even if I am not sleeping that great these days.  First its nice to have my family all in one place again and second we are excited to almost have our little boy in our arms to enjoy as a complete family.  Life can be pretty tough and we are learning from each trial the importance to be prepared for each possibility.  However the number of things you need to be prepared for is stifling and is taking us a little longer to make sure we are prepared is hard to do when so much was going on at once but like I said we are getting there and it'll be so much better once we get the safety nets truly in place.  Thank you all for all the support in these trying days and I am hoping that in the coming days and in the new year we can enjoy life and get things truly on track for a happy and prosperous future.  I wish the same for all of you and look forward to all of us having a wonderful holiday season and new year.

Christmas shopping...on a minimal budget

So, despite my wanting to go crazy and buy every little thing I can get my hands on that is Disney Princess or Winnie the Pooh, I have been able to keep myself from going crazy and stick to a set budget.  Mostly was thanks to the amazing black Friday sales that were still going on in the afternoon on black Friday.  One thing I have learned this year for gift buying is to space things out over the full year and you can get more for the kids that way and that nothing is worth leaving your family on Thanksgiving to go shopping.  I found almost everything I wanted to get for my daughter still discounted in the early afternoon after all the crazy people had gone home, didn't have to wait in crazy long boring lines either. I love a good deal and hate paying full price when I can shop around and find it for the best price, but if you pay attention to what is and isn't selling you can set it just right to still get the sales price but with way less hassle.

So now I am excited for Christmas as I was able to get Makenzi some great Disney Princess stuff that would have run me over $200 to get at full price for $60, and for those of you who keep hearing about Walmart matching prices on anything, well they really do.  I wanted to get Kenzi her 1st Disney Princess Toddler doll of Cinderella and couldn't find it anywhere except on line until I went into Walmart and found it there but was much more expensive than Targets every day price and they matched it. Unfortunately Kenzi was with me when I got it for her but I am doing good at not giving it to her early even though she was trying to open the box and get the doll out.  I think she likes it.

So part of Christmas for Makenzi this year is that she is getting her room redone in, you guessed it, Disney Princess.  She is getting a big girl canopy bed which scares me a little but I think she will like it 2 different storage type contraptions, a table with 2 chairs, bedding, a rug; pretty much everything she could want to have a true Disney Princess room.  I can't wait for her to open her presents from everyone and discover that she is getting this new room and then to see her face once Daddy and Mommy get it all put together and her stuff put into it...she is going to be so happy.  This is something we decided to do to make her feel completely special as we welcome her baby brother to the world. 

As of right now Gabriel is set to come into this world January 3rd but we will for sure have date and time on December 15 which also happens to be the day that we found out we were pregnant with Makenzi. Funny how time flies. Though there is still things we need to get before our little guy gets here we are starting final preparation for him to get here and welcome any help anyone wants to send our way.  Things we still need to get include a monitor, a my pal scout, a dresser, laundry soap, security stuff for baby proofing more of the house, Diapers, wipes, always clothing is needed.  We would like to get a booster seat for Makenzi, as well as a table top night light, and a new pop up hamper.  If you would like to get us anything, regardless if its for Kenzi or Gab, just email me at akayda1014@mac.com and I will send you our address.  Any little bit helps and we appreciate all the help we have already received from the baby shower gifts, we got a good start with clothing.

Anyway, like I said before we are starting to gear up in anticipation for our little guys big entrance and Christmas.  So much going on all at once its crazy but we are all doing good even after a little spat of a cold attacking we are all starting to feel a little better and as things start to fall into place getting into a little better spirits.  I hope you all are doing well and are abundant with Christmas Spirit this year.  I'll post again when we find out our date so you will all get to see him when he gets here. 
Now, remember to stay safe out there while you are shopping around and getting those amazing deals.