12 Days of Christmas

Christmas in the Belitz Family was a little insane this year.  We were completely overloaded with Christmas cheer and presents.  Brynn got absolutely spoiled and there is no way we can ever top the amount of gifts she received this year.  What I am calling the 12 days of Christmas are the 12 days/presents her grandparents and aunts and uncles continued to spoil this little girl with.  Every time I turned around Brynn was opening another gift whether it was before or after Christmas.  It all started with the Pre-Christmas festivities with a new kitchen and care packages containing Christmas PJs, dresses, and stickers.  I should have known right then, that I was in over my head.  And as Brynn proceeded to open and receive gifts it dawned on me that as a child there was no way I would have ever gotten away with opening gifts before Christmas morning.  But I was reassured by many of the grandparents that it was fine and that she “needed” these gifts before Christmas.  This way Brynn would not be overwhelmed on Christmas Day.  Brynn never got overwhelmed with the 12 Days of Christmas, only I did. 

Where is all began.. But we could not get too close.

Everyone Needs a Mickey Mouse Christmas Movie

Washing dishes

Santa came!!

Castle for the Brynncess



Why can't I fly Mommy?  I have my magic wand.



Best I could do to help her fly.

Taking care of her dollie.

Peek!

No Cold was Going to Keep Her Down

Our poor little pumpkin got sick the day of her Christmas program performance.  I was shocked that of all 8 preschool classrooms that performed, only 1 child cried and wanted off  stage.  And Brynn was no exception, despite me having to run her to the doctor the second her performance was over, she sang her little heart out.  And her best buds, Charlie and Kalin were standing right next to her singing just as loud.  It was so cute watching all of these little kids sing Christmas music and Happy Birthday to baby Jesus/Moses (Brynn gets the two confused frequently).    

After the performance, Brynn had to miss her classroom party to go to the doctor.  My little princess had sad eyes and the start of a sinus infection.  Luckily for us, Brynn’s doctor gave us some antibiotics to make her start feeling better before we ventured on a plane back to the Midwest.  The antibiotics helped, but she really did not start to feel better till half way through our trip.



Three Wise Men, Three Wise Men....



Deck the Halls

Grandma Sharon, Brynn and I set out to find the perfect Christmas tree.  And BOY did Brynn have her heart set on one.  Of course my daughter ends up picking out the tallest, fattest Christmas tree in the entire place.  To her disappointment we had to go with a smaller much more manageable tree that did not take up our entire house – end more! 

We spent an evening decorating the tree and putting up decorations around the house to get into the Christmas spirit.  And like last year, Brynn was fascinated by the lights and all of the decorations but her enthusiasm for helping out ebbed and flowed.  Below are some photos of her great decorating skills.  When she wasn’t looking we would have to disperse some of her ornaments or else only a very small portion of the tree would have gotten decorated.

May your holidays be merry and bright! 

A little help from Grandma!

Yes - she is wearing the same shirt as last year. Oops!

Brynn's beautiful tree!

Giggle Giggle!!

Day with the Girls

Brynn spent the other day with Ashley and Grandma Sharon.  And of course what did they do…..  they went SHOPPING.  Brynn had her first experience at the Disney Store and was a little overwhelmed from what I have been told.  She did not know what to do.  Should she go running for Mickey and Minnie or for the Princesses?  She ended up making her way to the castle and staring in the mirror and pushing the tea party cart around the store.  Despite her love for Mickey and Minnie, she is a princess at heart. 

After fun at the Disney Store, no shopping trip is ever complete without a carousel ride in Brynn's eyes. Since it is the holidays, it was decorated for Christmas and complete with reindeer instead of horses.  There was also a Santa train ride which I am still shocked Brynn could not convince Grandma and Ashley to take her on.  But have no fear, Brynn has not forgotten and will soon convince one of us to take her very soon – I am sure.       



Pretty Princess



Reindeer Games

Can we go again, PLEASE?

Thankful for Family

We had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend with lots of family members to celebrate with.  It all started with Grandma Nancy’s arrival with presents, treats, and hours at the park.  Brynn was in heaven and still to this day cannot get enough M&M’s.  Aunt Heidi, Uncle Eric, Kinley and Pam and Marv all arrived on Wednesday with excitement.  My mom and Ashley were also here to help celebrate, which topped off the festivities.  The weather on Thanksgiving Day was so beautiful that we ended up eating outside all together at one long table.  The girls were even able to sit up at the table and loved looking and giggling at each other.  By the end of the day they were “two peas in a pod”.  One was always trying to mimic the other.  Whether it was Brynn trying to scoot on the floor like Kinley or Kinley trying to keep up with Brynn.  Either way it is going to be so fun to watch these two girls grow up together. 

Gobble Gobble

Two Peas in a Pod!

The rest of the weekend was spent shopping, walking the beach, having nice dinners, and a duffy boat ride.  The boat ride was the perfect way to spend an afternoon.  The sun was shining, the water was calm and blue, and Christmas decorations were up to see on some of the homes.  Captain Cameron took turns letting the girls drive the boat and Brynn even tried to feed the birds that were following us.  Overall, it was a wonderful weekend filled with great memories and it makes we take a pause to think that these experiences are too few and far between, and that we were very thankful that both of our families were willing to travel to spend such a wonderful holiday together.  

Honk Honk!!

Co-Captain Kinley!

Feeding the birds.

The Day AFTER Halloween

It’s November 1^st and Brynn and I are rushing to get out of the house to meet up with friends for dinner.  I can’t find her - where could she be?  All of a sudden I hear some bizarre grunting from the other room.  It’s Brynn and she is trying with all of her strength to get her costume on.  I help her and away we go.  Of course after weeks of negotiations to try and get her to even try the costume on, she is putting it on willingly.  And in true Brynn style – it is no longer Halloween!!! Here is a picture of her at dinner flapping her wings.  She thought she was so cute in her costume that she walked around to almost every table in the restaurant showing off.    

Hoot Hoot!!

Trick or Napping (not Treating)

Halloween just must not be our holiday.  For all the effort I put into it, it sure seems to disappoint.  For days leading up to Halloween, Brynn would not try her costume on.  I was actually very worried we were never going to get it on her.  But come to find out after hours of negotiations that “Mommy, I am waiting for my friends to put their costumes on.  Charlie’s going to be a monkey.” And of course like clockwork, once Brynn got to school she wore her costume until naptime.  She went as an owl and even insisted that the wings stay on the entire time.  That little girl cracks me up!  It is her way, on her time frame. 

Getting Ready for the Pumpkin Patch.

While at school, they did a variety of Halloween activities and even had their very own toddler size pumpkin patch.  They got pushed around in wagons, decorated pumpkins, and built a scarecrow.  Later in the day, the school hosted a Harvest Party with bounce houses, games, candy, and food.  Brynn had a blast, but the event was really geared towards slightly older kids so we headed home to go trick or treating.  By the time we got home and grabbed a quick bite to eat, Brynn was exhausted.  She did not want her costume back on and only wanted to be pushed in her stroller.  We headed downtown to see the festivities and Brynn was half asleep.  So once again no trick or treating. 

Harvest Party

·        Halloween 2010 – Brynn was a newborn and slept through the entire thing.  Daddy had her in a Baby Bjorn and strangers thought Brynn was part of a costume from the movie The Hangover.

·        Halloween 2011 – Brynn was running a high fever so we did not leave the house.

·        Halloween 2012 – Brynn helped carve pumpkins for 3 minutes while Mom sat there for hours.  We went Trick or Napping instead of Trick or Treating around the neighborhood. 

·        Halloween 2013 – TBD – but I am keeping my expectations pretty low. 

Mom's hard work.