November happenings

Here I am still trying to get caught up on this blog. Since I discovered Blog2print last year and made yearly books from the blog, I'm trying to keep all the posts from a particular year within that timeframe. So, I'll be backdating a couple of posts so that they can be within the 2011 year. I love getting this blog made into books. I hope someday Elly enjoys them. I would have loved reading about Mom and Dad's early days, so I really enjoy having the last 5 1/2 years of our lives in print.

This post is just a catch all for various November happenings. We went to Berlin in mid-November, but there were a few things before and after that I wanted to get in the blog.

Going to the post office has become one of Elly's favorite things to do lately. I don't have to wonder why because it seems like every time we went (leading up to the holidays) there was another package. I do a lot of online ordering since we don't have as many shopping options here. Elly thinks we've missed something if we go and happen to not get a package that day. Anyhow, at the beginning of the month she received a package from Oma and Opa. That was a happy day for her :)









I LOVE how carefree Elly is at this age. How fun to be at an age where she's so unaware of how she should dress or act. She just "is" with no thought of what other's think. I love it! I really should take some lessons from her on not caring what other people think. Anyhow...she loves to go outside and doesn't care what she has on. She has quite the fashion sense :) These pictures are obviously from two different days of her playing outside, but her stylish attire (on both days) struck me as funny.











This little girl LOVES to help me in the kitchen. She loves it when we're both in there doing something. She gets the happiest look on her little face and says "Mama and Elly are busy!" So often I tell her I'm busy if I'm in there working, so she loves it when she's part of that "busyness". Here she was helping me make the dressing for Thanksgiving. She feels so important when she's able to help us.





It seems we always wait until the last minute to invite people over for the holidays. The one family we ended up inviting had already been asked by another family. God knew what he was doing though because the two families we ended up having over were a true delight. I don't think I've ever had people over for dinner that were more comfortable and fun to cook for. I love it when people come for dinner and really eat. I know that sounds kind of ridiculous, but sometimes people come and just pick or take a small plate then say they are full. Well, the friends we had over on Thanksgiving really ate and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the meal, which made me happy.

Jay and Elaine we met because she works in CYS with Sam, then they started going to our church. We really like them and have had them over before. Eugene and Regina are also from our church. They are Russian (I think), but have lived in Germany most of their lives. They have two sweet little girls and we really like their family. Since Thanksgiving is an American holiday I wondered about having them over for dinner, but they really seemed to enjoy the experience and to see what this holiday is all about. Usually after having company I feel completely drained. I'm not a people person and it's a lot of work for me to interact with them all evening, but at the end of our Thanksgiving evening I was so happy to have had these particular friends over. We really had an enjoyable evening together.









Toward the end of November Elly got another package from Oma and Opa. They sent her a couple of cute Christmas ornaments and she got her very first Advent calendar this year...thanks to Oma. I've been planning to get her one, but until this year it wouldn't have meant much to her. Oma made up a special calendar for her and we got it in time to start the countdown on December 1st. Thank you, Oma! Elly LOVED her calendar. Daddy wouldn't even get in the door in the evening before he heard her yell "Calendar Time!!!" Now that it's done for the year she keeps asking me where it went. I'm looking forward to filling it again next year!






Elly's night time routine seems to be getting longer and longer....and longer. It goes something like this...change into her pajamas, braid her hair (so it's not a mass of tangles in the mornings), brush her teeth, have Daddy read a book (or two), hugs and kisses for Daddy then off to her room for round two with Mama which includes 2-3 books, then off to the bathroom to go potty once again before going to bed (alot of times this is when she decides she needs to go poopy which buys her another 15 minutes of reading and singing to herself on the potty), then off to give Daddy more hugs and kisses, then to her room again where she turns on her music and turns off the light, then I rock her for awhile and we say our prayers and sing a couple of songs. Finally, I put her in her crib and I head to bed. As much as I love our little routine it gets to be a little much sometimes and her bedtime is getting later and later. I'm working at reigning it in a bit.

One thing that Sam and Elly do while we're getting ready for bed is to play around on the bed. Elly loves jumping on the bed then at some point they stop and look in the mirror and show their muscles. It's so cute seeing her mimic Sam.





Decorating the Christmas tree was fun this year. Sam doesn't really enjoy the process so we waiting until the Monday after Thanksgiving when he went back to work to put the tree up. Elly was really into it and wanted to help with everything. She just loves to be involved in every little detail. I let her put up most of the bulbs and ornaments. Of course, that resulted in LOTS of bulbs in clusters about two feet off the ground. I rearranged them when she went down for her nap, but it was so cute watching her have fun with it. And she only broke about 4 bulbs. That's the price you pay when a toddler is helping, but it was a pretty sweet experience and I can always get more bulbs. Those that mean alot to me I placed way up on the tree, so they wouldn't be within her reach throughout the season.


















Well, that wraps up November. I love the whole holiday season and look forward to it all year long. I want to pass the wonderful memories and traditions on to Elly. As a mama I've learned that it takes a lot of effort to give our kids wonderful experiences sometimes. Honestly, it would have been a lot easier for me to not let Elly help with the tree and do it all myself, but I would have missed out on making a wonderful memory with my little girl. I would have missed out on seeing the pure joy in her beautiful little face as she searched for the perfect spot for those bulbs and the twinkle in her eyes as she said with such pride "I helping Mama!". Sometimes I have to stop and remind myself that even though it would be easier to do something by myself, I need to take a step back and let Elly be involved. It means so much to her. I need to slow down and let her feel important by helping me. I really try to do that, but at times I find myself being in a rush and just wanting to get the job done. At those times I feel chastised and vow to quit being so self centered because I have a precious little girl watching my every move and the last thing I want is for her to feel like I don't value her input. I never realized how important it was for a child to feel like they are truly contributing, but I see the disappointment on Elly's face when I don't accept her willingness to help. It's something that I work at alot, because it doesn't necessarily come natural to me.

Well, I better close for now. I still have all of December to do before I can get this years posts into a book. I really look forward to seeing it in a book, so it encourages me to get it done. Until next time...