Christmas Through the Eyes of a 7 Week Old

Merry Christmas from the Goldens! Elsa would like to share her Christmas list she left for Santa...

1. Bake Christmas Cookies   

Look, that's me - wrapped against Mom - she only spilled a little flour on me...

2. Buy presents for my cousins and grandparents

3. See snow 

4. Nap under the Christmas tree

5. Spend Christmas Eve at Grandma & Bapa's with all the Flotts

6. Go to Mass and wear a pretty dress

I slept through most of it!

7. Spend Christmas morning at Papa and Memaw's 

8. Visit my Great-grandparents and play my first lotto ticket (I lost).

9. Watch my extended family members play Just Dance at the Popurella Christmas

10. Have a pajama day with mom and dad playing with our new toys!

Well, Little Miss Elsa got everything on her list! Erik and I both agreed it was our best Christmas yet - mostly in thanks to our precious girl (and her ability to sleep well in the car and good road conditions for traveling between family get-togethers)!  

  

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Our Christmas Week is off to a festive and fun filled start! First, on Saturday evening, we had our annual F/H/S  (Flott-Hall-Sand, but more accurately Flott-Hall-Sand-Rudolph-Golden-Eder) Christmas in Dwight.  It was a great night with life-long friends, lots of cute little kids, and many laughs at Jeff and Steph's house.  

Meeting Marianne

Connor

Clara, Kate, and Ryan playing Doctor with Erik

Elsa had so much fun, she slept 7 hours straight when we spent the night at Grandma & Grandpa's!

Next, we journeyed up to Hoffman Estates for the Flott Family Christmas at my Aunt Sue and Uncle Bob's house.  It was another great day filled with a lot of love (and food)!  

Waiting to go while everyone else gets ready

Waiting to open presents with Dad

Greta & Crazy Uncle Cort

The Newlyweds...David & Sarah

This scene has become the norm at family get-togethers -- Greta with the baby!

Presents!

Little Fashionista in Black & White

Tuckered out after a great weekend!

Just Like Her Momma

Thank goodness, this girl can shop! 

This past week, with the help of Grandma and Grandpa, Elsa and I finished our Christmas shopping with an all-day shopping trip to Bloomington.  Our plan for the day was to do as much as we could before she got too fussy, but the girl - my sweet, most precious, little girl, barely made a peep all day - even during her normal "witching" hour in the early evening.  Like her mom (and much to her dad's chagrin), shopping just brings out the best in her.  We even got to go out for dinner! Erik would have joined us, but he was too busy having his highest scoring basketball game of the season in his work league.  

The shoe department was a big hit!

Cutie surrounded by cute clothes

First Restaurant Experience - Avanti's!

Sleepy Parenting

Before getting pregnant, Erik would say I had an odd sleep habit of not only talking in my sleep, but also being a little panicky in my sleep.  For example, I would go to sleep relatively early and when Erik came in a couple hours later, I would freak out thinking he was an intruder.  Totally normal, right?  

During my pregnancy, that all pretty much stopped - maybe a good side effect of all the hormones, who knows?  

Well,  the odd sleep habits have apparently returned or our favorite pharmacist Dr.J put something in my meds...

This morning's conversation:

Erik: Did you sleep well?
Me: Yeah, really well, she only got up a couple times.
Erik: So you don't remember freaking out?
Me: Um, what?
Erik: You frantically woke me up and tried to roll me over because you were looking for Elsa in the bed and couldn't find her.

She was in the cradle next to the bed. 

Tis the Season...

modeling her stocking made by her Grandma

...to get sick.

Which is a bit ironic since I work at a school with young kids (some who like to be very close and give hugs and chew on my pencils and need reminders to cover their coughs and so on) and have yet to call in sick in the past four years.

But, when I am on maternity leave, and can count the times I've left our house in the past three weeks on one hand - I manage to get my first case of strep throat ever.  

And Erik may or may not be on his way to the same diagnosis.  

Nothing is too bad when you wake up to this sweet face

Fortunately, little Elsa has been a trooper - enjoying lots of snuggling time with mom (and a special day of snuggling with Grandma and Grandpa Flott so her mom could rest) and sleeping for a couple longer stretches at night.  

She also continues to grow (who knew?)...and has recently discovered she likes to play on her floor gym and doesn't hate her swing (as much).

Ok mom and dad, I'll sit here a couple minutes, but as soon as  you try to eat dinner, I'm done. Cool?

We're just hoping this is it for illnesses for Team Golden for a long time because we are all getting ready for a great Christmas!

One Month

Our little love bug is one month old today!  

3rd Annual Flott Family Baking Day

Each year, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Erik & I host the Flott Family for a day of Christmas Cookie Baking, Beer Brewing, and crafts for the kids.  Unfortunately Erik and I were suffering a bit from food poisoning and we had to cut back a little and eliminate the beer brewing portion, but it was still a great day filled with wonderful memories!

Getting the house ready!

According to Clara, she is a good cookie maker, and Grandpa is not.

 One goal for the day was to take a picture of Grandma and Grandpa with their three granddaughters for their Christmas card....I just thought I'd share a couple of the outtakes...

Christmas Crafts with Clara & Greta

I was not a great photographer and failed to get any pictures with Aunt Amy and Aunt Stephanie...but they were very busy in the kitchen all day!

Much to be Thankful For...

Elsa's First Thanksgiving was filled with lots of family time and snuggles from aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents.  We were fortunate enough to get to spend Thanksgiving with both sides of our family - we traveled to Hollowayville for Elsa's first over-night and Thanksgiving lunch at the Golden's and then dinner at the Flott House in Dwight....but first we got some extra play time with Cousin Clara, Aunt Amy, and Uncle Cort!

Check this girl's new sassy haircut out!

Thanksgiving Day in Hollowayville...

With my nephew/Godson Connor

Attempt at getting all the Grandkids of the Popurella Sisters together 

Elsa with her cousins, Connor & Ryan

On to Dwight...

Elsa's first trip to Grandma and Grandpa's House

Grandma with Greta and Elsa meeting her Great Aunt Sue

 

Aunt Steph helping Greta hold her Baby

Auntie Amy with 2 of her nieces