Christmas Is Coming...

Maliana ~

Monday was, in one word...ROUGH. You were still catching up on lost sleep from the weekend and so threw quite the tantrum and took quite the nap after school. Luckily by Tuesday, you were feeling much more like yourself (thank goodness!). Via Facebook, here is what I had to say about Monday:

~ while I sometimes worry about Mali being on the low end of the growth chart for height and weight for her age, I was reminded of one advantage to this tonight...in the event of a complete and total meltdown at Kroger over dark chocolate/peppermint covered pretzels, I realized I am still able to carry not only her out to the car (while kicking, thrashing about, and screaming "I want it!" at the top of her lungs) but also a gallon of milk and my purse...ahh, good times.
#gottabethickskinnedtobemommy #saveyourjudgmentfellowshoppers #poorkiddowasexhausted

I also got to pick up your Christmas portraits this week and I love how they turned out. The woman who took your portraits actually kind of ticked me off by telling you "don't smile so hard" and asking "can you smile without showing your teeth?" which both took me by surprise and also irked me. I mean, let a kid smile however they dang well want to smile! Geesh. However, when I saw the finished product of your portraits I noticed that you have an air of maturity about you...as Lao Lao said, "She is starting to get that pre-teen look already!" And she's right. Oh my...I noticed how I can really see the young woman you are beginning to blossom into and wow! I also couldn't help but wonder (once again) what your China mommy and daddy look like. I thought to myself..."They sure did make one beautiful little girl, both inside and out." In so many different ways, I am forever grateful to them. 

Santa Claus Jr. made his annual debut this week as well...Daddy read you the traditional book, Elf on the Shelf, and voila ~ there he was the next morning!

creepy little bugger

Mid-week, I continued to plug away at getting some of our Christmas gifts made...even with you curling up in my lap and taking over an hour nap right there while I did so. It was difficult to move around and get things done but I know there will come a day when you are too big for this "cuddly inconvenience" and so I sucked it up and kept on going. It was well worth the discomfort to know you were sleeping peacefully and getting some much-needed rest for your tired little body.

Also, over last weekend, Lao Lao had snuck in and set up a surprise for you ~ your very own Christmas village. I forgot to mention it before but wanted to do so now ~ you spent some time arranging and rearranging it. You are definitely smitten with it...thank you Lao Lao!

Thursday night I was about up to my neck in holiday stress...while I love this time of year, there is just so much I want to do and only so much time to do it in. Therefore, I get stressed. Anyway, Daddy's work had their annual Christmas party that night and he was kind enough to take you with him so you could have a date together and I could get some stuff knocked out at home. Win/win. You had a great time and ate a lot of really good food. While you refused to let me take any pictures of you and Daddy before you left, you did let me take a picture of you eating the one and only Christmas cookie that you decorated last Saturday with your cousins. Yum!

And here are some of the things I worked on while you were on your special Christmas party date with Daddy...

hand-print tree topper ~ oh, how I will miss
when your hands aren't this tiny!

hand-print snowmen ornament

When you got home, for some reason you were reciting the Pledge of Allegiance (and cracking me up). Cracking you up? You might ask. Yes, cracking me up. Ok...So, I have to preface this with another little story and flashback to my own childhood. You see, not all but many families have weird little words for the proper names of things, and sometimes these things happen to be private parts. My family growing up, for whatever reason, called breasts, "buttons" and the female private part, "toodlies". No idea why, it's just what we did. So, flash forward to this Thursday night when you came home and were reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Everything was going along fine until I heard you say this part..."And toodlie a public, for which it stands"...I mean, how could I not crack up? Right? (I love when kids make up their own versions of things...especially when they turn out to be gems like this one!)

my little Santa Mali ~
you turn your nose up at all of the traditional
kids' Christmas movies but got totally
sucked into Fred Claus with Vince
Vaughn...go figure!

Saturday was the day of fun for you and Daddy. He offered to take you everywhere with him so that I could continue to get more holiday stuff done. (Whew ~ will this holiday prep ever end?!?) He took you to Chinese class in the morning, one of your friends' (Jocelyn's) birthday party (bringing his magic marble for entertainment, of course), and then took you to dinner with Jay and his new girlfriend that night. I felt kind of guilty about forgoing some of these activities, however I got a lot of stuff done, felt less stressed later, and as you and Daddy snuggled some more that night, you told him, "Daddy, I like spending time with you, just you and me together." And that right there...erased all of my guilt for bowing out of the day's activities. You definitely need to spend more one on one time with your Daddy and that comment right there is proof of how important and appreciated it is. I love it.

As I tucked you into bed later, you asked if we could sleep in and cuddle the next morning. It is by far one of your favorite things to do on the weekends. It's actually become one of your most favorite things to get excited about come Friday. You love to reach over, snuggle in close, lay with your head pressed on top of my chest and as we slowly wake up, we chat, laugh, joke around, or as we did this Sunday, we practiced your math problems and pretended to be a family of bears hibernating. There's just something about a lazy morning in bed with your kid(s) that is so intimate, connecting and sweet. I have to admit, it's one of my favorite things about the weekend too. Love you, monkey.

Sunday morning you and Daddy headed out once again to continue your fun and met Memaw and Papaw for breakfast while I went to get my hair cut. Then you both went to do a little grocery shopping where I received these texts from Daddy...

Hmmm...decisions...decisions...

That night I made lasagna and we had Allie, Blake and Markie all stop over for dinner and a visit. It was SO good to see all of them and you immediately became both excited and very chatty as soon as they arrived. After dinner, you even offered to make us all dessert. Blake was especially a big fan of your concoction ~ sprinkle bananas!

the chef and her happy customer!

After they left we bundled up and took a walk in the snow and ice to see how many of our neighbors have put up their Christmas lights. Unfortunately, not too many of them are in the spirit (yet) but that didn't stop you from being our fearless leader, marching ahead with your headlamp, warning us of slick icy patches, pointing out "nature" (as you kept repeating) and looking for (dinosaur?!) footprints. You kept telling us that "we are a family!" and "we can do this!" and also yelling "Stack!" (aka stat) when you wanted us to hurry. You were a hilarious little drill sergeant! We just love you so much.

After some peppermint cocoa and reading Dinosaur Christmas, you fell fast asleep. A good end to a great week.

Love,
Mama