Happy 2012!

2011 was the best year of my life. I can't wait to see what awaits us in 2012.

Our First Christmas

Mia is only 14 mths old. So she doesn't really "get" the whole Christmas, Santa, presents thing just yet. This year was all for mommy. 

I tried not to go overboard because I knew she had gifts coming from several people. I didn't want to overwhelm her our first go at this.

 Can you tell which gift is the one mommy remembered was not wrapped and hidden under Mia's crib at about midnight? LOL! It actually worked out better this way. She had something to play with while I wrestled the other gifts out of their packaging.

It took her about 5 seconds to get the hang of ripping the paper off.

In addition to the farm, Santa brought her stuff for the kitchen. More play food and cookware. And the fridge phonics thing from Leapfrog.

Mia's not an "official walker" but she's been practicing a lot. And she'd rather stand than sit these days. Show off.

The pots and pans were a huge hit. Although perhaps I ..err, I mean Santa.... should have thought more about how much noise stainless steel pots make when beaten together.

It was a great, relaxing first Christmas morning spent just the two of us. We opened her presents and then had a breakfast casserole I'd made the night before. And spent the rest of the morning in our pj's playing with toys and then taking a late nap.

It was absolutely surreal to finally share this day with my daughter. Now Christmas morning will never again be just another morning...

I don't want to wish my time away but I'm really looking forward to the next several Christmases as she discovers the magic of it. I can't wait to see how excited she is about leaving cookies out for Santa, the elf on the shelf, and all the other fun things about this holiday.

Later that evening, we went to my sister's for our family celebration. Mia was more interested in playing with my brother-in-law's lunchbox than the presents.

I think it's hysterical that my kid is in her Christmas best but my sister's kids are still in their jammies. Except Tess who is wearing some dress up thing. I guess it's pretty obvious I'm the new mom here. LOL!

Wrapping paper chaos.

There was a point I thought Mia and Tess were gonna get all WWE smackdown over that Baby Alive. It was pretty funny.

And this is a rare sighting of the teenager who spends most of his time staring at a computer screen. So the shirt is most appropriate. 

I didn't take as many photos as I thought I did cuz I was busy chasing the child.

All in all it was a wonderful day. Certainly my best Christmas ever. Everything I dreamed of and more. And I expect every year it will continue to get better. 

But I already got the best gift ever. I don't need anything else. My life is complete.

Penguin Pajama Pic 2011

For the last 7 years or so I've bought penguin pajamas for my nieces and nephews at Christmas time. Then we all pose for a photo together.

We finally were able to add Mia into the annual penguin pajama pic this year!

It was nearly impossible to get everyone to sit still for a photo. As you can see the oldest refused to even participate.

And I was spending a small fortune on all these pajamas. So the tradition may be over. We'll see. But at least Mia made it into a shot.

I really like it in black and white. But below is the full color version.

And just for fun I threw in some of the older ones so you can see how much the kids have grown.

2010
We used the same pajamas cuz I'd bought a matching pair for Mia last year.

2008
Look at little baby Tess! And this was before Braeden (my brother's) started joining us.

2007
No Tess yet... and another year of recycled pj's.

2005
Teagan was just a wee one then. And boy was I skinny!

We'll just have to wait and see what 2012 will hold for the fate of the Penguin PJ Pic.

Merry Christmas

It's Christmas time again and now you're home....

I've posted this song every year at Christmas time since 2006. But this year, that last verse is finally my truth. 

Mia is home.

I watched the video again and shed some tears of sadness for all those years of heartache. I haven't forgotten that pain. But those tears quickly turned to happy ones as I thought of my daughter.

She's not a dream anymore. She's real. She has a face, a beautiful smile, a personality all her own. And she is home, upstairs in her room, in her crib, wearing her penguin Christmas pajamas and sleeping peacefully.

I rocked her to sleep tonight and told her about all the Christmases I waited for her. After she dozed off I just kept rocking, listening to the sound of her breathing, feeling the warmth of her skin and the weight of her chubby little body against my chest..... and I said some prayers of gratitude.

Those years of waiting, of spending the holidays without a child, were so very hard. But I'm grateful that at the end of that... came this amazing little girl. Not just any little girl. This one.

She has made my life complete. She has filled my heart to overflowing. She has given me the greatest gift... motherhood.

Tonight I'm thankful. I am blessed.

Cousin Love

 Mia worships her cousins. I don't think any one is her favorite. Although I think the three youngest T's get more of a reaction from her. 

Just cuz the almost 15 yr old has no interest in anything except what's on his computer screen. And the other...well, what almost 12 yr old boy cares about babies?

But Teagan?

All he has to do is look at Mia and she's cracking up.

He thinks she's pretty cool, too.

And to think he wasn't even 1 yr old when I started my journey to her.

 My sister posted these on her blog but they were too cute not to share. So I swiped them.

I found these other pics of Tatum and Mia while I was downloading the others. I'd forgotten I'd taken them a month ago.

I'd brought Tatum home with me on Thanksgiving night. It was the first sleepover we've had post-Mia. 

I figured she could entertain Mia while I power shopped online during the Black Friday sales.

What started as one night turned into the entire four day weekend cuz these two were having so much fun together.

My nieces and nephews are a huge part of my life. I was a little worried what their reaction would be once I brought Mia home. Cuz they've had 100% of my attention all these years. 

Now I'm not just their super-awesome-coolest-most-fun-aunt-on-the-planet. I'm also somebody else's mom.

But there's been no jealousy. Just excitement at the addition of this little blessing of mine. I love seeing Mia with her cousins. And I'm so happy they love her so much.

Christmas Cookie Day 2011

For those of you who migrated over here from my other blog, you know that every year around Christmas time my sister and I supervise a mass sugar cookie bake with all my nieces and nephews. This year was no exception.

The kids love rolling out the dough, cutting their cookies and then icing them. My sister and I let them go at it and just try to keep the catastrophes to a minimum.

This year I finally got to add Mia into the crazy chaos.

We started the cookies after our attempt at taking the annual Penguin Pajama Pics. Which is why everyone has on matching clothes. Not sure how the pics will turn out though. Still editing and hoping for one good shot cuz it didn't seem to go very well.

The oldest nephew is missing from both the cookie making fun and the pajama pics. He's almost 15. Unfortunately, we are no longer cool. LOL!

Mia didn't quite know what to make of everything. She was mostly just an observer.

Because every time cookie dough was placed in front of her ...she ate it.

So I gave her a rolling pin to play with. And the little pieces of dough stuck to it...

Well... she ate those, too.

Epic Santa Fail

Mia experienced a rite of passage today.

Her very first

horrifying

visit with Santa.

Until momma stepped in as the Santa buffer...

and all was right in her world again.

Oh what a beautiful sight

I've waited a long time to look into this crib and see a sweet baby girl sleeping peacefully in her Christmas penguin pajamas. The sight of her nearly took my breath away. Even a little more than 6 months later, I'm still amazed that she's mine. This is gonna be the best Christmas I've ever had!