Christmas 2011

 Heidi woke up screaming bloody murder at 3:15 am on Christmas morning.  Although I would like to think she was just so excited for Christmas, we discovered she was getting some more teeth...ugh.  Can we please be done already??  Needless to say, she was not the happiest Christmas girl, but we had a lot of fun nonetheless!

Her Grandma and Grandpa Hunziker gave her a princess chair and she could not be more thrilled.  She now sits in the chair most of the day while pointing at what toy she wants me to bring her next.  It's hilarious!

 Heidi opened her chair first and then sat in her chair to open the rest.  It was so fun this year because she was more aware of what was happening.

She kept tearing a little piece, taking the paper to the trash, and then returning to her chair to open a little more.  It took quite awhile.  We opened two presents before we attempted the hour long church service.

 We thought she could make it an hour, but she really was not having a great day.  I had to take her out and then Jeff took her out again and then we finally just left before the closing hymn.

 We gave Heidi the Little People farm, a train, a leap frog discovery house and a couple of books.  She was thrilled to have a few new toys to play with and I thought it was just perfect...not too much, not too little.

We had a wonderful Christmas dinner with Jeff's cousin and his family.  After some Advil Heidi took a decent afternoon nap and by the time we got to his cousin's house Heidi was happy as a clam and had a blast with their kids.

We had a great Christmas and can't wait to celebrate again next year!

December Fun

 I decided I better post tonight because tomorrow should probably have a post all of its own!  We have been in heaven this last week.  I didn't have to work this week and Jeff only had to work two days.  If only we had this much time as a family all the time!  I don't work next week and Jeff only has to work two days again so we are just hoping next week passes slower than this week!

Anyway, we took Heidi back to see Santa.  Just as we suspected, she hated him.  We couldn't even get a picture of her alone with him because she was shaking so badly and grabbing onto me for dear life.

 We were lucky to finally get some snow a few days ago.  I was worried we weren't going to have a white Christmas.  Heidi loves being outside even in the cold.  She stands by the garage door and says, "brrr".  If she even hears the word 'outside' or 'cold' she says, "brrrr" repeatedly.  It is so cute.  We took her outside to play in the snow for a little bit and she enjoyed getting a little fresh air.  We need to get some more snow so we can get some sledding in.

Heidi's little snowman...or as she says, "man man".

We have also been enjoying the Christmas lights this year.  We have been taking Heidi out to look at them every night that Jeff is home.  If we try to give her a bath before we go she stands by the garage door and starts crying.  It is so funny.  The whole time we are out she says, "WOW!  Ligh!  Cool!  Man Man (snowman)!  Oh oh oh (ho ho ho)!"  I'm not sure what we are going to do when all the lights are gone.  We will have one sad little girl.  I cannot even believe how much more fun the holidays are with little ones.  We feel so blessed to have our little Heidi and can't wait to see her joy tomorrow morning!

Merry Christmas!

Fun Visitors

 This weekend my brother Mark and his wife Rachel came for a visit.  We had a great time!  They just moved back to Utah and haven't had time come up here yet so we were thrilled when they decided to come for a few days.  Heidi really started to warm up to them and she loves the tea set they brought her.  They certainly spoiled her with lots of extra love and attention while they were here.

Rachel also got some great pictures of Heidi.  We were so glad she brought her camera and snapped some pictures to help us remember our little one.

Thanks for coming to visit, Mark and Rachel!  Come again soon!

Recent Happenings

 Heidi learned to get on the kitchen chairs.  Luckily she really doesn't do it as long as I keep the chairs tucked in even though she knows how to pull them out.  I'm sure that won't last long.

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 Heidi loved learning how to make Christmas cookies...she especially loved the cookie cutters. 

 We tried to go see Santa, but he was at lunch.  We will try again soon when it's not lunchtime.  We can't wait to snap a picture of her screaming her head off.n

We babysat Jeff's cousin's cute kids and they loved to doting on Heidi--and of course she loved the attention.

 Heidi's hair must now be tamed at all times because it is wild and out of control.

We can't wait for Christmas to get here so we can finally have some time together as a family!

Little Things

For your enjoyment, and in the hopes of us remembering what this little girl is like as she grows, here are some more little things our little monkey has been up to lately.

She is obsessed with her belly button, or as she says, "button".  We have been wondering whether teaching her this was a great idea because she is actually more interested in finding our "buttons"...which means she is often caught trying to lift our shirts in public.

 She is absolutely, completely, head over heels in love with the game of hide and seek.  She prefers to be the one hiding and he favorite spot is behind mom and dad's "nigh nigh".  Although it is her go-to hiding place 98% of the time, she finds it wildly hilarious when we find her--especially when we pretend we're trying to be quiet.  She has also discovered the joy of hiding behind the curtains and I can't help but laugh my pants off every time I walk into our room and see the curtains moving like crazy.

 We have almost successfully mastered jumping.  When she actually gets air though, she usually lands on her bum only to get up and jump again.

 She has finally decided that going downstairs is just as fun, if not more fun, than going up.  She could do it for the longest time, but just refused to because she's a tad bit lazy and preferred to be carried.  Now that she figured out how to make it more of a sliding game, she's all in.  Please excuse her immodesty.

 What a helpful little girl she has become lately.  She loves to help put clothes in and out of the dryer and she loves to help cook.  Her favorite thing is the spice cabinet.  I have a child proof lock on it, but since she has so much fun taking out the spices, stacking them on the floor, and then re-organizing them, I have a hard time keeping it closed.

 

Heidi enjoys weighing herself every morning as I get ready.  It looks like at 15.5 months she weighs close to 18 pounds.

She loves to lay on her belly and kick her legs while reading a book or eating snacks.  Definitely one of my very, very favorite things to see.

Heidi loves to have her toenails painted multiple times a day.  She then likes to take her socks and shoes off and say, "pretty" over and over.  My toenails must also remain painted so she can point to mine and say "pretty".  We are still working on convincing Jeff that he also needs his toenails painted.

Most people are either convinced she looks exactly like Jeff or exactly like me so I have decided she must be a pretty good mix although Jeff seems to think she looks like my dad.  Hmmm.   

Heidi is still about as clingy as them come but for some reason she has decided that when we're at the store or at church she needs to get down and wander.  Thankfully she never really wanders too far and once she sees what's happening at the other side of the room, she makes her way quickly back to mom or dad for a story or a treat.  Nursery is probably not going to go over so well.  Let's hope she proves me wrong.

Have I ever mentioned how much we are having watching this little girl turn from a baby into a little kid?

Getting in the Christmas Spirit

 Last Sunday we put up the tree and decorations.  Last year I was excited to have Heidi with us for Christmas, but this year I am over the top excited about having her around to celebrate.

I seriously cannot get a picture of her without her cheesy grin unless I catch her off guard...and then she usually has a weird look on her face.  I couldn't believe she didn't pull the hat off as soon as it went on. 

Thankfully, while Heidi absolutely adores the tree and is amazed by it every morning (as soon as we turn on the lights she points excitedly and whispers, "wow" repeatedly), she has no interest in playing with the ornaments or presents, or really being near the tree alone in general.  She's actually a little scared of it I think.

Now if only I could get a picture of her in the hat and by the tree--or even just by the tree by herself. 

A rare picture without a cheeser, but looking far more serious than she is.  She was amazed by the light up snowman and entertained herself for quite sometime.  I am shocked that she hasn't pulling at all the Christmas decorations, but she just points and looks at them.  She likes to point at the Santa and say, "ho, ho, ho".  She picked up on that one fast.  I have a feeling he won't seem quite so jolly when we take a trip to the mall to meet Santa in person.  If you know Heidi, you know that's going to go over really well!

I feel so blessed to be able to celebrate our Savior's birth this time of year and of course, all the fun traditions that go along with the season!