Putting Up the Christmas Tree

Katie and I decided to put up the Christmas tree a little later than usual this year because of the cats. Last year, they kept pulling off the tinsel and lights, and our tree was pretty much destroyed by Christmas. This year, we had a new tree. It was pre-lit, so we didn't worry so much about the light strings. We also decided to leave the garland off this year to try to help. It didn't take long for the cats to start exploring though.

From the time we got the tree upright, the cats started checking things out! 

It didn't take long for General Washington to find a comfortable spot. 

Then Mr. Limpet joined in for the fun! 

Eventually the cats cleared out, so we could start decorating. 

Christmas trees make me happy!

Painting

Katie wanted to do some crafts for the Christmas season. One of the things she chose to do was to paint a little box. She got one for everyone in the family. She loved it!

My mom left parts of her box blank, but I ended up painting every single part of mine!

Another Attempt at Popsicles

Katie is determined to make a delicious popsicle. She has tried freezing orange juice and freezing grapes in water, but those recipes didn't satisfy her, so she tried a new recipe.

I knew I wanted fruit in my popsicles for sure, so I added grapes and cuties. 

After adding the fruit, I shoved vanilla ice cream in the container. 

I thought it would be perfect! In the end, I fed popsicles to Aunt Jennifer and Grandma, but I never tried one myself.

Time with Garyldine

When Katie spent some time with Garyldine during the beginning of the holiday season, she spent the day trying to figure out how to get Garyldine's elf to show up again.

Garyldine and I put her elf, Tito's, shirt on this mannequin and made him a sweet treat to try to convince him to come. 

We also made snow for him and put things for him to play with in it. 

 After that, we did a "3 Color Challenge."

This was my picture.

Finally, we made a note for Tito!

Treats for Nigel

Each night while Katie's elf was here, she would write him a letter, but she would also give him a little tiny bag of treats and make games for him to play at night.

I was pretty sure that Nigel would like candy and playing games of Tic-Tac-Toe with me!

A Special Guest

When Debby was staying with Jennifer, Sadie got to stay with us, and Katie loved it!

I spent a lot of time petting Sadie. 

I also comforted her when she missed Jennifer! 

Sometimes I gave her special treats, and... 

...of course she got some hugs!

Designing Hair

Katie has had so much fun lately experimenting with hairstyles on her doll.

Sometimes I just take a moment to think of the hairstyles before I make them.

Seeing Aunt Debby

When my dad was in the hospital, my older sister, Debby, came to visit. Katie was so happy to see her again. She was so happy, in fact, that she decided to share the turkey wish bone with her.

Aunt Debby made sure that I had a wish. 

Then we pulled and pulled and... 

...I got my wish!

A Sad Goodbye

The day after Thanksgiving, my dad was admitted into the hospital, and after a short sickness, he passed away peacefully. Every time Katie came to visit him in the hospital, she put a smile on his face, which made us all happy to see. We were all so sad to say good-bye.

I will miss you, Grandpa! You were always nice to me and gave me something to laugh about!

Thanksgiving, 2019

We had a relaxed Thanksgiving like we usually do just the way we like it!

Of course, on a holiday, SnapChat makes an appearance! 

I became a pilgrim, and...

...so did my mom! 

I had gotten some Thanksgiving herbs out of my school garden, so when Aunt Jennifer was making the stuffing, I added my herbs. 

As you can see by my plate, I don't eat a lot of Thanksgiving food. My favorite part is a roll. I tried the stuffing this year, but I gave it a great big thumbs down. I'll stick to my regular food. 

After we finished eating, SnapChat came out again. 

Aunt Jennifer even got in on the action. 

After we ate, we took dinner to Grandpa because he wasn't feeling up to joining us at our house. We wanted to make sure he had some of our feast though.

Our Thanksgiving Tradition

If you've been reading the blog for awhile, you probably know about our Thanksgiving tradition of "Will Katie fit in the stuffing pot this year?" We mix our stuffing in a large pot before we stuff the turkey. From year one, we have stuck Katie in the stuffing pot. We keep expecting that she will no longer fit, but to she is still flexible enough to get inside!

Of course I can still sit in the pot! 

All I have to do is fold my body together!

The Return of Nigel

After her elf pets made their appearance this season, Katie could not wait for her elf, Nigel, to return. She didn't have to wait long.

I found you, Nigel! 

He was mixed in with some other toys. 

I couldn't wait to start writing letters to Nigel! We write to each other every night.

Writing, Writing, Writing

I love that Katie loves to write! I hope she never loses that.

I think it's relaxing to spend time writing and drawing.

Finding Jennifer's Elf

Katie was so happy when she went to my sister's house and saw that her Elf on the Shelf had shown up.

Aunt Jennifer's elf was in her North Pole village. She named her elf Elfaba after Elphaba in Wicked.

The Return of the Elf Pets

Katie was so happy when she found that her Elf Pets had returned for the season! She loves them!

First, I saw my reindeer, Genevieve! 

Then I saw my St. Bernard, Natalie! I was so happy!

A Fun Book

After Katie does her homework, she likes to work in a book that she got at the book fair. It has things to read in it, but it also has things to do. She loves it!

I love any time you can combine reading with creativity and art. 

On these pages, I got to design these food trucks. 

I made each truck a little different. 

I had so much fun!

Trying a New Food

A little while back, Katie decided that she wanted to try pomegranates. At first, she thought she liked them, but as it turned out, she only liked the juice. At least she tried!

You never know what to expect on the first bite! 

Parts were good, other parts weren't so good!

Storing the Boxes

After building the village, Jennifer and Katie stored all of the boxes under the village tables. For Jennifer, it was part of the work. For Katie, it was fun!

Aunt Jennifer carefully stacked all the boxes while I thought this was the perfect play house. 

Eventually, though, I tried my best to help.

Building a Christmas Village

Later that same day, we went to my sister's house where Katie helped Jennifer put up her Christmas village. It was a lot of work!

When I got to Aunt Jennifer's house, the tables were set up, but I helped with every part of the decorating. 

I had to help decide where the houses would sit. 

It's more work than you might think. 

Little by little the village started taking shape. 

Sometimes I had to stretch to reach everything.

I even put some fences up around the village. 

I loved putting the accessories up because it made the village so much more interesting! 

At the end, we got to scatter snow all over! 

Our village was big! 

We loved the end result!