Christmas 2015 plus other updates

My goodness, can you believe it is 2016??? It is a little alarming to see how quickly life is passing by. My baby girl is getting big so quickly, and I already feel like I'm grasping at time, trying to hold on to these precious days. On days when the puppy and toddler are doing their best to drive me insane, I try so hard to remind myself "these are the days I will miss someday". And oh, how true is that?!

On December 20th, Victoria turned 18 months old, and I cannot even say how amazing it has been to see the transformation over the last 6 months from baby to toddler.

 She is still very tall for her age, although her growth has finally slowed down. At 34.5" and 27 lbs, she is in the 97th percentile for her age still. Those are 2T clothes

 She is talking quite a bit already, and tries to repeat much of what I say. She is such a happy, social, cuddly little girl. She loves sitting in her little rocking chair with her baby or stuffed animals and flipping through books.

 

This photo gives a good idea of how tall she is! This is my friend's daughter who is 1 month OLDER than Victoria, but 2 clothing sizes smaller. These two are best buddies (and that is our tree behind them!).

 

They love playing with Victoria's new dress-up box, a Christmas gift from my sister.

Speaking of Christmas, this year we had Christmas with my husband's family, so we went to see my family earlier in December for our annual Cookie Day. It was such a fun day, and Victoria even got to help out with some of the baking in her special apron from her Nana (my mom).

And like any good mother, I allowed Victoria to eat some of the cookies, which she loves! Cookie is now one of her favorite words! I allowed her to have a holiday oreo after we got home, and here she is giving me the "more" sign while still eating the oreo!

Just like her mama!

Oh wait, back to Christmas. My family was very generous with us, and Victoria quickly got the hang of opening presents.

One of the most special gifts was from my mom: a collage blanket with all of Victoria's monthly photos on it.

My mom also hit the nail on the head by getting me a new Bible. I had asked for one and she found exactly the right one. (My husband asked if I was going to crop him out of the photo....nope!)

 

 Another hit gift for Victoria was the toy vacuum my brother and sister in law gave her. I keep wishing it actually worked! My floors would be spotless with how many times I find her doing this.

We ended up doing our Christmas celebration at home a little early. We opened our gifts to one another and had a special dinner and Christmas movie night. You may sense a theme, but Victoria's big gift from us was....a broom!

She loves following me around with her little broom while I sweep the floors (usually messing up the pile I just swept up). Her favorite part is when I let her take the dust pan and dump it in the garbage. Am I a cool mom or what?!?! ;)

My favorite part of Christmas gifts is stockings! Those were always the funnest when I was growing up. Victoria's stocking was filled with books this year, which are her favorite "toys". I was invited to an Usborne books party recently and Victoria is loving their touch-and-feel books.

Our city has an amazing zoo, and each year we have a fantastic lights display there. We went for the first time this year and it was so wonderful! Photos could not do it justice

 Victoria loved it too, and was bundled up and relatively happy to be out past her bedtime. (I love the "smile" hat with her super serious face!)

 For Christmas we traveled to be with my husband's family. We decided that this will be the last year we travel for Christmas. In the future we will stay home and travel at other times around the holidays in order to be with extended family. We look forward to starting our own traditions at home.

Just as well this is our last year for traveling, as my leg room in the car seems to be getting quite cramped 

I actually liked all the drive time that we had this year, because it gave my husband and I a lot of time to talk about the real meaning behind Christmas. In the midst of it all, taking time to remember and thank our amazing God, who came down to Earth in human flesh in order to pay the price for our sins. Wow! The magnitude of that is so huge, and we take it so for granted. 

 

Christmas morning at my mother in law's house was wonderful and full of excitement for the children. Victoria received a Baby Stella doll with wild blonde hair just like her. She is such a nurturing little girl and loves to feed/hug/kiss/love on her baby. It is so sweet to see!

Christmas evening was at my husband's aunt's house and included and amazing amount of food. Victoria is a great eater, which I attribute to the advice I got from this book.

We ate lots of traditional Polish foods (my husband is 1st generation American), and Victoria was loving it. It was a very special time with everyone.

After we returned home, Miss Victoria was sick. And since she was generous enough to share the illness with me, I know that she was as miserable as she looks in this photo. (hello, no makeup)

She pretty much just wanted me to hold her like this while she cuddled her dog (inventively named "Woof"). She even brought me her toddler carrier and kept asking "Carry?". Who could say no to this? It's times like this that make me so thankful I am able to be a stay-at-home mom.

So there you have it, a quick little update on my little family and our Christmas. There is still so much more to write about, and I'll get there. 

In the meantime, I'd love to hear about your Christmas! How do you best like to celebrate with
 your family?

*****This blog contains affiliate links, which means I earn a small percentage of any purchases made through the links. Thank you for supporting this blog!*****