Christmas 2008

So I'm slacking a little, all my friends have their posts up about Christmas and I'm just now getting to mine. Christmas Eve was spent at our house. Tammy's sisters and brother-in-lawame over for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of pizza. We then had Family Home Evening where we went through a quick version of the Nativity Story for Isabella. Then we settled down to watch "White Christmas." Another Christmas Eve tradition. In the midst of all that, Ken, Isabella, and I opened our presents. Santa visited our house a day early knowing that Christmas Day would be very busy for us. Santa gave us some great gifts and Isabella got a few toys. I was pleasantly surprised that Ken listened to my hinting and I got the big George Foreman grill that actually has removeable plates. Now I can grill all our dinner at once instead of one steak/burger at a time....at least in the winter, in the summer we use the gas grill.

This was Ken asleep on the living room floor with Isabella's new Cabbage Patch Doll while we were watching "White Christmas."


On Christmas Day, we went over to spend the day with Ken's family. We went to his sister, Margie's house, and had breakfast and opened presents. Isabella was completely spoiled by her aunts and uncles and of course, she is enjoying every toy that she got. And Ken was very excited that he got Madden NFL '09. After that, we came home so that Isabella could take a nap. That lasted about 45 minutes. Then it was back over to Margie's for dinner. Dinner was wonderful and very filling.

The day after Christmas, Tammy's brother and his family drove down from Gettysburg for a Dixon Christmas. We ate another wonderful dinner, then it was time for more presents. Again, we were quite spoiled. Tammy's parents gave them the ice cream maker for Tammy's Kitchenaid mixer and they gave Ken Guitar Hero World Tour. We've thoroughly enjoyed playing both already. Isabella was also spoiled again.

Now we're just trying to recover and reorganize our house to accommodate all our new stuff.

And of course, this past Sunday while Isabella was not letting us go to Sunday School, she tripped and her forehead ran into the wall. I mean, I know they have the textured walls so that you don't see scuff marks, but seriously, this is the mark they leave.


Now, here's a few fun random pictures.
Isabella decided she needed to lay on her Daddy's face to drink her bottle.


Isabella playing Wii with her Uncle Mike.


Isabella loves to lounge in her ducky chair.


Do we have a computer nerd on our hands?

The aftershots

She turned out pretty cute if I may say so myself. I got lots of compliments on her hair at our Church Christmas Party. She was not quite as happy when I was taking the curlers out as when I put them in. But her Daddy was helpful and distracted her with the candy bowl and then some Nilla Wafers.

Is it wrong....

Is it wrong of me to torture my daughter in the name of beauty? No seriously, she wasn't too bad while I was putting the curlers in, I just had to distract her with food. And she looks so cute with all those curlers in. I'll do another post once the curlers come out.

My daughter is a cookie thief

Isabella decided to steal a cookie off her Daddy's lap and then tease him. She thought it was hysterical. And for once, we actually had the video camera ready.

Gearing up for Christmas 2008

Christmas Time is here!

So we have started some of our decorating for Christmas. We have our tree up. We even bought some plastic ornaments that it wouldn't be a big deal if Isabella got ahold of them. I put the tree up while she was taking a nap, so it was fun to see her when she got her first look at the tree. And even though it may look like she's helping to decorate the tree in the pictures below, she's really un-decorating the tree. She's been pretty good today and hasn't bothered it too much. I have a feeling that we will be re-decorating every couple days or so.

Black Friday

Yes, my sisters and I were a little crazy and went shopping on Black Friday. Potomac Mills opened at 12am. We got there a little before 2am and the parking lot was packed.



We went to all the stores we wanted to in the mall and were done about 4:30. We then trekked down to the Rt 1 Walmart. We got there about 20 minutes before it opened and the line was wrapped around the building. We were smart and waited in the nice warm car and waited until the line was mostly in the building before we went in. After that we left and got to Home Depot at 6am. We got the last two of the Prelit Xmas trees that were on sale. Then we headed over to Kmart. We were done shopping and I was home in bed asleep by 7:30am. Not too shabby and we got some awesome deals. And now I only have a few more xmas presents to buy.


A week or so ago, Mike got a huge box of server equipment (yes, he's a big nerd). Isabella had fun playing in the box.


And here's my little DIVA. She had her beads and Aunt Pam's fuzzy scarf on. She was quite the show.


And just a fun close up of my munchkin.

Headstart on the Xmas pics

So, we decided to go walk the mall tonight and of course, we happened upon Santa's village. So we thought we'd beat the rush and crowds and get Isabella's picture with Santa. She wasn't quite as excited about it as us. But we got a couple good pictures. Check it out:

Mom and Dad are leaving

Mom and Dad are leaving next Monday to head out west for their mission. They're going to spend Thanksgiving with Russell and Emily and then up and spend some time with those in Utah. I'm excited for them to go on a mission, however, I am sad that they won't be around here.

Last Sunday we held an Open House for people to come and say their farewells. The day before we spent the day getting their house ready. We even put Isabella to work. Nothing like starting them early.





Mom and Dad took us out to El Charro that night for dinner as a thank you. Afterwards, a few people crashed on Mom and Dad's couch.



I couldn't resist adding in this video of my crazy child!



And doesn't she look just darn cute today.


She also now moos and meows. We're working on some other animals with her too. She can also say flower. She's saying more and more every day. I'm excited because maybe soon we'll actually know what the heck she's saying.

My daughter, the couch potato...

I couldn't help but laugh when I looked down this morning and saw this.



Of course, I had to take a picture. She did not learn this from me. Ken likes to lounge on the floor using one of the couch pillows, so she was laying there like Daddy. New teeth alert for Isabella, watch you fingers anywhere near her mouth. She has two molars on top, one molar on the bottom, and the other bottom molar about to cut through. I swear she's been teething constantly since she was about 6 months old.

I got a new calling at church on Sunday. (For those that aren't LDS, this is basically a new assignment for service in the church.) I am now the Visiting Teaching Coordinator. Mom had been doing half the job and another sister was doing the other half. Well, they're going to combine the two halves again and I will do it all, especially since Mom is leaving, and the other sister is also leaving. I'm excited, I've known for a while I would get a calling in Relief Society, I just didn't know what. As long as its not RS President, I'm cool!

If I ever see another apple....

The canning is complete. Hooray!!!! I'm a little tired of apples now. Maybe we'll shoot for just one bushel next year instead of two. The grand total of what I canned: 11 pints of Spiced Apple Rings, 12 quarts of Applesauce, 7 quarts of Apple Pie Filling, and 24 half-pints and 2 pints of Apple Butter. Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas? =D

And can I just say that my husband is awesome! He was so great when he got home last night and took care of Isabella while I finished making applesauce. Then when I was done, he gave me a nice neck massage. It was great and I was tired and really appreciated, especially after cutting, cooking, and grinding apples from about 3pm to 8:30pm. I am a really lucky gal.

I hope everyone was able to get out there and cast your vote today. I went this morning and was in and out in 5 minutes.

Isabella had a doctors appt this morning, she is doing awesome. She's in the 75 percentile for height and the 95th for weight and head circumference. So she's doing great. She was not happy when they gave her the first half of her flu shot. Unforunately we have to go back in a month to get the second half.

And here's some proof that she talks, or rather yells (Anne do you remember Stoney yelling at all of us when he was her age?), and ignore the side conversation please:

My crazy child

I couldn't help but share the following two videos of my crazy daughter dancing. And heaven forbid she dance on anything but the book!







Canning update - I did four and a half quarts of applesauce today after having issues with the things I had not working to break the apples down enough. I finally got frustrated and went to Target to buy a food mill, which they did not have. I was going to buy a food processor but then, I found the food grinder attachment for the Kitchen Aid mixer. Hallelujah for that. I got it and it took me about 10 minutes to grind up the apples for that much applesauce. Unfortunately though, the pint jar broke in the water bath. Now I just have a bushel and a half left to do something with. I plan on still doing spiced apple rings, more applesauce, and some apple butter. Luckily the applesauce and apple butter take lots of apples.

Canning update

So I did my first batch of canning. It was only 7 jars of apple pie filling, so I barely made a dent in the two bushels of apples. But the canning process went well, except I'm impatient with the canner coming back up to a boil. So far all the cans seem to have sealed, which is good. I will probably still do some more pie filling, but I'm also going to do some apple sauce and some spice apple rings. At least I know the apple sauce will make a dent in the boxes of apples! I may even use Betsy's mom's idea of using her turkey fryer (depending on how much propane I have). Then I can have two batches going at a time. One on the deck and one on the stove.

Halloween

Our ward Trunk-or-Treat was last night. Isabella was Tinkerbell. She had a blast wandering all over the gym during the game time. She could have cared less about the games. But when it came to the Trunk-or-Treating, she knew there was candy in her pumpkin.


Tonight we just went over to show off her costume to Ken's parents. Grandma Gallahan gave her a Winnie the Pooh Pumpkin with some candy in it. Ken wasn't feeling all that great so we just headed home after that. I'm thinking next year we won't be able to get away without taking her trick-or-treating.

Williamsburg

Ken, Isabella and I took a nice weekend trip to Williamsburg last weekend. My parents were nice enough to book us a room at the timeshare down there. We drove down Friday and came back on Monday. We enjoyed ourselves. It was unfortunately a little damp on Saturday when we went into Colonial Williamsburg, but it wasn't too bad. Sunday we went shopping at the Williamsburg Pottery Factory. It was great, we got some Christmas shopping done. Here are a few pics from the trip.

I know, I'm so mean putting my husband and child in the stocks. This is why Mommy has the camera! =D

Need some canning jars?

So I got two bushels of apples and need to do something with them. I decided I was going to can some of them. I checked my parents house to see if they had empty jars I could use since its been about 10 years since Mom canned. They had some empty jars and Mom said I could empty out the jars they had on their shelves that they hadn't touched in years. I couldn't help but laugh when I pulled some of the jars out. There were cherries that Mom had canned in 1979! And there were a few jars of something that had been canned in 1976!! Crazy! So now I have plenty of jars and only have to buy lids. Woo hoo. I'll get back to you on how the canning goes.

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My turn to be tagged....

So I'm the one who got tagged this time. I'll do that in a minute. Quick update on our weekend. Isabella and I went up to Gettysburg along with my parents and Linda and Mike. Eric and Jenni just bought a house in downtown Gettysburg and were going to be doing some work on it. The plan was to get a fence built and maybe work on some painting inside. Their living room was pumpkin orange. Just a little bright! When we left that evening, all the fence posts were in and cemented and the living room, kitchen, and playroom had been primed. Not too shabby for a days work. Isabella had fun exploring and watching all the activity going on. This next weekend is a trip to Williamsburg for just Ken, Isabella, and I.

Now for the tagging:

How did we meet? We met at Institute but it took about 8 years before we started dating. At that point we saw each other in the hall at church and said we need to get together and hang out. Ken then went to Florida to visit a friend and called me a couple times from there. When he got back, we went out and I guess you could say the rest is history.

Where did you go on your first date? We went bowling and then to see the movie "Chronicles of Narnia." Our second date is funnier though, it was to the Adult session of Stake Conference.

How long have you been together? Since we started dating, it will be three years in January.

Who said I love you first? I think I did but it was in a card I left on his car.

Who is taller? Ken, but only but a few inches

Who sings better? Ken would probably say me, but his voice isn't too bad.

Who does the laundry? Ken definitely does more of the laundry which I am extremely grateful. I hate hauling clothes all the way to the basement and back.

Who does the dishes? Both, but Ken definitely does more than I do.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Definitely me. It just ended up that way when we got married.

Who pays the bills? I do.

Who mows the lawn? Ken, well weedwacks it anyways.

Who cooks dinner? I do.

Who drives when you are together? Ken does. Once in a while he's too tired or doesn't feel well and I do.

Who is more stubborn? I definitely am and I know Ken would agree with that one.

Who kissed who first? Ken kissed me (barely), but I must say it was mutual.

Who is more sensitive? Me, for sure.

Who proposed? Ken did. He came to pick me up for a date and when we walked out to the car, he had a path of roses with notes attached to them. At the end of the path was a bouquet with a note attached that asked me to marry him. I turned around and he had the ring box out. Obviously I said yes.

Who has more siblings? Me, I have 7 siblings and he has 3.

Who wears the pants? We both do, that how our marriage stays good, we both give and take.

Halloween is almost here!

Like the new background. That's all for Ken!

So I'm almost ready for Halloween. We have the candy and I've had to hide it from Ken. He keeps asking for it and then gets mad when I won't get some for him. Ha ha, I have the power! He'll say he wants to start eating healthy and then five minutes later will be asking for some candy. His excuse is that its not as bad if he's sharing with Isabella. Of course, I'm not helping with his eating healthy. I've been on a baking binge and I've made homemade bread and cookies and this week I made some pumpkin bread....from scratch, like cooking the pumpkin and everything. And I finished a crochet project. Good thing too since they're for Isabella's Halloween costume. She will be Tinkerbell and the only shoes they have in stores are the dress-up heels that she's just too little for. So I crocheted some Mary Jane slippers to match her costume. Check em out. I think I did a pretty good job.


Otherwise, we've just been hanging out. I'm working on a couple crochet projects, and I'm not specifying what, they might be christmas presents for someone. My brother, Eric, and his family are in the area from England. They're staying with Jenni's sister in Gettysburg, but they were down yesterday to visit with all of us. Isabella had a ball. She played hard and crashed even harder last night. Eric and Jenni and the gang will be moving back stateside at the end of the year. They were here for their final adoption hearing on the twins and to close on the house they're buying in Gettysburg. It was fun seeing them and it will be nice to have them close enough to drive to rather than having to fly to see them.

Otherwise things are quiet. Ken and I were released from the Activities Committee at church. Ken is the financial clerk for our Ward. And I do not have a calling for the time being. I'm sure that will be changing sometime soon.

Isabella is starting to talk a lot more. Her favorite phrase is "get it." Sometimes she'll say "I did it." She's been saying Mama and Dada for a while but now she'll specify Grandma (G-mama) or Grandpa (G-da). Sometimes she'll say Linda's name. She likes to play Patty Cake and sing songs. Her favorite song at the moment goes as follows:

If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops
Oh what a rain it would be
Standing outside with my mouth open wide
ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah

It works quite well to get her to open her mouth to brush her teeth. All 10 of them. She cut two molars last week! And we just introduced her to Hi-5 on Discovery Kids. She is mesmerized by them. They're slightly annoying to me, but I guess there could be worse shows.

And here are some fun but random pictures for you.

This is what Isabella looks like after feeding herself. Sometimes its even worse than this. A lot of the times its worse than this.


HELP! I'm being attacked by a giant banana. Don't ask. Ken thought it would be fun so he bought a giant stuffed banana.


Don't mind me, I'm just chillin' in my car seat.


We went out to dinner tonight and stopped at one of the beaches on Lake Montclair afterwards. They have a dolphin sculpture and Isabella enjoyed sitting on it.

Pennsylvania

We all went up to visit Tammy's Aunt Pat and Uncle Rich in Mechanicsburg, PA, a few weeks ago. Tammy moved Isabella in with Ken while she got in the shower, when she came out, this is what she found.

Isabella had decided to shove her Pooh bear in her Daddy's face and take over the bed.


On the way there, Isabella took a nice nap holding on to Aunt Pam's hand. A few miles before Rich and Pat's house, Ken decided to stop at this Western Wear store to look at their Cowboy Boots. Isabella got to ride a horse and meet a buffalo.




Look, Daddy made me look so pretty.


Look what I can do now!!




Unfortunately Ken had to go out of town for work on our Anniversary. So we celebrated our Anniversary this past Friday evening. Ken gave me roses before we went out to dinner. Isn't he sweet?



And here's a sneak peek of Isabella's Halloween costume.


And finally, I have to say on behalf of my husband: GO REDSKINS!!! They beat the Cowboys.