Merry Christmas!

I hope you all are having a holly jolly holiday season! We have been enjoying lots of friends and family. Here is a run-down of what has been going on in the Henderson house.

Elyn flipped over by herself on Monday night! Matthew and I were both sitting right there when it happened! I have been trying to get it on video but she is camera shy and hasn't performed for me. I can't believe that she is going to be 3 months old next week! Time is flying (I know I say that all the time, but it is so true!)

Matthew's parents and step-parents made a visit to our house this week. It was a great time and Nora really enjoyed getting to know her grandparents better. She can say most of their names (Gram and Grampa are kind of hard because of the "G" sound...she's getting there) and was thrilled to have new playmates for a few days. Elyn was true to form and pretty laid back most of the time. She would let anyone hold her and usually fell asleep if someone held her long enough.

We have spent the afternoon today with just the 4 of us. It has been so nice! I told Matthew that this is the first time in long time that we haven't had to rush through the day to complete something that was due the next day. We have been able to enjoy our time together and not feel pressured to do something else.

Tomorrow we are going to go shopping for some last minute stocking stuffers. I know, we are CRAZY to even think about getting out on Christmas Eve. But, honestly, I like the hustle and bustle of the holiday crowds.

I am so excited about Christmas morning! We are starting our family tradition this year of waking up at home on Christmas morning. It will make the actual day of Christmas a little hectic, but I think it is important that Santa come to our house. I remember waking up in my own bed on Christmas mornings when I was little (a few times we were somewhere else, but mostly, we were at home) and being so excited about what Santa had left under our tree. I want Nora and Elyn to experience that same thing.

We almost had a Christmas disaster this year. Matthew and I have known for months that we were going to get Nora a kitchen set for Christmas. We even had it picked out. It was the perfect toddler size and didn't cost as much as one our own appliances, like some play kitchens we had seen. We didn't get it months ago when we decided this because we didn't want to have to store the box. Big mistake! We went last week (I know, that is very late!) to get it and it was sold out! We called all the stores in Northwest Arkansas and they were sold out too!!!!!! Actually, one salesman laughed at Matthew when he asked about it. Not only were all the kitchen sets at Wal-Mart sold out, but at ToysRUs too. Thankfully, Matthew found this one and it will be set up under the tree on Tuesday morning. Lesson learned: don't worry so much about storage!

We are leaving Tuesday morning to go to Texas to see my family. We will be there until January 1st. We are really looking forward to getting to see more family and, hopefully, relaxing.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Last weekend, it snowed (barely an inch), but Nora was impressed with it and watched from the back window for a while.

We had our Bible study group to our house last week and let the kids make sugar cookies. They weren't quite sure what to do at first, but ended up enjoying it. Although, I think they liked the dough best of all. Nora and Elyn spending time with Pops and Lee Lee (Matthew's dad and stepmom)

Nora opening her present from Gram and Grampa.

Matthew's mom made all of the bedding to go on the doll bed! Nora loves putting her doll to bed and saying, "Night night!"

Nora and Elyn with Grampa and Gram (Matthew's mom and stepdad)

Elyn sitting in her Bumbo seat for the first time! She looks so tiny!

Merry Christmas from the Hendersons!

(Poor Elyn...it's an awful picture of her, we took it this morning after church...one day she will learn how to smile)

Who do we look like?

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

New look

Well, I have a new look and a new title. Yea! It was so easy to do...because I did nothing! If you like the look, try out the gal who designed it. Her link is at the bottom on the left. Let me know if the font colors need to be changed for easier reading. Thanks Jennisa!

Happenings

We have been extremely busy lately...keeping up with an active toddler, learning how to "dare to discipline", finishing a semester of graduate classes, taking pictures with a new camera, shopping, watching the snow, attending Christmas parties, going to the gym, keeping out of the rain, and trying to get some rest.

Nora is keeping us busy!!!!!! We are struggling to find the balance between loving and disciplining. It's not an easy task and is truly exhausting. I feel like I have conquered major battles at the end of the day, knowing that the same battles will be there for me the next day. I am wondering if the three teeth that are threatening to break through her sensitive gums are an excuse for her fussiness. It's either that or the normalcy of toddler behavior. Either way, it is wearing me out!

Matthew and I have both finished our semester of graduate classes. I really enjoyed my students this semester. They taught me a great deal. It is always nice to go to class when you enjoy the people you will be interacting with. Matthew finished his first semester as a doctoral student Monday night. He got his grades yesterday and I am happy to report that he received A's in both classes. One semester down, many more to go.

We got a new camera last weekend! We are loving it and I can't wait to go to Texas and get some professional help from my stepfather. I'm hoping I won't miss sweet expressions and unforgettable moments now.

Matthew and I got to go shopping tonight. It was Parent's Night Out at church and we dropped off Nora and took Elyn with us. Elyn slept the entire time, so it was kind of like it was just the two of us. Soooo nice!

The weather has been crazy here lately. Last week it rained cats and dogs almost every day. It was brutal getting in and out of the van with Elyn and Nora. Usually, when I reached the front door of my destination, I was soaked. Today, it snowed!!! Not enough to cancel anything, but it was pretty to see. Nora called it "no"...very cute. Her new favorite things are "no man".

I went to the gym twice last week. It was great! I am spending 30 minutes on the treadmill each day and think my flabby parts are already becoming a little bit more toned.

We have gone to two Christmas parties this week. It is so nice to have such wonderful friends to spend time with!

I hope you all are enjoying your holiday season! Matthew finishes school on Thursday and his dad and stepmom are coming to our house Thursday night. They are leaving Saturday morning and his mom and stepdad are coming Saturday evening. We are looking forward to both visits.

And what you came to see...pictures of the girls:

12 days of Christmas-a remix

My sister-in-law sent this to me and I thought it was pretty fun. Maybe we'll see these guys on "Clash of the Choirs".

Disappointing pictures

We had the girls' picture made last week, hoping to get a good one for the Christmas card.

We didn't get any good ones:

Two accomplishments

1. Elyn slept from 11:00 pm to 6:15 am!!!!!! Way to go baby girl! Although she slept for over 7 hours, I woke up 3 times wondering when she was going to be ready to eat...I was ready for her to!

2. We made it to the gym this morning! I walked (at a rather fast pace, I think) on the treadmill for 30 minutes and then called it a day. A good start.

I'm not one of those women

Before I had children, I would hear women talk about how when they breastfed their children the weight just "fell right off of them". During my first pregnancy, talk like that gave me hope. I planned on nursing Nora from the beginning. I had dreams that by the time I went back for my 6 weeks check-up I would be back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Those dreams were destroyed within the first few weeks of her life.

I think I probably went for my 6 weeks check-up with Nora wearing maternity clothes and I am positive that I went for my 6 weeks check-up with Elyn wearing maternity clothes.

I am not one of those women who sees the weight falling off.

I hang on to the weight (or it hangs on me to be more precise) the entire time I am nursing! I read one time that a women who is breastfeeding is not going to lose that last 5 pounds (or in my case-10 pounds) until she has weaned BECAUSE if there was a natural disaster and she was not able to eat, she would still be able to feed her child because of the extra fat that she had.

Bring on the natural disaster and let's put that theory to the test! I think some woman came up with that lame theory because she was having trouble losing the last 5 pounds.

Not only do I have trouble buttoning my pants sometimes because of the "survival fat" but none of my shirts fit me like they are supposed to because of the expansion of my chest. After having Nora I did not understand why women spend thousands of dollars to have their breasts augmented. It still makes no sense to me. Bigger isn't always better in my opinion. Although, I can understand why women would spend thousands of dollars to put the "girls" back where they belong.

Elyn is 9 weeks old and I have been given the "okay" to exercise for 3 weeks now. Friday is the day!!!!! One of my Christmas presents is a gym membership (thanks mom!) WITH free childcare. I am excited about possibly becoming one of those women who has the weight fall off. Only, I am going to have to actually work at it.

2 months old

Elyn turned two months old today...time is going by sooooo fast!!!! I cannot believe she has lived in our house for that long. I also can't believe she has lived in our bedroom for that long-I am ready to introduce her to her OWN room. Any day now, we will kick Nora out and move Elyn in.

She has turned into a super baby! The past week, she has been going to bed between 8:30 and 9:30 and sleeping until 3am or 4am. I feed her and she goes back to sleep until 7:30am. I think that is fantastic! She is pretty laid back and has only been crying when she is hungry or tired. If her big sister doesn't try to interrupt her naps then she gets some good naps during the day. For some reason, she doesn't like Mondays (but, hey, who does?). The past 3 Mondays, she has cried all day long. And it's only on Mondays...weird.

We are so incredibly blessed to have two healthy girls (although, Elyn has been waking us up at night with a horrible cough and sneezing. Notice I wrote "us", she sleeps through it).

I leave you with some pictures of our girls:

WHAT????? I am 2 months old already?

Okay, I'm over the shock

Before Nora saw Santa

Look at her neck...it looks like a lizard

Nora loves these sunglasses. Usually she puts them on and then says, "Munny (funny)!"

This is the swing that Elyn hangs out in during the day. She looks so relaxed.

Nora is thinking: I do not want my picture made in our matching pajamas!!!! Golly mom, why do you always have to take our picture every time we have something matching on? It is getting old! Quit dressing us alike!

Elyn is thinking: Please support my neck!!!! Oh wait, I'm sliding, I'M SLIDING! Hey lady, you with the camera, rescue me! The kid has no idea what she is doing and she looks angry.

Tonight they took their first bath together. As soon as I got Elyn out and we got her little bathtub out, Nora lay down in the tub and stretched out...I guess she was glad to have the tub all to herself again. Get used to sharing kiddo-it is the game you will play for the rest of your life