6th Day of Christmas-video

Success! When I was able to successfully upload a video to another post, I decided to try this one, one more time. Hooray! It worked!

6th Day of Christmas

Friday – On the sixth day of Christmas, it’s time to do some baking. I’m getting all the supplies for the goodies we will be making.

Every year we have been married, we have made Christmas goodies together. We usually give them as gifts to neighbors and co-workers. This year, we decided to let Landry in on the tradition. Our baking line-up consisted of: Peanut Butter Balls, Boiled Cookies, Chess Bars, White Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods, Chocolate Truffles, and Cut-Out Sugar Cookies (just for Landry). We figured all the other things would be a little difficult to make with a soon-to-be two-year-old running around the kitchen. But sugar cookies were perfect.

Here are a few pictures we were able to capture.

Daddy is showing her how it's done.

Having fun with the flour

Sprinkles were the best part!

Landry's finished project

Baking is hard work!

Once again, I tried to upload a video, but Blogger was being incredibly stubborn. I will try to post it separately on another blog post.

5th day of Christmas

Here is the note Cory received today:

Thursday - On the fifth day of Christmas, another BUSY day for you. But that's ok, we'll manage. Let's spend just a few minutes reminiscing about our Christmases Past.

So I tried very hard to upload the awesome video I made for Cory, but blogger was not having it. Instead, I will post a few pictures of all of our Christmases from 2002 till now.

12 Days of Christmas

Last year, someone told me about a tradition she does with her family. It is called "The 12 Days of Christmas." 12 days before Christmas, she begins to leave a notes for her children, one for each day. The note tells the children of a special activity they will do as a family that day. These activities range from drinking hot chocolate together, to Christmas Caroling at a nursing home. The sky is the limit, really. It's just a way to insure meaningful family-time during the holidays rather than letting the hustle and bustle get in the way.

Well since Landry is not quite old enough to read or understand about traditions, I started this tradition with Cory. I also started it early, so we would have our 12 days of Christmas before we left to go out of town. We are on our 4th day, and it has been wonderful! I have to admit, it has been very challenging with Cory's busy schedule, but we have made it happen. I have labeled an envelope "12 Days of Christmas," and each day I put a new message inside. He awakes to find it on the table each morning, and sometime during that day we do the special activity. Here are the messages he has received so far:

Sunday - On the 1st day of Christmas, our celebrations begin. Let’s cuddle up and watch a Christmas movie together.

Monday – On the 2nd day of Christmas, let’s enjoy an evening together. We’ll bring Landry to see Santa at the Mall.

Tuesday – On the 3rd day of Christmas, let’s enjoy the sights. Let’s drive around town and look at Christmas lights. Afterwards, we can go on our ice cream date or Starbucks, your choice.

Wednesday – On the 4th day of Christmas, we are busy, busy, busy. But at least we can share a dinner together. What are you craving? It's your choice tonight.

I won't give away the surprise for the other days yet, but I'll be sure to blog about them later.

Santa Claus Has come to Town

And Landry wants to have NOTHING to do with him! She has been going through a bashful stage lately, especially around strange men. So I didn't really expect anything different. But I want to make sure I get a picture of her with Santa every year. I have seen families who display the pictures from year to year, and it is so cute to see how they change. I'd say, right now, we are 0 for 2 when it comes to having successful Santa visits.

Here are last year's pictures....

She didn't mind telling him "Bye Bye"

And this is this year....

She didn't even want to look at him

The look on her face is priceless!

Christmas Photo Shoot

Today, I took Landry to the local Botanical Gardens to take some Christmas Pictures of her. They have a large porch with white railings, so I thought it would be a good backdrop. I have to admit, I LOVE the way these turned out! Her smile just lights me up! Here are just a few....

Van-Driving Veulemans

Yes, that's right! We now are the proud owners of a 2007 Honda Odyssey Minivan. Cory and I are not like most young couples. We do not cringe at the idea of becoming minivan people. We have actually been anxious for this day. I guess it's because we like practicality. We take a lot of long trips. Our family is growing. There is no better vehicle for those purposes.

We had casually looked at minivans, specifically Hondas, for the last couple of months. We had never gotten real serious about it. But yesterday, as I was waiting for Cory to get home, a Dark Cherry Pearl minivan drove into our driveway. To my surprise, it was Cory. I assumed he was test-driving it. But as I walked outside, he handed me the key and said, "You want to take your new van for a drive? Merry Christmas." I was shocked and excited. He had been at the dealership haggling for three hours.

Landry liked it too. I took her outside to get inside. She was amazed at how big it was, and didn't want to leave. She thought it was a new place for her to play. I haven't taken pictures of it yet, and right now it is too dark and cold for pictures. So here is a picture I got offline of a van that looks almost identical.

Stow and go seating......nice for trips home!