Christmas Cards and Tradition

I love Christmas cards! I love picking them out, writing a short personalized note to our friends and I especially love receiving them. I send a ton of Christmas cards out each year and the list keeps growing. Dave is not a fan of supporting the USPS so he gets grumpy when he sees how many I send out. I love unique cards, ones you don't see every day. I came across Minted, a super cute stationary company a few months ago. I love the products and designers. They are not the same cards you see over and over again each year. They are all different, unique, trendy and modern. I will definitely be using them for future purchases.

I started a tradition a few years ago of NOT opening any Christmas cards received until Christmas Eve. I have a card holder hanging over by the fireplace. Each time I go get the mail, all the holiday cards go straight into the holder and sit until the night before Christmas. I love seeing it fill up with all the holiday wishes and photos of our friends and family.

This Christmas Eve we almost didn't make it home as Daniel was in the hospital once again for croup (more about that in another post). Thankfully, we were discharged shortly after dinner time. Dave and I got Daniel settled at home and needed a few hours of chill out time while we waited for the oxygen company to arrive with our condenser for the house. It was the perfect time to have a little holiday joy in the house.

I sat down with the large pile of cards, a nice holiday drink and some peace and quiet while the tot was sound asleep. I love seeing how our friends years have played out and how the families have changed. The photo cards are my favorite!

Dave's Grandmother makes Christmas ornaments for her friends and families and mails them out with her Christmas cards each year. She starts making them in July and this year stitched around 70! That's a lot of home-made ornaments.

And, finally: our cards.

Merry Christmas!

Texas Trip, Part 1

 

 The majority of Dave's relatives live in Texas. We hadn't been down there since Daniel invaded our home so a trip south to meet the family was very needed.

While D had a long flight from Korea to Colorado, we had never been on a flight with him. We had no idea what to expect with flying with a toddler. Daniel had a mild interest in the going-ons of an airport. I think he was or is a little young to understand airplanes. But, he loved looking around and taking all the new details in.

Grandma and Grandpa Wilson were so thrilled to meet their newest great-grandson. He loved playing with his cars and trucks at their house. Grandpa just celebrated his 90th birthday! He was still getting down on the floor to teach Daniel about wrenches and changing tires on his newest v-tech toy.

After our time in El Paso, we hopped on another flight and headed to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Dave's parents, brother and sister in law live there. We are spending about a week here visiting with friends and family.

One of the highlights of this portion is a great evening with Dave's high school friends and their amazing wives and about a bazillion kids. 

We tried really hard for an adults group photo, however, we only had kids to take the picture. It was hysterical; they didn't know how to use the camera.

Tomorrow we are headed to the Gaylord Hotel for photos with Santa. I'll post pictures next week.

Annual Christmas Party

As tradition follows, we host a Christmas party each December. The party is at least 30 years old. My parents started having a neighborhood holiday party when I was first born. Santa came for all the little children and passed out gifts. The party grew over time and eventually it became an event that people all around town talked about. When Dave and I married, we took over the tradition. In past there was a children's party first, then we offered childcare at a nearby rental home in our neighborhood so the parents could enjoy a night out without kids.

This year, the first half of December was (and still is) beyond hectic. Dave was out of town for a week and 36 hours after he came home, we were flying down to Texas for 2 weeks. We had a very small window of time for the annual party.

While I was somewhat disappointed I had to scale things down in interest of time and planning, the party was a wonderful evening filled with holiday cheer.

Dave "practicing" being Santa

Daniel's first Santa experience. He was completely fine for about 30 seconds. Then suddenly, tears and hysteria took over.

 

Thanks for coming! We had a great party and we'll do it all over again next December.

November

November was a whirlwind of activity. My parents came to visit for a week and a half around Thanksgiving, Daniel's life was filled with school and playgroup, my work load picked up a bit, and the holiday season was in full swing before I even had a chance to catch my breath. Rather than explain in detail, I'll let a few photos tell the story.

We spent a Saturday in Denver exploring the Children's Museum. Daniel got a kick out of the Denver Cow near the entrance.

 

Little D was fascinated by the bubble exhibit and loved popping the soapy suds.

 

My parents came to visit late in the month to celebrate Thanksgiving and see their little grandson.

 

Daniel LOVED Thanksgiving dinner and ate more cranberry sauce in one sitting than I have in my entire life. 

I am so thankful for this smiling 19 month old boy.

 

During the last month or so, D started playing independently. One morning I couldn't find him. After a minute or two of looking, I found him in our front foyer sitting happily in this box playing with cars. It brought a smile to my face. One for how adorable it was and two for some peace and quiet.

 

Winter is here, although it has barely snowed by Breckenridge standards. D loves to play outside, regardless of the weather. He often brings me his snow boots and asks, "out"? He is perfectly content walking up and down our road in the snow, playing on his tricycle in the driveway or sledding with Daddy. I'm so glad he likes the cold weather and snow. Just like his Mommy.

Finalization

This post is only one month late, my apologies! November 16th was an important day in the Delahoz Family. While Dave and I have been parents to Daniel for quite some time now, in the eyes of the government we are now his legal parents!

The finalization date was the final step of the legal process in Daniel's adoption. It was a bittersweet feeling. It's one that is hard to explain. It's amazing of course, but at the same time, the adoption has consumed so much of the past two years of our lives. It's a very long chapter that has closed. However, the real story is now just beginning!