Christmas Traditions

The Peanut turned 5 months old on Wednesday and while we were all smiles and giggles  because our little girl is growing by leaps and bounds, she is still stuffy and congested with a terrible cough. This is day 5 of the amoxicillin so hopefully we're on the downward swing of this nasty cold.

She can now roll from her belly to her back and vice versa. She has great neck control but still  hates being on her belly. She is back to waking up once in the middle of the night (somewhere between 2-4am) and loves to talk, smile, and laugh. Our dog, Tuck, is her new best friend and she giggles and giggles and giggles at him. She's mastered eating with a spoon and prefers sweet potatoes over squash and applesauce and pears over any veggie. This week we're going to try green beans.

We put our Christmas tree and decorations up last week and she is mesmerized by the lights. So in the spirit of Christmas, I stole (that doesn't sound right does it?) this from another blog I read (ps. check it out), but I thought it might be fun.

1. What makes Christmas such a special holiday for you and your family?
This is a bittersweet Christmas for us. This is our first Christmas as a family of three (four if you count Tuck and we do) and our first Christmas without Matt's mom. As you can imagine, emotions are running a bit on the hot and cold scale, some days are good, some days are not as good as others. We had the customary baby's first Christmas picture (looking for a photographer in the Maryland area? Check out luluedward.com) and have decked the out out in Christmas decor. The Peanut got her very own stocking, too.

 2. Were you told the truth about Santa Claus by your parents or did you find out another way? AND do you plan on lying to your kids?
 I had an older brother so I found out pretty quickly Santa wasn't real. And yes, Santa will be coming to see Ava this year. Although, we plan on making sure she understands the real meaning of Christmas and that giving is better than getting. 

3. Real tree or fake tree?
Fakity, fake, fake. I'm very allergic to any type of Christmas tree...evergreen, spruce, fir. So a fake tree it is for us.

4. Do you open presents on Christmas Eve, Morning or both?
 We spend Christmas Eve at my Grandma's and split Christmas morning with my mom and Matt's family (this year my mom will be spending Christmas morning at Matt's house with us) and then spend the day after Christmas (usually) with my dad. So there is a whole lotta present opening.

5.What is your favorite Christmas movie to watch? And favorite Christmas song to listen to?   
Home Alone is my favorite Christmas movie. I can watch in any time of the year and it puts me in the Christmas mood. I don't have a favorite Christmas song, really. I do LOVE the old school Christmas music from the 20s-30s-40s-50s.