Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas!!! This year was a special year for the Fishers... we celebrated Madison's very first Christmas, and got to enjoy it in our new home! Here are some of the highlights of the season:

This year we started a new tradition, a Jesse Tree. A Jesse tree is sort of like an advent calendar, and each day you read a bible story chronologically that trace Jesus's ancestors through the line of David, and finish at Jesus's birth. The name "Jesse" comes from the passage in Isaiah prophesying Christ's birth, There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of its roots. Isaiah 11:1 It was really fun getting to share the stories, many were familiar, but there were some that we all learned about together! I am looking forward to watching the girls understanding about the true meaning of Christmas grow each we do our devotionals!

Lulu had so much fun getting to put the ornaments on the Jesse Tree

The Friday before Christmas we made sugar cookies and had our friends come over to help decorate them. Here are the cookies we made for Santa!

Proud of the cookies she decorated (and ate!)

Christmas Eve we enjoyed a quiet night at home, it was COLD outside, and besides me burning our roast, dinner was pretty good. Jarrett read The Christmas Story, The Nutcracker and The Night Before Christmas to the girls in our comfy red chair.

Daddy and his ladies reading, The Night Before Christmas

 

Our Christmas Tree

As he was reading, I looked out the window and noticed it was SNOWING! On Christmas Eve!! In our cozy first home! What a beautiful, magical gift!  

"Daddy, It's SNOWING!"

Jarrett was so cute and ran outside with Lulu to catch some snowflakes...

Christmas morning was super fun, first because it was Madison's very first Christmas, and also because Lindsay really "got" the whole Santa thing. Can you tell she was excited?!

"SANTA CAME!!"

Madison cracked me up with her face..."Whoa, check out those gifts!!"

 

A pro at opening her gifts this year.. needed no help from us!

Little Miss had fun crunching the wrapping paper and exploring all the empty boxes.

Loving our stockings that I got last year for Christmas. Daddy and his princess!

Mama and Madison opening her present... she loved the paper!

Sweet Love in her Santa Jammies

 

Santa brought the girls a tent that had a tunnel, and Madison had a ball crawling through it.

"Peek a Boo"

One of the best parts of the holiday was getting to just relax. I loved staying in our jammies all day, and I don't even remember if we brushed our teeth. LOL. We have been going a million miles per hour working on our house projects and it was nice to take a break. Daddy got some great play time in with his little ladies while I made us breakfast.

"Hey Daddy! Come inside it's fun!"



Quality time putting together a puzzle...those chairs are pretty strong. LOL

In light of all the sadness our nation has been dealing with the past few weeks, it made me all the more grateful to have my little family together to soak up the holiday. As this year comes to a close, I pray that the New Year is filled with blessings for you and your family! 

Papa's Visit

Papa and his Girls

Dad came out for a visit in early December and we utilized his many talents to help us redo the upstairs bathrooms in our house. Did I mention he was handy?! We had a great visit, ate way too much food and worked HARD. Poor Dad needs a vacation from his vacation seeing us. Here are some before and after pictures, and we are putting the finishing touches on while J is on winter break.

Master Bathroom... Before

First of all, the fact that we have more than 1 bathroom at all is spectacular. We had been living with one bathroom for over 5 years at Pepperdine, and we were thrilled to find a home with 2.5 baths, AND a connected master bath (especially in a home over 50 years old).  Both baths are functional, but tiny and had no storage. The other problem was that all bathrooms did not contain any GFI outlets (nowhere to plug in hair dryers or tooth brushes).

Master Bathroom... Pink tile everywhere (from the 50's), crumbling in many places and just waiting for a leak.

 I didn't mind the pink tile, but it bothered J a little ;) The tile was in bad condition, and had been patched over many times over the years and was crumbling. It was only a matter of time before it sprung another leak, so we decided to re-do it now before any expensive damage took place. Plus, we would get to enjoy a nice new bathroom!

Master Bath... After. Much more manly.

Master Bath... After. The shower is clean and neutral tile, and has a light!

Bless his heart, Dad installed two toilets, two vanities, two sinks, two cabinets, not to mention tiling a floor and tub surround in five days! I enjoy the DIY stuff, and got to learn from the best. He showed me how to tile, and I can say I actually had fun laying tile. It is a hard job, and it makes me appreciate the miles of tile laid in the subways in New York. Whew!

Dad the Tool Man Cross

Girls Bath... Before

Girls Bath... Before. The tub had been refinished multiple times and was chipping off in the corners and bottom. There was a mat on the bottom when we looked at the house, and when we pulled it up it was gross.

Girls Bath.... After. We went for the era of the home which was built in the late 50's, and did white subway tiles.

 Dad took time out to play with the grand girls, and they LOVED getting to hang out with Papa.

Girls Bath... After. New tub and fresh tile.

We are thrilled to be enjoying our new bathrooms, and so grateful to the man who made it possible! We couldn't have done it without you! My favorite part of the visit were the conversations we had while up to our elbows in grout and covered in dust. Still learning new things from you Dad ... Love you!!

10 Months

Madison Grace. 10 months

Sweet Love is almost 11 months (and 1 year old???). Here is the update from this past month:
*Eating... Her favorites are cheese, deli turkey, green beans, and macaroni and cheese. She loves feeding herself, and drinks from her sippy like a pro. She is nursing 4  times per day, and we night weaned her last week... going great so far (says Mama who gets to sleep while Daddy goes in :) Her top teeth are still MIA, maybe Santa will bring her two front teeth. LOL

*Pulling up... Ever since Little Miss began crawling, she has been trying to pull up on everything. She is so proud of herself and has pretty good balance!
*Sharing Game... Madison started passing toys back and forth to her sister this month. She will hand you a toy, and then wait for you to hand it back. Lindsay loves to play with her, and tells me "Mama, look, we are sharing!!"
*Music Girl... Madison has been dancing to the music, and likes to bounce on her knees and wave her hands.

 *Bathtime... is still her favorite time of day, and she still loves anything water. Including the potty. Let's just say good thing we keep the lid down  :)

 *Sleeping... Since night weaning her a week ago, Madison has been doing fantastic at sleeping! She still take 2, 1.5 hr naps per day, and goes to bed around 7pm. She has slept through the night two times, waking up around 7am! She will fuss around her usual times, and if she gets too upset or stands in her crib (check out the pic above) Daddy will go in and gently lay her down.

Digging in Mama's makeup basket... and making a mess.

 *Curious... Maddie Grace is one curious little gal, and will open cupboards, crawl as fast as she can to the dishwasher to pull out silverware or to the fridge and pull things off the shelf. I have to watch her like a hawk! She has been using her left hand to point to things, and likes to push buttons.

Baby girl is growing too fast... Slow down sweet love!!

Lulu's 1st Performance

"Hi Mama & Daddy!"

 Last Wednesday Lindsay had her very first performance, where she recited a few verses and sang a couple songs. Every Wednesday the girls and I attend Community Bible Study, a women's group bible study and children's program. It has been such a blessing in our lives, especially with moving to a new state and making friends! I was a part of CBS in Malibu, and absolutely loved it and was so excited to find a chapter in NJ. Lindsay is in the 2-3 year old class and it was the first year she was able to participate in the Christmas program.  CBS has a great children's ministry, and besides learning verses, doing crafts and hearing bible stories, Miss Brenda comes to each class and gives a music lesson with singing and instruments every week!

So proud of herself!

Lindsay has been working hard learning her verse, Luke 1:13 "Do not be afraid. Your prayers have been heard." She was a little unsure of the crowd at first, and crossed her arms over her chest. We weren't sure exactly what she would do, and thoughts of nose-picking, crying, and crowd surfing all crossed my mind. Then when she heard the music, she got into the singing!  

 

 

Lulu is a shorty for her age, and some of the bigger kids stood in front of her loving their 2 minutes of fame :) We tried to get the best video we could, but it was hard. I am sure every parent loves to see their kid in front singing! She was very serious about doing the hand motions that went along with the Manger Song. Her very favorite song that they sing is "Jump Into the Light".

 

  









Miss Brenda, the music teacher and Lulu... music time is her favorite!

Daddy couldn't miss his sweet little lady's performance, and came from work to see it. Madison waved her arms and clapped to the music, and showed solidarity by wearing a matching red dress. Seeing your kids perform is a highlight of being a parent, and it is such a precious moment getting to see the pride on their face when they can show what they have been working hard on! It fills my heart with joy knowing that her first performance was to glorify the Lord. Way to go Lulu!







Santa Encounter

 Last week we visited Santa when he came to the West Windsor library. It was Madison's first time seeing Santa, and Lindsay was pretty excited to see Santa and tell him what she wanted for Christmas.  I was curious myself to see what she would say to him, mainly because it changed every day, and last year she cried when she saw him. Lulu has been going around saying, "Yo Ho Ho, Merry Christmas". I think Santa might be a pirate under his suit. LOL.

Our sweet new friends came with us, Kiley and her two cuties, Niko (Madison's boyfriend) and Scarlett (Scottie) is one of Lindsay's favorite buddies.

Sweet Girl with Santa... She was a little unsure, but no tears!!

Lindsay told Santa, "I want a Teddy Bear" when he asked her what she wanted for Christmas. Coincidentally that is the stuffed animal she chose to bring with us in the car that day.
 

Lindsay makes me laugh in this picture as she is leaning as far away from Santa as possible.  Such a fun time of year!

Christmas Tree

Madison didn't want any part of the mittens or blanket covering her hands.

 We went to see the Christmas Tree in Princeton at Palmer Square after we decorated our tree at home. It was COLD, but we enjoyed some hot chocolate from The Bent Spoon and it made our hands and tummies toasty.

All decked out in lights and wreaths

 All the shoppes had wreaths and lights, and it was so much fun getting to see it at dark. As the parent of two young kids, going outside after dark is a rare thing..lol.

Christmas Tree in the square

What a great way to in the Christmas spirit!! I can say that I am looking forward to looking at lights in neighborhoods inside our warm car.

Daddy and his girls

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving this year was a little bittersweet for us. We were thrilled to be in our new home, and I was super excited to be cooking my very first turkey. However, we missed our family and friends back home with all the favorite festivities. Needless to say, we will happily fly home for future Thanksgivings, and I am absolutely fine with being a chef-in-training under my Grandma for a few more years :)

Lulu and Daddy watching their annual Charlie Brown Thanksgiving cartoon.

We had a wonderfully relaxing day, and promised each other we wouldn't do anything home-owner related, except for cleaning up the kitchen after the meal.

Finally got to bust out my corningware from when we first got married...8 years ago!!

I made a traditional Thanksgiving meal, and didn't try anything new, mainly because it was the first one and we wanted all the favorites: Cornbread Stuffing (I made the cornbread from scratch), Candied Sweet Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Turkey, Grandma's famous Cranberry Orange Relish, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy. Yum. Totally carb overload.

Our 16 lbs Tom Turkey

Lindsay was a great helper, and together we make our pumpkin pie the day before. Afterwards she told me, "Mama, I think we need to taste it. Just a little tiny taste, that's all."

Mmm... this girl ate her share of mashed potatoes and gravy.

Shhh... don't tell... we sampled our pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving eve.

We celebrated Madison's 1st Thanksgiving... her gobbled up anything we put on her tray. She ate stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, yams and of course, some pumpkin pie!

Sweet Little Turkey

I thought the look she gave me was too funny... "Mama, don't bother me. I'm eating."

We are so thankful for all the blessings throughout the year of family, friends and the source of all that is good... Jesus Christ!!