Huizenga Christmas

Thanksgiving weekend we always have the Huizenga Christmas party at Timothy Christian's gym. Its fun to catch up with family we don't often see and the kids just love running around getting sweaty for a couple of hours. I don't have a ton of pics...but do have a few.

GOAL!!!!

Out of all the presents Santa brought, THIS was the hit.

Minute To Win It!

Even Gavin was in on the action.

Black Friday

This was my first time ever doing Black Friday shopping--woke up at 2:30 am and was in line at 3:30. The lovely DeVries women let me tag along on this adventure complete with carols, donuts, running through stores and witnessing a fight amongst costumers. We hit Target, Best Buy, Kohls and Toys R Us all before 7 am. Then we hit the mall. Was done at 10 am and home for lunch....very, very tired. Clearly, it was successful:

Thanksgiving

After a very quiet and thankful Thanksgiving last year celebrating at home with our new family of four....this year we went back to running from one place to another. We went to church...then my Aunt Jeanne's ...then my mom's while the kiddos napped...then CCHS...then my Gram's...then home by 9 pm so I could wake the next morning at 2 am for my first ever Black Friday shopping. I didn't have my camera on Thanksgiving...but these photos are compliments of my cousin Tahnee.

Yeah, this headband lasted real well.

Pretty girl.

First official Thanksgiving turkey dinner!

Family Photo Op.

Turkey Cookies

My friend Amanda, ever the over-acheiver, invited a few of us over the day before Thanksgiving to make turkey cookies. You trace your child's hand and then decorate them to look like turkeys. We thought this sounded great in theory but would be a disaster in reality--however, we went, we did it and it was GREAT!! The kids loved it, the moms loved being together so it was a win-win situation. The cookies were adorable. Thanks for planning, organizing and hosting Amanda!

Getting started (take note, at 9 am the bottle of wine was for rolling the dough, not for drinking)
Mr. G's little hand ready to go!

Decorating.

At this point, my camera battery died. So...more pics to come complements of Amanda (I HOPE!!)

1 year/3 Year Photos

The week of Sydney's first birthday we had a photographer come to the house to get some "1 Year" shots of Sydney and some "3 year" shots of Gavin. Although she didn't get a lot of Gavin individually, she did get some great shots! Below is just a handful of my favorites. It is impossible not to look at these without smiling.

1 Year Stats

I honestly do NOT know where the last year went. I thought Gavin's first year when fast, is it possible time has only sped up? Honestly, the memories of Sydney's birth and taking her home from the hospital are still so fresh in my mind, I feel like they couldn't have been a year ago. Here's where we are at 1 year:

1 - Somewhere around 28 lbs and 32 inches I believe....but her record book is MIA so until I find it....estimates are going to have to do. Put it this way, she's still a a VERY healthy girl.

2- Sydney LOVES to dance. And sing. And bounce. Still her favorite activities. Her dancing cracks up all the time---sometimes, she moves her head from side to side like crazy, sometimes she moves her feet very fast and sometimes she just turns in a circle with her head kinda down until the side over and over until she's dizzy. She makes us laugh.

3- She gives kisses freely and I love them.

4- Going through a picky eater phase...she'll eat all the noodles and leave out the peas, she'll like something one meal and not the next, she'll refuse to eat meat...you just never know what you are going to get from meal to meal. But this girl can put away a banana in record time.

5- She likes to "squack for her supper" we like to say. When she sees what she wants so makes a bird like squacking noise and points until you comply with her wishes.

6- She moved onto whole milk and a sippy cup. She's still getting a bottle twice a day but we're trying to get the sippy cup more frequently. Consequently, unless she's given a bottle, she rarely just sits with her milk after a nap....she walks around, spilling it and usually ends up drinking some with her next meal. Unless it is in the form of a bottle, it is not a priority.

7-She still takes a morning and afternoon nap (although I wake her in the am around 45 min-1 hour). Her afternoon nap can be between 2-3 hours. She's usually in bed between 7:30 and 8 and lately, I've had to wake her up quite a bit at 7:30.

8- She is starting to hold her own with Gavin. He'll push her and she'll push him back. In their own way, they are starting to "fight" and it drives me crazy. She adores him and follows him and does whatever he does (or wants to ) but when it comes down to it, she'll fight back.

9- Not only is she walking, climbing, pushing but she is RUNNING. She gets those little legs motoring around and RUNS where she wants to go. It is so cute to watch her little rolls and chubbiness going full speed.

10- She loves her baby dolls and gives them kisses and "babas."

11- She's starting to prefer Mommy and be a little hesitant around strangers or cries when put in nursery but it's short lived. She is still the queen of the stare down and will make you work for a smile. But when you get one...they are worth the effort.

12- She is fun and loves to wrestle and be engaged in play. She's a cuddler on her terms and is very attached to her blankie. She pushes her limits to see how far she can get away with things before consequences.

13- She's exploring her language and can say mama, dada, baba and a version of bye-bye and uh-oh. She can sign more and all done. Although, her preferred method of communication is still just to yell or squack or scream.

14- Her head is becoming a beautiful mop of blond curls which I am in love with.

Happy Birthday Sydney! You are a beautiful girl that I treasure daily. I cannot imagine life without you in it! I love you so much!!!

Syd's 1st Birthday Bash

Sydney's 1st birthday party was a whirlwind of activity and excitement and presents and kids! We invited our immediate families and some close friends with kids and let the chaos ensue. It seemed that everyone had a ton of fun and the birthday girl (although being hesitant to crack a smile for the camera) was basking in the excitement of the day. I couldn't resist her toddling around in her tutu and tried to capture the day as best as possible. Opening presents especially "sealed the deal" that we have a girl: lace and pink and strollers and babies, a teaset, a kitchen, a purse and more!! So fun!! Here are some of our favorie snapshots from the day:

Cousins

Syd & Grandpa

The party...well under way.

Some fav family members.

Grandma Judy and her princess.

Uncle Chach & Auntie Lo.

Just a few of the 14 kids under 5.

Gavin and Morgan having dinner.

Sydney and Lauris explore the train set.

Present time.

Sydney got this stroller and first thing, she starts pushing it around.

Typical girl, grabbing for clothes.

She learned this trick from Mommy--the real reason strollers are awesome when you shop.

How do they know this? Right away, she had that baby in the seat and was giving it a bottle.

Baby kisses with Uncle Kyle.

Grandma Dody and Grandpa WeeWee.

Papa Tom and the birthday girl share some laughs.

The birthday cake.

Her cute little smash cake.

Attempt at a pic together (I'm aware this should be cropped).

Big Bro helping blow out the candles.

Yum, first couple bites.

Gavin wanted in on the action.

Yes. Yummy pink frosting.

Going for it with gusto.

So excited!!

Nice try Mom.

Birthday girl having a VERY rare interrupted moment with the ball popper.

Big laughs with this game.

The cool kids. Of course.

A final attempt at a family pic. Sigh.