Hiller Christmas 2009

I hope you aren't sick our Christmas celebrations just yet - we are lucky enough to get to do Christmas morning twice on the years we go to CA for Christmas Day. We celebrated with the Hillers two days after Christmas this year and opened presents with the whole family. I am happy to report that Claire was out of the time out chair more than she was in it this time around. We had a great time and were once again shown the Hilller's generosity.

More CA Pics

More pics from our trip to California - spending time with the cousins and getting a taste of country living. It was a nice break from noisy neighbors, traffic, and work.

P'Ville Christmas

This year we spent Christmas at my parents in Northern California - we went for a full week so Claire and Miles got some good May and Papa time. I have a ton of pictures from the visit, so I will try to self-edit and not post a ton of them... well, maybe I will. It is a beautiful area and I forgot how much I miss the trees and mountains until I am back there.

We visited Apple Hill, an area filled with apple orchards and wineries, to get caramel, apple doughnuts and fritters, and just some time to walk around and feed the ducks.

My brother Kenny came up for a few days and played with Claire and Miles - he is really good with kids and is the fun uncle because he'll play with them when the rest of us are tired. :)

We also got to see my sister Becky and her family, and my brother Erick who lives about 45 minutes away from my parents. We had a house full of toddlers and babies - each of us have had a baby within the past 4+ months - in August, September and November. Claire tested our patience big time - I have never seen her be such a stinker... We felt like we were putting her in time out constantly and it wasn't very fun to be a parent sometimes. At one point Matt was heard saying, "Christmas spirit, where are you?" over and over again. Yeah, it was bad. I hope my siblings will let us come and visit again someday. :) But kids are forgiving, and they kept playing together. At one point Claire had gone down for her nap early after hitting McKinley with a wooden piece from a rocking horse, and 30 minutes later Kinster came to tell me that Claire Bear was sorry and could come back to play.

But the spirit did come, when we got to bless Becky's baby Gabriel at my parent's house on Christmas day. We read the story of Christ's birth from the Bible, and then my dad gave Gabe a blessing. It was a really special moment and I am so glad they decided to have the blessing at the house so we could all be there. Matt said Gabe just looked up at my dad with the sweetest look on his face the whole time. Wonder what those little guys are thinking ...

My grandpa Johnson came up for the blessing, and we took a quick picture with all the adults together.

Another fun tradition that my sister brought back this year is the Christmas pinata - now I know that seems kind of weird, but we always had a pinata on Christmas Eve at my Grandma Dennis' house so we thought the next generation should get introduced to it as well. The other fun part was that my dad was outside practicing his bagpipe playing Christmas music that I'm sure neighbors a mile away could here, while we were whacking the pinata... kind of a collision of cultures going on at the Johnson's.

Child Labor

When were were kids, if we wanted to watch TV in the afternoon, when we weren't usually allowed to, we had to either fold clothes or brush my mom's hair. She has the system down! Mom loved having her hair brushed, and so do I - so, I am starting Claire on the same path. She is pretty good at it and is learning to brush down, not up and down and all around. Plus she tells me my hair looks cute, which I like to hear. :)

Christmas Dress

I could never get both kids in their Christmas clothes on Sunday - one would be napping or cranky or eating while the other was ready - so here is Claire hanging out on the stairs while the rest of us got ready for Church. I have a few Christmas dresses for her this year - I buy them a year in advance, but then I see a cute one the next year that I have to get too. Miles has the cutest suit - I'll have to post that picture later.

Visit from Sophie

My good friend Sophie came to town this month to participate in a roping competition at the South Pointe and we got to go visit her and her husband, and see their horses. Claire doesn't get to see animals up close like that very often - we watched the roping for a bit, but then went down to the stable area. Claire was kind of scared but interested at the same time. I love that Vegas has these kinds of events that bring my friends to town; I don't think I would see them as often as I do if I lived somewhere else.

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

It was so fun to watch Claire be so excited for Christmas - picture Buddy the Elf when he finds out Santa is visiting Gimbles (SANTA!!!) and that is the energy level Claire has every time we see Christmas lights. And I mean every time. She calls them Santa lights - bows on presents are Santa Flowers, and she does recognize Baby Jesus too, lest you think all we talk about is Santa. Here she is helping Matt put up our Christmas tree - the first year I have every had a fake tree in my life! We bought it last year to use on the years we go to my parent's for Christmas, and I have to admit it was way easier than a real tree.

We also went to a place called The Magical Forest, a winter wonderland that has trees and displays sponsored by local businesses. Matt's brother Aaron got us free tickets so we all went together. It is more magical for kids I think, and Claire had a great time running through the seven levels of the candy cane forest, talking to polar bears and seeing a ton of Santa Clauses. She was more fun to watch than the exhibits!

Essay Contest - win free teeth whitening

A friend of ours is doing this holiday essay contest with his dental practice - if you live in Vegas (or are willing to come here for the teeth whitening), then check out the contest and enter:

It’s the holiday season and Wagner Dental is excited to announce our Share a Smile holiday essay contest. We invite you to share a holiday memory that still brings a smile to your face. The story can be any that touched your heart. Our favorite essays will be featured in the Wagner Dental newsletter and blog and the winner will receive a complimentary ZOOM teeth whitening. You do not need to be a patient of Wagner Dental to participate so please send this opportunity to your friends.

To participate in the contest, post your essay to your personal blog – be sure to include the word “smile” at least once in your essay. Link the word “smile” to Wagner Dental’s website. Then email us the link to your blog at wagnerdentalessay@gmail.com. If you don’t have a blog, you can hand deliver your essay to our office at 2045 Village Circle, Las Vegas, NV 89134. Or if you don’t want to enter our contest, we appreciate a link to our website listed under your “favorite sites” on your blog.

Essays will be accepted through the 21st of December. Essays should be under 300 words. The winner will be announced on January 5, 2010. If you have questions about how to post to your blog or to submit the essay, please email us at wagnerdentalessay@gmail.com. Don’t pass up this opportunity to share the joy of your holiday memories and possibly win a whiter smile from Wagner Dental.

Words

We have been showing Claire the "Your Baby Can Read" videos for maybe 10 months or so, but we have only recently started using the flashcards and books that go with it. Matt has been going over them almost daily with Claire and she is getting pretty good at recognizing the key words. We have her watch "Words" while she eats breakfast since she is strapped into her booster seat - we have a captive audience. Here she is going over the latest round of flash cards with Matt.

Thanksgiving Festivities

This year, and for many years prior, Matt wanted to deep-fry our turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. You have to wonder about the safety of such an undertaking when the local firefighters do news stories on how to not burn up your house while frying a turkey, and even State Farm Insurance dedicated a commercial to insuring your home against mishaps like a fried turkey disaster. So, against my better judgment and my firefighter's daughter upbringing, Matt was in charge of cooking the turkey with Betty doing the brine.

Enter Alton Brown of the Food Network. We had seen an episode of Good Eats where he shows you how to safely fry a turkey, which involves creating this contraption that includes a ladder, a pulley system, and other basic hardware supplies. I think Matt and his dad did a pretty good job at duplicating it - and even with a short scare that the turkey was undercooked (only a few parts were) we had a great turkey!


Matt's brother Nick was visiting from Reno and got to meet Miles for the first time. Claire hadn't seen him since Easter but she kept telling him "Don't leave!" when he was getting ready to head back home today.


We had some great food, watched football, played games, ate some more, and also had a visit with Betty's cousin Jay today to end the weekend. It was a great Thanksgiving, and I managed to lose 3 lbs at my weigh in on Saturday, which made me very happy since I was just hoping to maybe stay the same. Now bring on the Christmas cookies, I'm getting the hang of this!

I Hope it Lasts

Claire still seems to like Miles a lot, and wants to help hold him, feed him and burp him. Fingers crossed she doesn't have a jealous stage. I thought these were cute pics of them together.

No Fear

Claire loves to go the park, and she is willing to try every slide and toy at the playground. Her latest is going down the slide backwards (she saw one kid do it at Town Square and now she does it all the time), and swinging out on the bar at the top of the slide like she is a gymnast on the parallel bars before she goes down the slide. She gives me a heart attack at least once every time we go, but I love how excited she is to play.

Young and Vibrant

My sister called me up the other day to ask if I had any pictures of her and her husband from my wedding, when we were all "young and vibrant." That got me thinking...

I do miss the days before kids when I had the time to really get dressed up, or spend more than 10 minutes on my hair (and didn't have to do my makeup in the car on the way). I had a few pics of her from our wedding in 2005, and I found some new motivation after looking at my wedding pics.

When we go to weight watchers, people bring in their "before" pictures to show how much weight they have lost. My "before" picture is my motivation. So, in the spirit of being "young and vibrant" here are some of the pics from my sister's wedding that I just received (3+ years later). Disclaimer: I know my bangs look border-line 80s but it's because the stylist flat ironed them all weird.

Favorite Food Finds

I am still doing Weight Watchers, and as of this morning's weigh in I have lost just over 16 pounds. Our Biggest Loser competition is also going well, and mainly I am happy to have people who want to work out and provide good healthy competition. But I wanted to share a few of the food items/dinner ideas that I use to help me get quick, low point meals on the table. So, in no particular order here are my favorite food finds of late, organized by where I buy them. I know you don't all speak "points" so I added the calories when I knew them:

Trader Joe's
Tomato Basil Marinara sauce - 1/2 cup is 2 points (80 calories, 2 grams of fiber) but one full cup is only 3 pts

Chicken Gyoza Pot stickers - 7 pot stickers are 4 pts; add some rice or serve over some fresh greens with a soy dressing (Christi told me about these)

Microwave Brown Rice - 1 cup is 4 pts but it is so easy - just 3 minutes in the microwave and one bag (it comes with 3) is about 2 cups

Turkey Meatballs - 1 pt per meatball but they are large; great with the marinara sauce, serve with pasta or some toasted wheat bread

Frozen or Quick Steel Cut Oatmeal - one serving is 2 pts - much easier than regular steel cut oats that can take 30 minutes to cook; chewier, more hearty than reg oatmeal

Costco
CedarLane bean rice and cheese burrito - 4 pts each (260 calories, 7 grams of fiber, 1 g fat). Great for a quick lunch; I eat it with salsa to get in some veggies

Orowheat Sandwich Thins - 1 pt each, (100 calories, 5 grams of fiber). Great for sandwiches especially if you toast them or use for a panini. I keep some thinly sliced turkey deli meat on hand for a back up meal idea. Add some baked chips or sweet potato fries.

Sams Club
Chicken sausages (we like the garlic flavor)- calories vary but the garlic flavor is only 3 pts for 1 sausage link. I cut them up and use in pasta sauce with peppers and onions. Would be good grilled with a hotdog bun too but I haven't tried that yet.

Ground turkey - I ALWAYS have this on hand; I cut each package in half and put in a freezer bag so I don't have to defrost the whole 2.5 lbs when I need it.

Baked Corn Chips - these are really the only chips we buy now. I use them for nachos, to eat with taco soup (1 cup = 2 pts) or broken up and mixed in with eggs for Migas Tacos.

Albertsons
Weight Watchers Giant Fudge Bars - 1 pt each and they are soooo good!

Ready cook bacon - 3 slices are only 80 calories, or 2 pts. Use one slice and break up to put on a breakfast sandwich or in an omelet (thanks for the tip Kara)

Corn tortillas (most brands) - 1 pt each; we have been using these more for fajitas or breakfast tacos w/egg whites instead of flour tortillas. Dampen slightly then microwave instead of cooking in oil.

Essensia Peach Pineapple Salsa - 15 calories for 2 TB; I put salsa on everything!

Menu Ideas
I eat oatmeal or eggs for breakfast almost every day. The eggs usually involve salsa or are on a high fiber english muffin (1 pt).

To sum up, here are some dinner ideas that include some of the items above - chicken fajitas with corn tortillas, chicken sausage pasta (with wheat pasta), taco soup (w/ground turkey), turkey sliders with sauteed mushrooms and onions (buy small dinner rolls and carve out the extra bread first), soup and paninis, salsa chicken (put frozen chicken breasts in crockpot and cover with salsa) with tortillas, potstickers with rice, and nachos with baked corn chips, ground turkey and nonfat refried beans.

I am always looking for a new find - please comment if you have one to share!

And she's only 2

Claire is already telling me what she wants to wear, but I'm not ready to give in just yet. I give her two choices if she's insisting on asserting her independence - and she really sits and thinks about which outfit she wants to wear. I am going to be in for it when she's older... as in next year when she turns three! Here she is on a recent shopping trip to Old Navy, studying herself in the mirror.

Welcome Baby Gabe!

My sister had a baby boy on November 2 - Gabriel Merrill. My parent's doubled their grandchildren this year from 3 to 6 - and now Miles has a boy cousin to play with who is practically his same age. I can't wait to meet him - it doesn't seem right that I haven't been able to hold him yet. Soon enough Gabe, we'll be up to see you!

Latest Obsession

Sock puppets. Claire's sock drawer is constantly being raided. It's fun to see her use her imagination. But I am sure tired of picking up socks...

Miles - 3 Months

Miles is such a good little guy - he is very calm, for the most part, but he has his moments. Can't believe he is already 3 months old. It seemed like we had Claire on some sort of schedule by this point, but Miles is still waking up quite a bit at night and not taking long naps. Some of that could be his sister has a squeal that can break glass and scare dogs within a 3 miles radius, and she often wakes him up.

I am trying to think of a nickname for Miles - Matt calls him Toad, or Toader, which I don't love... but Matt's nicknames tend to stick, so we'll see.

I weighed him today with me on our scale, and he weighs 14.5 pounds. He also hadn't pooped for 7 days so that might not be accurate... when you become a parent you talk about poop a lot. It's kind of weird how normal these conversations seem. Anyway, I digress. Here are some pictures of Miles from this week.