December 23-29 2024

Paul took this week off work, we enjoyed the much needed family time. I got up early on Monday and exercised before feeding Katie and getting breakfast going with Paul. I put Mary in the bath after Katie went down for a nap. I repeated something Mary said and she exclaimed, "stop copying me!". That afternoon we received yummy cupcakes from the Chapman's. I bathed Katie after her nap and we watched Christmas movies. We played with play doh and I cleaned up to prepare for Christmas Eve and Christmas then we went to bed. Katie woke up at 3:30 and was gabbing and giggling before falling back to sleep, that might sound creepy but it was cute.

Tuesday Paul went to Reno first thing in the morning and got a sore checked out that was on his arm. The doctor said it was not serious, just a grouping of blood cells that moved up to the surface of the skin. She removed the sore and Paul has been keeping it clean. After that he did a Costco run. I did some meal prep for that night while he was gone. We watched movies and I read a Christmas story, "The Legend of the Candy Cane," and we had a nice dinner of brie cheese, turkey, stuffing, twice baked potatoes, rolls, chocolate cake, and ice cream. We opened new pajamas after dinner. Me and the girls got pink gingerbread matching jammies while Paul got a tan t-shirt and checkered pj bottoms that I thought complimented the gingerbread theme. We cleaned up for Christmas and got the girls to bed then put all the presents under the tree.

Wednesday was Christmas day! Mary woke us up and wanted to open gifts right away. We had her open one gift before we made breakfast. She got a Buzz Lightyear toy that had all the fixings, she loves him. We had eggs, bacon, and blueberry muffins for breakfast. I read The Tale of Three Trees, which always makes me emotional, I love that Christmas story. After that we opened the gifts. Mary opened up Woody and already opened Buzz, both from Mom and Dad. Paul's coworker, Maria (who we have lovingly nicknamed Abuelita), gifted Mary an emotional pineapple, the pineapple version of a Mr. Potato Head. Maria gave Katie an interactive elephant. Wendy brought gifts while she was with us, she brought geometric building magnets, a letter game, a baby doll with many accessories, and colorful wooden beads. The Christensen grandparents gave the girls little sweatsuits, gift bags that had a blanket, stuffy, and a book. Mary's gift also had a sleep mask, a big stuffed fox, and a journal. Katie's was unicorn themed. Paul got a San Diego Padres hat and he gave me a cute waffle maker. Mary was encouraging me while I was in the bathroom saying, "Push harder! you can do this!" We watched the NBA and Christmas movies. We played with the new toys and Mary got a bath. We kept up our yearly tradition of having pizza on Christmas, I'm grateful we have a way to have fresh pizza in Fernley, glad we have a Papa Murphy's! We had to do a little cleaning and got the trash to the street for trash day the next morning. We relaxed then went to bed.

Thursday we got up and Mary helped me put away the Christmas tree and other decorations. We watched movies then Mary came with me to run errands in the afternoon. We dropped off ministering gifts to my assigned sisters then went to Walmart. We made some yummy hot chocolate before going to bed.

Friday Katie turned 3 months old! She is such a sweet baby. She is so smiley and I love listening to her coo. She looks up to her big sister already and I'm grateful that Mary is so gentle with her. She has great control of her head and neck and can hold her body up pretty well. She can sort of spin and orient herself onto her tummy. Her eyesight is getting better and her hair is longer, still looking light brown. Friday afternoon we went to Fallon and got burgers from JD slingers for lunch then got ice cream shakes before going home.

Saturday was relaxed. Paul took Mary to Walmart and they did our grocery shopping for the coming week. I updated Katie's journal and did some organizing while they were gone. We had a relaxed afternoon watching movies.

Sunday I bathed both girls and got ready. We drove down to Fallon for a late lunch and had a last meal out and dessert before we started our health goals for the new year. We listened to some mystery stories before getting the girls to bed.