I can't believe 2013 has come to a close and we have ushered in 2014 already. It has been a great year for us. We have had our fair share of tough times but we made it through with smiles on our faces and a lot of love.
Christmas this year was the first one that Kenzie was able to participate in. Last year she just sort of stared at us like we were crazy when we handed her to a bearded man in a red coat and then slept during pictures taken in front of her grandparents' Christmas tree before their annual Christmas party. This year, she started to get into the spirit of things despite not understanding everything that is going on. We started a few new traditions this year though so set up our family times throughout the holiday seasons to come. To start we chose to do an Advent Calendar this year but with a bit of a twist. We elected to do activities instead of handing out chocolates or little prizes. Some activities resonated more with Kenzie than others but I think as the years go on she will enjoy doing more and more of the activities.
We did things such as a few Christmas related crafts, donated to Toys for Tots and made a few special trips to different places or activities during the month.
We had a great time making new family memories and starting up some new traditions. One of which was getting Kenzie her Christmas dress and then forcing her to take pictures so I could document just how cute she is. =)
This was our first Christmas Eve as our solo family unit. In the past we would drive to South Florida to spend Christmas Eve and early Christmas morning with Steven's family then drive during the day on Christmas to my parents' house to celebrate there. Last year was a bit different because Kenzie was so small and Steven's parents hadn't yet moved to Palm Coast so we traveled down there for the final South Florida Christmas Party then came back to our house where my parents came in for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. I have to say that I truly enjoyed having our family time and doing our own traditions. While most of these traditions are borrowed from our families it was really fun to begin passing them on. One tradition is one that carries over from my family. On the morning of Christmas Eve we find that one of Santa's elves has delivered an early gift for each person in the house (no presents for doggies though). These are always pajamas to wear Christmas Eve. They are rarely Christmas themed but just new pjs. This was the first time Kenzie had opened her own gift and actually seemed somewhat excited about something being inside.
Later in the day we made sugar cookies (a Young family tradition). Kenzie helped a bit. We figure next year will be here big helping year for a lot of this since she will understand even more.
Earlier in the month one of our activities was to make reindeer food so on Christmas Eve we sprinkled it in the yard so that the reindeer would have a snack when they made the stop at our house with Santa.
Christmas Eve we went to church and dinner at Buca di Beppo. (Kenzie LOVES Italian food). We definitely wanted to attend our church's candlelight communion service. It is important for us to have Kenzie understand that although Christmas is fun, games, Santa, and presents, there is a bigger reason for why we celebrate. She did really well in church surprising both of us. She danced to all the music and sat fairly still during communion. We figured we would barely make it through a couple of songs, much less all the way to communion. I only ended up with a tiny bit of grape juice on my dress. Good thing I wore black.
Once we got home we read The Nigh Before Christmas. Kenzie was pretty tired and not really having it, but we finished it. When she is a bit older, can sit a bit longer, and can understand more we plan to add the Christmas story to the mix but for now we just read the one.
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During the day we had Steven's parents, my parents, and our siblings all come over for Christmas dinner. It was a fun time. Kenzie is still super excited about all her gifts and she is really loving her kitchen.
Once Christmas passes it is always amazing to me how quickly the new year rolls around. I know they are only a week apart but it seems like they are back to back. This year we kept tradition with a fairly quiet evening at home. Julie and Eric are in town and staying with us so we all had Mexican for dinner then came home and watched The Walking Dead until almost time to have the ball drop. Shortly after the new year we all went to bed. Today is New Year's Day and we are looking at a fairly long day. UCF plays in their first BCS bowl game tonight and we are having a small get together to cheer on our Knights.
2013 seemed to pass really quickly and I just hope that 2014 holds the same good time and fun experiences.
Happy New Year to you and yours!
Christmas this year was the first one that Kenzie was able to participate in. Last year she just sort of stared at us like we were crazy when we handed her to a bearded man in a red coat and then slept during pictures taken in front of her grandparents' Christmas tree before their annual Christmas party. This year, she started to get into the spirit of things despite not understanding everything that is going on. We started a few new traditions this year though so set up our family times throughout the holiday seasons to come. To start we chose to do an Advent Calendar this year but with a bit of a twist. We elected to do activities instead of handing out chocolates or little prizes. Some activities resonated more with Kenzie than others but I think as the years go on she will enjoy doing more and more of the activities.
We did things such as a few Christmas related crafts, donated to Toys for Tots and made a few special trips to different places or activities during the month.
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| Celebration Snow |
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| Celebration Snow |
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| Light Up UCF |
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| Light Up UCF (Also Kenzie's first trip to UCF) |
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| Light Up UCF |
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| Christmas Pictures |
This was our first Christmas Eve as our solo family unit. In the past we would drive to South Florida to spend Christmas Eve and early Christmas morning with Steven's family then drive during the day on Christmas to my parents' house to celebrate there. Last year was a bit different because Kenzie was so small and Steven's parents hadn't yet moved to Palm Coast so we traveled down there for the final South Florida Christmas Party then came back to our house where my parents came in for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. I have to say that I truly enjoyed having our family time and doing our own traditions. While most of these traditions are borrowed from our families it was really fun to begin passing them on. One tradition is one that carries over from my family. On the morning of Christmas Eve we find that one of Santa's elves has delivered an early gift for each person in the house (no presents for doggies though). These are always pajamas to wear Christmas Eve. They are rarely Christmas themed but just new pjs. This was the first time Kenzie had opened her own gift and actually seemed somewhat excited about something being inside.
Later in the day we made sugar cookies (a Young family tradition). Kenzie helped a bit. We figure next year will be here big helping year for a lot of this since she will understand even more.
Earlier in the month one of our activities was to make reindeer food so on Christmas Eve we sprinkled it in the yard so that the reindeer would have a snack when they made the stop at our house with Santa.
Christmas Eve we went to church and dinner at Buca di Beppo. (Kenzie LOVES Italian food). We definitely wanted to attend our church's candlelight communion service. It is important for us to have Kenzie understand that although Christmas is fun, games, Santa, and presents, there is a bigger reason for why we celebrate. She did really well in church surprising both of us. She danced to all the music and sat fairly still during communion. We figured we would barely make it through a couple of songs, much less all the way to communion. I only ended up with a tiny bit of grape juice on my dress. Good thing I wore black.
Once we got home we read The Nigh Before Christmas. Kenzie was pretty tired and not really having it, but we finished it. When she is a bit older, can sit a bit longer, and can understand more we plan to add the Christmas story to the mix but for now we just read the one.
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After Kenzie went to bed we had a visitor and Santa dropped off presents! Kenzie was pretty excited the next morning when all the presents were in the living room. She enjoyed opening gifts with us as well. It truly is something magical to see Christmas through the eyes of a child. I don't remember being as excited for Christmas as I was this time since I was a young kid myself.
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During the day we had Steven's parents, my parents, and our siblings all come over for Christmas dinner. It was a fun time. Kenzie is still super excited about all her gifts and she is really loving her kitchen.
Once Christmas passes it is always amazing to me how quickly the new year rolls around. I know they are only a week apart but it seems like they are back to back. This year we kept tradition with a fairly quiet evening at home. Julie and Eric are in town and staying with us so we all had Mexican for dinner then came home and watched The Walking Dead until almost time to have the ball drop. Shortly after the new year we all went to bed. Today is New Year's Day and we are looking at a fairly long day. UCF plays in their first BCS bowl game tonight and we are having a small get together to cheer on our Knights.
2013 seemed to pass really quickly and I just hope that 2014 holds the same good time and fun experiences.
Happy New Year to you and yours!
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