It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Just a few photos of the Christmas happenings around our house this December...

Avery has an obsession with stickers, so window clings are right up her alley. Decorating the sliding glass door with a nativity scene.

Helping Daddy put the star on top of the tree (the tree is really much taller than it looks in this picture. Erich was standing on a step stool)

Avery LOVED putting ornaments on the tree. She hung them all along the bottom branches of the tree, many of them on the same couple of branches. I resisted my urge to redistribute the ornaments evenly and left them just as she had proudly placed them. All month long looking at our tree both drove me crazy and made me happy all at the same time. She'll only be this age once, I choose to embrace it!

"reading" the story of Christmas to her baby Haley. Such a precious girl.

The best Christmas gift of all is having this sweet face to look at every day. I'm feeling kind of guilty that our Christmas photos are mostly of Avery (because Avery can participate in activities like decorating the tree and making a gingerbread house) and not so much of Norah (because Norah sleeps through most of it). She has been very much a part of our Christmas season though. Every time I cuddle her, nurse her, swaddle her, and breathe her in, I think of Mary and how she must have felt welcoming her son, the Savior, into the world all those years ago. Having a newborn of my own during this season makes the heart and meaning of Christmas a little more real to me than ever before.

Santa!... and Santa again (alternately titled, "Mommy needs to let go of her obsessive compulsive need for all Christmas memories to be flawless")

It's an illness. It really is. I love Christmas. I always have. I get a little obsessed with the decorating and the gift wrapping and the music playing and the need to make every moment a fun memory. I think I see it as my duty as the maker of our home to make sure that Christmas! Is! Wonderful! So when it came time for the obligatory photo with Santa, I had lofty expectations. This was the first year that Avery was old enough to actually talk to Santa and she was so excited to meet him! The girls had matching dresses (thank you Nana!), we made sure to go on a weekday morning when there wouldn't be a long line to avoid a toddler meltdown, and Avery practiced in the car on the way there telling Santa what she wanted for Christmas. It was going to be perfect! And then we got there. There was no line so we just walked right up to the big man in red, eager and ready. He just stared at us. He didn't smile or try to interact with Avery who was being shy. He just stared at us and waited for us to plop the kids on his lap for the picture. Erich prompted him on by saying, "So Avery, why don't you tell Santa what you want for Christmas (hint, hint!)". Santa gruffly said, "Oh yeah, whatdoyawant?". When Avery whispered, "A Jessie doll from Toy Story", Santa shrugged and said, "okay". womp womp. This was not the perfect memory I wanted for my girls! We snapped a quick photo and were on our way. I was crushed. To be fair, Avery giggled and smiled the whole way home about how happy she was to meet Santa Claus. In her two year old mind it was a great experience. So I fully acknowledge that this is all about me and my Christmas OCD. A few weeks passed and I just couldn't let it go. I asked around and found out that "the best Santa in town" was in a little red house at Levis Commons, an outdoor shopping mall just down the road from our house. So, a couple of days before Christmas when Erich was working, I loaded Avery and Norah into the car after Avery's nap for a quick trip to see Santa (again). Avery was ecstatic and didn't seem to question at all why we were seeing him twice, why he was in a different "workshop", or why he looked like a completely different man. This is probably the only year I can get away with something like this. The girls weren't in matching clothes, in fact I don't think I even combed Avery's hair. This wasn't about getting the perfect picture, it was about redeeming the image of who Santa is and what he should act like for my girls (okay, for me). Thankfully, there wasn't a line there either and we got to go straight in to meet the most wonderful Santa I've ever seen. Although the "set" was much more simple than where we had gone the first time, his outfit was beautiful and he was perfectly quiet and gentle and soft spoken. He gave Avery some space as she warmed up to him (she got shy again, even though she was so excited to go) and while he was waiting for Avery to come around he held Norah and doted over what a beautiful baby she was. Once Avery got up the courage to go talk to him, he asked her what she wanted for Christmas. When she said, "A Jessie doll", he engaged her in a long conversation about all of his favorite Toy Story characters and her face lit up. She was too shy to sit on his lap and I wasn't going to force it. Like I said, I wasn't there for the picture. Looking back on both of our Santa visits, I can laugh at myself and my crazy Christmas antics. I know that Santa is not the star of the show and that all of this pales in comparison to the importance of showing my girls that we celebrate because of Jesus. But I'll admit I walked away from Santa's little red house that day feeling a bit like a kid myself, giddy with the excitement and anticipation of December 25th and all that it entails... the birth of the Savior, the time spent with family, and the magic of a man in red who travels the world delivering Christmas cheer to young girls and boys. Am I crazy? yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

Santa, Take 1:

He's a very photogenic Santa and I'm probably being way too critical.

I'm sure he's a nice man.

Santa, Take 2:

Cutie Norah with sweet Santa

Talking about Toy Story

Avery, very excited by this point but still being shy for the picture.

A New Tradition

December was a fun filled month in the Piland house as we dove head first into Christmas galore... decorating, movies, stories, cookies, and new Christmas traditions. Avery is at a really fun age (and Norah is young enough to contently watch or sleep through most of it) and I wanted to take full advantage of her eagerness to learn what Christmas is all about. We tried to strike a good balance between celebrating the importance of the true meaning - the joy and hope that came in the form of baby Jesus being born in a manger... and celebrating the fun and "magic" of the season - Santa, elves, gifts, making cookies, etc. While there were many hours spent playing with various toy nativities, reading books about baby Jesus, and talking about what all of that means, we also made sure to take some time to be silly, do some crafts and baking, and start a couple new traditions. My favorite thing we did (and I think Avery's favorite too) was build and decorate a gingerbread house. This isn't something that Erich or I did as kids growing up, but we thought it would be a fun and inexpensive family project to tackle each year. It was a blast! Erich assembled the house, I handled the frosting, and then we let Avery go at it with the candy... she did all of the decorating herself with the exception of one or two pieces that Erich and I stuck on there. The look on her face was priceless as she went to town with the candy (and occasionally snuck a piece to munch on). I can't wait to do this again next year (maybe Norah will even be able to participate a little by then). Please note that we did this first thing on a Saturday morning. If Erich and I look like we just rolled out of bed, it's because we did. And Avery has on two different outfits because she changes her clothes at least 3 or 4 times a day. It's fun being two!

Getting ready to start

Helping Daddy with assembly (ps- I don't know why I expected this to be a hard and stressful task. I had visions of the walls falling over and nothing sticking together right. It was so easy! Some may think it's cheating, but buying a kit is definitely the way to go.)

CANDY! The girl couldn't believe her eyes. We don't keep candy in the house, so this was an extra special treat!

Decorating. Avery did 99.9% of this part by herself. What a hoot!

Ta-da! I love every sloppy, imperfect, square inch of that little house because we made such fun memories doing it together.

Avery quotes

Avery is our silly girl with a great sense of humor who keeps us laughing all day long. I know she's our daughter so we are probably a little biased, but I really do believe that her verbal skills are above par for her age. She's a smart cookie! Every once in a while though, she says something that reminds us that she is indeed a 2 and 1/2 year old girl and some things get a little lost in translation. Here are some cute Avery-isms from the past few weeks...

When Avery asked me where Daddy works, I said, "He works at the hospital. He helps take care of sick people." Avery replied, " Oh, I know. Daddy works at the hospital and helps take care of people when they have a boogie in their nose".

Our Christmas stockings have a pocket on the front that say "Letter to Santa". I told Avery that on Christmas Eve, we would write a letter to Santa and put it in the pocket, and maybe when he came to bring the toys he would write a letter back to her and leave it for her Christmas morning. I said, "Avery, what do you think you would like to write in a letter to Santa?". Avery thought hard and said, "I think he would like the letter A". That was the first time it occurred to me that Avery probably didn't know what a letter was.

Avery has the Little People Nativity and as we were setting it up on the fireplace I was telling her the story of Jesus' birth. I explained that Mary had a baby in her belly (just like Norah used to be in Momma's belly). Mary and Joseph were ready to have the baby and tried to go to the Inn, but there was no room in the Inn. So they went to the stable with all of the animals and that is where Jesus was born. A couple of hours later, I was in the kitchen and heard Avery playing with the nativity. I snuck around the corner to watch and saw Avery take the Mary and Joseph figures and walk them over to the Inn. In a shocked voice, she said, "WHAT? No Room??". Then, very sweetly, she said, "Don't worry Mary, I will make room." With that, she tossed the Innkeeper and his wife to the side and tucked Mary and Joseph safely inside the Inn where they remained the rest of the day. Oh kiddo, if only it were that easy.

There are many more stories like this that I'd eventually like to write down, just so we never forget the sweet moments when her innocent 2 year old logic makes us smile. What a fun age she is at.

What's in a Name

I've never been big on name "meanings". I'm not sure where they originate from or how valid they are. We don't choose our children's names based off some definition a book or website gives us. This is proven by the fact that we stuck to our guns and gave our first born the name we had both fallen in love with from the start, even after we found out that Avery means "ruler of the elves". Seriously? After that experience, I wasn't even going to bother looking up the meaning of the name Norah. We had already decided on it and nothing was going to change our minds, so it didn't really matter anyway. One day on a whim though I was at the library with Avery and a book caught my eye about name origins and meanings. I flipped through and looked at the name Avery just to see if anyone had realized how silly "ruler of the elves" sounded and changed it to something more fitting. No such luck. Then curiosity got the best of me and I turned the pages to find the name Norah, ready for a good laugh if nothing else. But I didn't laugh.

The name Norah means "ray of shining light, woman of compassion". I rubbed my pregnant belly and smiled. It's just a silly definition that someone somewhere made up a long time ago (really, who decides this stuff?). But, it means a lot to me. After just 9 weeks on earth it's clear that "ray of shining light" fits her well. She is a light in our lives and just a smile or giggle from her can keep me pressing on through a hard day. And without a doubt, my prayer for her is that she'll grow up to be a woman of great compassion with a heart to love and serve others. We would have named her Norah regardless of what I'd read in the book that day. It just suits her so well. But I have to admit that I will always smile when someone asks me her name and I will say it proudly... Norah Elizabeth Piland, our ray of shining light.

Baby Dedication

On Sunday, November 27th, we were happy to have the opportunity to dedicate Norah to the Lord in the presence of our family, friends, and church congregation. We feel so blessed to be part of a church that is rooted in the truth of the Bible and even more blessed that both Erich and I come from families that raised us to know the importance of a personal relationship with God. We hope that we can encourage Avery and Norah on that same path so that they will someday make that decision for themselves. Participating in Cedar Creek's Baby Dedication was our opportunity to publicly proclaim our intention to raise Norah in a Christ centered home. We are honored that God has trusted us with her precious little life. I often look at both of our girls in awe of the fact that God picked Erich and I to be their parents. We are thankful for both of them always, but on the day of Norah's baby dedication we were especially aware of the blessing that she is to our family. We love you Norah!

Attempting a photo after church. Avery was so excited to have all the family at the house that she couldn't hold still for two seconds.

With Nana and Papa

With Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa got Norah a beautiful gold cross necklace that she wore for the dedication. Unfortunately, when I took it off of her and put it back in the box I got the tiny chain all tangled up in knots. The grandpas were up for the challenge and spent way too long working to try and untangle it with straight pins and a magnifying glass. It was quite the sight and gave us all a good chuckle.

Our beautiful baby girl.

Giving Thanks

We had much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving... our healthy baby Norah is growing and thriving and bringing us so much joy. When we asked Avery what she was thankful for this year she answered in this order: "My baby sister Norah, Grandma and Grandpa and Nana and Papa, baby Haley (her doll), Daddy, the trees, and Mommy". Thanks baby girl. Glad you could squeeze me in there, right after the trees. We know that everything good comes from God, and we are praising Him for every blessing.

This year we spent Thanksgiving day in Marysville. I was transported back to my childhood as I woke up to the delicious smell of turkey in the oven and spent the morning enjoying the Macy's parade. Avery got a kick out of the dance numbers and the big balloons. Erich had to work on Thanksgiving last year. It was so nice to be together as a family this year! My parents hosted over 30 people in their home... many of them aunts, uncles, and cousins that we only get to see once every year or so. We also had a blast, as always with Shannon, Travis, Paul, Kristen, and all the kids. We cherish any opportunity to be under the same roof with everyone! Mom and Dad were wonderful hosts and the food was wonderful! What a perfect day to give thanks.

Daddy and his little turkey girl in her "My First Thanksgiving" outfit

Grandma, Avery, Norah, and I observing as Grandpa carves the turkey. It was wonderful!

The kids table

The big kids table

Sisters with our youngest.

The only decent family photo we've captured so far. It will probably be a few years before we can get everyone looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. I've got to get used to setting the bar low :)

Great Grandparents

On a recent trip to Marysville, Norah got to meet her 3 great grandparents. Grandma and Grandpa Staley are in their 90's and Grandma Kelley is in her late 80's. What a blessing for me to watch my children interact with my grandparents. I try not to take any visit with them for granted, as I have many friends whose children never got a chance to meet that generation of their family. Avery and Norah have 5 great grandparents smiling down on them from heaven (my Grandpa Kelley and all 4 of Erich's grandparents) and while we miss their presence in our lives very much, we are all the more grateful that we've seen our children being held in the arms of these 3 very special people:

Grandma Staley

Grandpa Staley

Grandpa rocking a fussy baby

Grandma Kelley (all the great grandkids call her Nana K.)

Meeting the Family

Norah had a very busy first few weeks of life, meeting many family members and friends who came to get a glimpse of the newest Piland. We were positively overwhelmed by the generosity of our local friends who supplied us with meals for an entire month. Norah was born on October 18th and our last meal was delivered on November 17th. Unbelievable. We are so grateful for all of the people from our current home group, our old home group, MOMentum (the mom's group I'm a part of), and many other friends who loved and served us in the form of meals. Not having to think about food freed our minds and our time so that we could better focus on loving and serving our girls. Not only did we have daily visits from friends, we were also blessed to have family travel from Stow and Columbus to meet their newest granddaughter/niece! We were so excited for Papa to arrive. He was unable to be at the hospital when Norah was born due to his travel schedule, so it was especially meaningful when he came up to Perrysburg to meet her.

Holding his newest grandbaby

Avery was thrilled to have a mid-week visit from Papa. She wore her Abby costume just for him! (actually, she wears it almost everyday, but who's counting)

Aunt Shannon, Spencer, and Karly came up to visit when Norah was less than a week old. Sadly, Oliver was sick so he and Uncle Travis had to stay home (they were missed!) but Avery loved having two of her cousins here to play with and Norah got some good cuddle time in with Shannon. It was a great visit!

We also enjoyed a visit from Uncle Paul, Aunt Kristen, Kate, Will, and Sophia. Somehow we missed getting a picture of Katie and Will (probably because they were busy playing with Avery!). Sweet Sophia had fun checking out the new baby and we loved the chance to visit with Paul and Kris!

Aunt Nikki traveled up from Stow to meet Norah and to spend some one on one time with Avery (who had been feeling the sting of having to share the spotlight with her new sister). We loved having her spend the night and we were especially grateful she was here when Norah came down with her first cold and a fever which required an emergency trip to the doctor's office (apparently they take it quite seriously when a newborn has a temp, but thankfully she was fine- just a crummy cold). Nikki was able to take care of Avery while we tended to Norah and also ran a few errands. Not only that, but she cooked us a delicious meal - homemade mac & cheese... yum! Nikki, thank you for being such a huge help!

Aunt Nikki made cookies with Avery... Avery's first baking experience! She was enamored with the whole process... especially the part where she got to eat the finished product :)

Last but not least, we had to include this picture. This is not actually from Nikki's visit to Perrysburg, but from our recent trip to Stow (where Aunt Nikki was also a huge help in taking care of Avery!). They braved the cold weather to spend some time swinging outside. Nikki gave Avery that adorable hat. We LOVE this photo of two beautiful Piland gals!

Thanks again to all of our family who were able to come visit (and for all the gifts you brought!). We are blessed have such a great support system. We can't wait for Norah to meet Uncle Evan, Aunt Passa, and cousins Cara and Jacob at Christmas!