Christmas 2012

Well... first and foremost, we had the BEST Christmas present of all... Will safely arrived here very early Sunday morning, December 23rd... The perfect gift. I have many more pictures to post.. but for now here is us at the Redeployment Ceremony. (for the record the ceremony started at 2:40 am! It was definitely in the middle of the night, but totally worth it). Harps actually did great with both the late night and seeing Daddy! She knew right away who he was... we are happily hearing the continual chime of "dada" these days.

The ceremony is really cool... A group of 100s of motorcycles do a motorcade and drive them up to Schofield Barracks from the airport... You can hear them coming and it is so so neat. 

(okay, I obviously didn't take this photo but I stole it from the 25th CAB facebook page. I think it is such a neat image and worth sharing! Love these happy soldiers coming home).

(Harps helped me make the sign on the right. We did finger paint hand prints and colored the stars.)

Two days later we had a family Christmas. We are so so lucky to have Christmas as a family.. Will was in the earlier groups coming back from the CAB and we were fortunate enough to have that opportunity. Harps wore a helicopter bubble to the ceremony and it was perfect for the occasion. Sorry you can't see it! Anyway, onto Christmas!!

Will and I debated what Santa should bring Harps... so many options at this age. Since we live in Hawaii, Santa opted for an outside toy that could be used season long... A classic red wagon!

Santa filled her wagon with pink pots and pans for her kitchen, some play food, learning games for tots, baby doll accessories and other various things... He also set up this... (with some help from Gigi and Pops).

An Elmo Puzzle was sticking out of her new tent.

This picture was first thing in the morning.. She walked out of her room with her monkey and turned the corner and was like "Wow!". So so cute.

Opening her stocking in her tent...

For a 15 month old wrapping paper is almost as fun as a the toys!

I love this picture.. She is looking at a new book so so excited. It is a train book.. and she adores it!

I love Christmas Morning... It is so magical for kids.. running around and playing with all of their new toys. I have noticed that Santa is rather controversial in the army community... no worries, we are a pro Santa house. We obviously want our children to understand the meaning behind the season but Santa will always be coming.. behavior pending. Jk. We are so excited for many more future exciting Christmases!

Also a big thanks to everyone who sent special things for our little lady. She is loved by so many and a lucky little girl!

xoxo,
allie

12 Days of Christmas Contuined...

On the Fifth Day of Christmas we decorated cookies with a good friend (and possibly did more sampling than frosting...)

 

 On the Sixth Day of Christmas, we went to Story Time at the library and learned about snow. No pictures but a fun morning. Can you imagine 

On the Seventh Day of Christmas, we made tons of desserts for our Single Soldier Barracks and some great cookies for Daddy's return. These are pretzel and M and M's with chocolate... (I am sure if you are a Pinterest-er, you have seen these everywhere). Super easy, delicious, and easy to make.. a winning combination if you need to bake for a big group!

On the Eight Day of Christmas, Harps watched A Curious George Christmas Special with her very own Rudolph.

On the Ninth Day of Christmas, we had a special Mommy and Harper date to celebrate the end of deployment! We went to Harper's favorite restaurant and mommy even splurged and let her have some (sugary) ketchup. Love you Harper.

Running towards Mommy in her special Helicopter shirt. I promise I am not trying to dress her like a boy, but I couldn't resist since her Daddy flies them!

Ketchup Girl. Special Treat. 

We have made our lists and checked them twice... We are ready for Will.. (and of course Santa!).

xoxo,

allie

12 Days of Christmas

I originally wanted to celebrate the "25 Days of Christmas" with a clever advent calendar filled with activities for H lady but I wasn't organized enough. So I decided to reset by celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas. I love the magic of Christmas and I want our kids to enjoy the entire month of December.. I also noticed, this year, the season gets clouded with tons of parties, cookie exchanges, FRG Parties, etc... and although I adore all of these events, I can feel them swallowing up my whole month. Again, I love attending them, in fact even hosting them, but I have such a short window with my kids at home and I want to enjoy the season with Harps as well. I think Friday reminded all of us to take moments out of our days to enjoy the small things. Right now my small things are the best moments with the H lady.  This year I have had to cater our events towards a 15 month old, but our crafts and outings will only get more exciting the older she gets!

So on the first day of Christmas...

We played jingle bells and decorated the windows with Christmas Stickies (for anyone who has a toddler, these will occupy them for hours!!!).

On the second day of Christmas, we went to a FRG Christmas Party... (and ate Christmas Cookies. Harps is sporting some crumbs on her cheek).

On the Third Day of Christmas...we fingerpainted and worked on a special project for Daddy! Sorry no pics... but a great surprise.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas... we woke up early and read all our Christmas Books and then Harps went to school while Mommy worked on the single soldier barracks with some lovely FRG ladies. We had other special plans for today but it was pouring rain!

I have some more fun crafts and cookie decorating lined up for the baby lady.. but one of these days very soon, we will be welcome home daddy! The best gift of all..

We hope everyone is enjoying this last week before Christmas!

xoxo,
allie

ps. for those of you who have not seen this..  We started Gymnastics Class! A very fun hour.

Weekend Recap!

Wow, we just adore the Christmas season... It is so fun to have days filled with Christmas cheer, especially with a fun, active toddler. Speaking of H, she is officially 15 months today... Can you even believe that? For some reason that age seems extremely old ( I am sure I will be saying these exact words until she is 18 and beyond) but phew, 15 months seems to mark huge developmental leaps. Harps is no longer a baby but a toddler who has her own agenda, eats every meal with me, and drinks from her sippy all day long. She is really chatting away, although mostly babble, and adores endless exploring. She can even get on and off the couch at her own whim without falling. Big Girl. Ha, well big little girl... H lady still falls in the 0 % percentile but no worries, she has stayed steady and strong on her own growth curve and the doctors are not worried at all.

Our Christmas Tree... It is a work in progress but I have caught the ornament bug. I adore collecting ornaments. I have already been to two ornament exchange parties and it is fascinating to see what people pick and love. So many different styles out there!

H started gymnastics this past week. I love this photo.. Worn out toddler. 

She walked it and laid down like this. So sweet. 

Christmas Girl after church. The bow is board line ridiculous yet cute. 

I always say there is a age for every fashion, right?

A daily Christmas Tree Game.

 

And at her 15 month appointment.... I let her bring her very special blanket from 

Aunt Momo for her shots.. H is very brave during her shots.. I on the other hand am horrid; an area I need to work on immediately so my kids to inherit my irrational doctor fear. ek.

xoxo,

allie

Here Comes Santa Claus...

We are in full Christmas swing in this household...! Harps is embracing this season filled with cookies, presents, wrapping paper, Rudolph, and holiday jingles. Obviously the Christmas season feels a bit different with flip flops instead of snow boots and palm trees/80 degrees to snow but we are making it work! Just kidding, we still love the weather but a moments we do wish we could wear a scarf. Anyway, the beginning of the month is particular filled with lots of holiday cheer because most military families travel home for the holidays.... this year we are staying here in Hawaii waiting for Daddy to return. Although we are SO excited to have him home very soon, we are also sad to miss Christmas with our families. Anyway, this weekend we went to have Breakfast with Santa and tonight we went to the Annual Christmas Tree on post lighting.

Harps had very mixed emotions about Santa.. she adored seeing all of the dressed up Reindeer, Snowmen, etc. In fact she was chasing after them endlessly... I see Disney World in our future... ek.
 
This first group is Breakfast with Santa.. They had tons of bounce houses, craft centers, games, and of course Santa. Cute event.

(I love this photo... She is really checking him out!)

and the post Christmas Tree Lighting.. They had 3500 donated toys for all of the military children. Such a sweet gesture from some local companies..  Unfortunately the lines were insanely long and running tot Harps and I couldn't commit to wait.

and my sweetest friends came... I am so lucky to have these girls in my life! It was a great Girls Night!

xoxo,
allie

ps. I still need to post more pictures from my Grandma/ Cousin's visit!

thanksgiving 2012

This year was a unique yet fabulous Thanksgiving. Since Will is deployed my Grandma and cousin were kind enough to come all the way out to Hawaii to celebrate Thanksgiving with Harps and I! It was so nice to have some family and friendly faces being thousands of miles away; we were very thankful for that.  We also shared the day with some our Hawaiian Ohana and had an amazing combo of cuisines (I love combining family traditions!). It was a wonderful dinner and Harps really showcased her true toddler sass. A new typical Caffery holiday tradition... meltdown mode.

aloha Grandma and Missy!!!

 turkey time.

thanksgiving dress!

running beach baby... 

Macedonian Nut Farm!

and the best picture of the bunch... cool beach lady!

I have not taken nearly enough pictures of their wonderful visit! I have some photography work these last couple of days... We have done some beautiful beach hopping, went to the Macadamia Nut Farm, tried some local cuisine, some garden hopping, Pearl Harbor, Swap meet, surf watching... phew, lots of adventuring and we still have more to do!!! Mahalo to Grandma and Missy for spending the last week with Harpy and I! We have felt so forunate to have you here. 

xoxo,

allie

(another) blogger break

Phew, that was quite the hiatus.. in my defense, I have been busy playing Hawaiian tour guide and I had some technical difficulties but I have tons to catch up on...

1. We were so lucky to have one of my best friends from college visit this past week! Anne visited before Thanksgiving and we had tons of fun showing her everything. Harps and I are so lucky that people are willing to travel all the way out to Hawaii to see us! We recognize that it costs both time and money.... Anyway, we had a fabulous time with Anne! I believe the pictures do the talking..

some snorkeling...

dole plantation! 

sweet girl at park.. 

ka'ena point hike!

and the sweetest girl loving on a dog. 

These are just a couple of snap shots of her trip! I, unfortunately, did not do the best job photographing our adventures.  Anne we loved every moment of your visit and can't wait to see you again! Thank you for being so patient and loving with the Harper toddler, climber! We miss you already!!

xoxo,

allie

ps. next post is Thanksgiving and then my Grandma and Cousin's visit!!!!