Christmas Through my 2 year-old's Eyes

I tried to finish up some last minute Christmas shopping today.

I thought I could make it quick but that doesn't often happen. I was kind of grumbling about how I had, had to return to a store twice because I'd been charged for two items I didn't purchase and then returned to get it sorted out which is always more of a hassle especially with two tired babies.

I had the carseat in one hand and was holding Lydia's hand with my other as we walked into one last store. I found myself half dragging Lydia and thinking "Just the one item.. that's it. Then we'll be home" and then to my dismay and frustration, Lydia let go of my hand and started running and yelling across the store "Jesus! Baby Jesus!"

I found myself chasing her down as she ran up to a life-sized nativity scene and knelt down at the porcelain bale of hay that held a delicate baby Jesus.

At first I tried to pull her away and "go get that item" but something caused me to just stop my hurry.. and watch.

I watched as Lydia touched his face and gave him a kiss right on his cheek and whispered in the sweetest voice "mine baby Jesus."

It made me start to wonder.. What is Christmas through my 2 year-old's eyes? She gets taken around from store to store, party to party, sees an old man in red that always seems to be holding kids and candy canes.. What in the world is she thinking?

For one thing.. I think that looking at Christmas through the eyes of a child makes Christmas a whole lot simpler.

To a child, Christmas is magical and Christmas is simple.

Finding scenes like this after playtime is a heart melter

They see pretty lights everywhere they go, and trees decorated in pretty colors. And though Lydia doesn't understand why she put "balls" on the tree and why they need to stay there and not be played with.. she does understand that it is beautiful.





Lately she has gotten really into "making things" for us and baby Adeline. She will color a picture and say "SEE!?" and then color some more and give it to us. I don't know if it is that we are trying to instill in her the art of sharing or what.. either way, I love it and it makes me smile as I watch her excitement to see our excitement.

She doesn't care how much a gift costs or what it looks like. And often she would much rather play with the bow on top anyway.

But it is that feeling of giving someone something that just warms a person up. And I know that everyone has different love languages, but no matter what your love language is, it just feels warm and fuzzy when you give someone you care about something and you wait to see their reaction.

A child lives in the moment. They aren't thinking about the next activity or what else needs to get done. They take in everything that is around them and I think that is where a lot of the magical feelings come from.

So it makes sense to me that as I am dragging this little girl through store after store, walking in and seeing something that is familiar is exciting. And I am reminded that even the smallest things are magical but we may often be in too big of a hurry to notice them.

Christmas really is just a whole lot simpler than we adults make it out to be.

Really though, the simplicity of Christ's birth is all in the simple and humble stable.. It's the simple act of love that changed the whole world.

I think it's important that through the hustle and bustle of our daily lives mixed with the busyness of the season that we take a moment and appreciate the simplicity of it all.

Never let the things you want make you forget the things you have.

We put lights up on our house which we have never had the opportunity to do before. What seemed like such a small thing to do has brought me such joy as I drive up and see our house.

Lydia loves to point out all the lights in the neighborhoods and especially if someone displays a star. We went walking around Farmington Station last week to see Santa and every lamppost had a wreath and bow attached. Lydia was so excited and kept calling them "Minnie's hats" which had us chuckling even from that simple thought.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Lydia's visit with Santa. She's never really had stranger danger so I just wasn't sure how she would respond. If you ask Lydia what Santa says she'll respond "Ho, Ho". The Santa at Farmington Station wasn't super friendly which I was pretty disappointed about. He just wasn't great with toddlers who can't really answer the question of what they want for Christmas.

Lydia just sat on his lap very shyly. Her face didn't move and nor did her body. She just held on to that candy cane and didn't want to leave Santa when it was time to hop down. As we walked away she kept repeating "ho ho" over and over.

We have a whole lot of this going on... Brian's rotation for residency has been in the ER this month. It has put his hours all over the place with many switching from night shifts to days and lots of exhaustion, but it has been nice to have him home during the day when he gets the chance and be around these darling little ladies.

And while Lydia has probably wondered why there are so many goodies in the house all of the sudden, I doubt she has cared as we all have indulged in a few delicious baking frenzies for #LIGHTtheWORLD that the church has encouraged. I have loved to get on social media and see what others are doing to be more Christlike and keep him in Christmas. I know I have felt closer to him this season by refocusing each day on His life and example.

When the snow came, I was a lot more excited about building snowmen than Lydia was. She was up for it until Mom thought it would be cool to make a family of snowmen.. You can see how well that turned out. Ever read the book "Snowmen at Night?" If not.. You should. I think our snowmen must have been sledding on the great hills by our house or something.

One of Lydia's favorite things to do is to bring the Christmas light right up to her eye.. particularly the pink lights. Watching her joy with all the wonders of this season has been one of my favorite parts of this month.

   I think right in the middle of our plans and busyness, we are often given small reminders to bring us to remembrance of what is most important. My sweet father-in-law had a heart attack this last week and had double bypass surgery just a few days ago. 

   He is doing remarkably well and we know it is because of the faith and prayers that have surrounded him and my mother-in-law at this time. 

   With Christmas less than a week away, it really put into perspective our priorities. While gifts, lights, baking treats, decorations, Santa, etc are exciting and may seem important at the time-what is most important are our friends and family and our Savior Jesus Christ. How blessed we are to celebrate him this time of year. 

       When we took the kids to visit Craig in the hospital, Lydia kept saying "Grapa owie" over and over. She wanted him to hold her, but didn't understand all the cords and tubes. We made a sign for him to hang in his room that had a picture of all his kids and grandkids holding a letter that spelled out "WE LOVE GRANDPA LARSON!" We just love this man so much. How happy we are to be blessed by such a wonderful man. Give an extra squeeze to your loved ones and an extra kiss to your kiddos. It's worth it. 

May we all count our blessings this Christmas season and strive to embrace the simplicity of the season. As we hold our dear ones near and open our eyes to see from the eyes of a child may it bring a little more faith and happiness as 2016 comes to a close.

Good Mom Moments

The subject of "mom-guilt" has been on my mind a lot lately. It could do with my battle with breastfeeding that leaves it fresh in my mind, but it also could be the tendency many of us have to be really hard on ourselves.

We often think that because we are a mom we should be able to do everything and when we fall short we think there is something wrong with us.

Even as I write this my mind is swirling with all the things I did wrong today and the things I didn't get done.

I could write lists of incidents like when I put Lydia in time out for sticking her finger in my chapstick tube and smearing it on her toys but then realizing that she was simply trying to put ointment on their "boo-boos" like we did to hers when she scraped her knee. And the mom guilt starts to seep in.. "Geez Anna, she was just being caring to others."  

Or when I was working out this morning and trying to beat my current planking record and Lydia came and climbed on me and I couldn't hold the weight and crumbled. My first response was a "Lydia no!" And then the mom guilt crept in.. "She was only trying to play with me" And it's a cycle over and over..

We can always be more organized or more cheerful or more clean or more on top of things. No one expects us to be perfect but ourselves.

So.. I'm not going to focus on my list of "bad monster mom moments" and instead here is my list of ways that I have been a good mom lately.

• I bundled the girls up and took them on a short walk before bed to look at the Christmas lights in my neighborhood
• I let Lydia stay up past bedtime because we were enjoying reading her pop-up books
• Lydia got to watch an extra show as I cleaned the kitchen.
• I made pancakes for breakfast
• I danced around the family room with both girls in my arms to "Rockin Around the Christmas Tree" 3 times
• I have a cinnamon apple candle burning and my house smells delicious
• We finger-painted pictures and thankful trees
• I got around to hanging some pictures on the walls
• I found some new names on family search to take to the temple
• I got up with each girl twice last night for a total of 6 interrupted hours of sleep
• I did laundry after being a week behind
• I wrote in my journal of special moments with the girls and the funny things Lydia has been saying lately
• I took a bath with Lydia and we played til the water got cold
• I pulled Adeline in bed with me and took a nap with her
• I had tickle and kissing wars with both girls until Adeline had a blow out all over her blanket

Writing that list started out really hard. I sat for a good 10 minutes just staring at my hands or at the big pine tree in my backyard. But toward the end I kind of got excited to write down some of the ways I have been a good mom.

I'm not all bad I guess. 

And neither are any of the women in my life who allow love to be the underlying reason for their actions. 

I think we should all take a step back every now and then and write down the things we are doing right and not focus so much on the wrong.

And some exciting news? Adeline is 3 months and is SUCH a happy girl. I honestly was worried she would be a harder baby due to her acid reflux but man was I wrong. 

Maybe it's because she is the second child and it forces her to be chill because she can't have all the attention or maybe it's because Lydia is there to watch and entertain her. Either way, she is happy to sit in her swing or in our arms and just watch with those big gray eyes (thinking they'll be hazel).

Adeline sleeps 12-14 hours at night with 2 feedings in there somewhere. She still sounds like a little piggy when she breathes and eats and I find myself speaking to her through snorts back. When she lies on her back she will kick her legs to scoot herself around and will get stuck in super awkward places. She is 14 lbs and is my little stiff chunk because she has the best thigh rolls and she still stiffens her body and planks it everywhere. 

Another good mom moment? I love these journals. I know I've said it before, but I am so grateful for the opportunity to look back on all these and for my girls to have them as they grow and see what life was like in their first year of life and how much they are loved.

I guess I just need to give myself a break. We are are worst critic right? 

Take a moment to tell yourself something YOU are good at and smile about it.