Countdown to Christmas

It must have been a crazy week because I only took a few pictures! We're on the countdown to Christmas - all of the Christmas cards have been mailed, gifts are wrapped, holiday plans are set and we went to 2 Christmas parties today. The first was the traditional Nickolay family Christmas party at the KC Hall in New Prague. My grandpa hosts the party for his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. As long as I can remember the party includes: dinner, singing carols, and BINGO. Newer additions to the festivities are a pinata for the kids and a white elephant gift exchange. One constant at the party is that all of the younger kids run around like crazy (must be all of the Christmas cookies and candy) in the front room of the hall. I remember playing in this room as a child and now Miles was running around screaming in delight too. This was Miles first year participating in the pinata fun and he walked away with a mini monster truck and beads.
Thank you great-grandpa for the party!

I really appreciate that my grandpa hosts his whole family each Christmas and has kept up with all of these traditions over the years.

We also enjoyed a neighborhood holiday party tonight where Miles and Hadley both turned on the charm. They can both be the cutest little flirts if they want to be!

I love the holiday season - our Christmas tree lights are on each day and Christmas music is playing on the stereo. I think Hadley may be the performer in our family (no pressure) - when she hears music she bops her head and grooves from side-to-side. She's the tiny dancer I've always wanted! I also think she can sing Deck the Halls because she joins in on the "la, la, la" parts. I'm also happy to report that she actually was opening her mouth a fraction of an inch when I fed her pears this morning. We're on a 2-meal a day schedule now so she's getting breakfast and lunch.

This week Miles impressed us with his yoga moves. He does yoga regularly at school and he's becoming a little zen master. His downward-facing dog is great. He also was walking around on his tiptoes this week - something I didn't know he could do. One night for dinner I roasted a turkey, made mashed potatoes and gravy and baked green beans. Miles ate about a pound of turkey but wouldn't even touch his potatoes. I asked him why he wouldn't eat them and here was our conversation:

-Why don't you like potatoes?

-They're yucky.

-Why?

-Because.

-But, why don't you like them?

-Because they were in the dishwasher.

I guess I wouldn't eat potatoes either if I thought they had been in the dishwasher!

From my family to yours we wish everyone a safe, happy and healthy holiday. Merry Christmas!