On the fourth day of Christmas…

Okay, I’m going to go all super cheesy on this one.

One of my all-time favorite Christmas memories was when Daniel proposed to me.

So, to start at the very beginning, I’ll give you all the details.

Daniel and I were friends for a bit at college. It’s kind of hard not to know someone when your school has a total of around a thousand people in attendance. We took a class together that was super romantic ~ History of the United States during the Civil War Era. Yeah. Fun stuff right there. It was during interterm, so the class was small and there wasn’t a whole lot to do. Daniel, a mutual friend and I went out to Pokey one day after class. We got to talking more there (and totally ignoring our friend ~ I’m really sorry about that……) and became closer friends. Daniel wasn’t aware of it, but I was definitely crushing on him. I wanted to date him, but he was pretty oblivious to this fact. So one night, I finally said (over AIM) “I like you. Do you like me?” He said, “I don’t know. Let me think about it for a week and get back to you.” A week later, at coffee after a movie date, he said, “Let’s give it a shot. We might as well.”

After figuring out what that meant (thank you, Heather!), D and I finally were officially dating.

One might assume, after such an awkward start to the whole deal, that the proposal would be pretty awful. Not so, my friends. Not so at all.

Daniel and his family plotted against me. They arranged for Natalie to lug the family Christmas tree (a big, beautiful fake) to Madison. Natalie and D set the tree up at D’s apartment before Christmas. (Side note: a Christmas tree is a MUST for me.) Daniel invited me over one afternoon. I walked in and saw the tree and was all excited and happy. Then D said, “Let’s decorate the tree. I put a couple of ornaments in this bag. I’ll get mine out.” It was a cute little glass snowman. Then he told me to get mine out. I reached in…and pulled out a box. He got down on one knee and started saying a bunch of cheesy, romantic stuff about how awesome I am ~ I’ll spare you the details. Suffice it to say, he more than made up for the awkward beginnings of our relationship.

So yeah. That was a GREAT Christmas.

'Cuz nothing says "love" like posing under the Heart Tree.

Annnnnnnnnnnd pause…

We’re battling some crazy sickness in the Rivera home this weekend.

It started on Friday.

Hence the lack of Christmas posts.

Never fear ~ as soon as all three are up and running again, we will resume our regularly scheduled programming.

On the second day of Christmas…

My first post won’t highlight one single memory. Instead, I’ll talk about my favorite Christmas tradition.

My parents would always find great stuff to put in our stockings.

One of my favorite stocking stuffers ~ magic capsules. They have been in every stocking I’ve ever gotten since the beginning of time.

My Momma and Dale would find new stockings each year and stitch our names into them. My Dad and Karla would find new stockings each year that were absolutely perfect for us.

Nowhere near as awesome as the Christmas stockings I had growing up.

But the best part of the tradition? The delivery of said stockings. My brother and I would go to bed on Christmas Eve, all excited about Christmas. When we woke up in the morning ~ no matter what time it was ~ there were FULL stockings on our beds! They would be placed on our beds by our feet.

In the morning, we would wake up and begin opening our stockings, enjoying each and every little thing inside. Then we would head down to the living room for cinnamon rolls and presents.

It was perfect.

A Great Way to Waste Fifty Bucks

Daniel and I decided we would like to get some pictures of E and the nanny before we leave Korea. We set up an appointment with the always amazing Zoo Studio. We tried to make sure E was rested, full, and happy.

Only apparently she wasn’t a fan of the happy part.

She refused to smile. No, that’s a lie. She smiled plenty during wardrobe changes and hanging out. But as soon as the camera was on her, she was 100% serious.

We did manage to get some cute pictures out of it, but I don’t think we got any of her smiling.

I don’t think there are enough people getting E ready for her photo shoot.

Getting ready for the first pictures.

Note the wildly waving hand on the left. We tried so hard to get a smile!

Christmas spirit? We don’t need no stinkin Christmas spirit. Me and my bear are just gonna be grumps together. Bah humbug.

 

Ellie refusing to smile with Rachel, my wonderful deskmate.

Wardrobe change time!

I’m just yawning my way through my parents’ hard-earned cash. Whatevs.

Seriously, guys? Seriously? Another bear? If you’re gonna make me pose with a bear, at least give me my red one!

… or this bear. At least he has a sweet hat.

Some of the sweet stuff Zoo Studio makes. Love that place!

All in all, everyone but Ellie had a grand ol’ time. We managed to get a few cute pictures despite Girlita’s refusal to cooperate. So glad we spent our hard-earned money on proof that our child is miserable.

First Food!

Sunday, December 12, 2010 was a big day in our home.

Today, Eliana Kay took her first bite of actual, semi-chewable food!

E had carrots, and she fell in love at first (or maybe second or third…) bite. It was fun! I’ll let the pictures and video speak for themselves.

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Here’s the video. Please don’t mind me as I nag Daniel throughout the video to make sure he doesn’t choke my sweet daughter with carrots. Note the fact that Ellie seems to be more frustrated with the lack of food in her mouth than anything I’m talking about.

The One Where We Have To Buy A New Camera

Ellie likes to eat stuff. It doesn’t matter what you put in front of this girl. A burpcloth? Yum! Squid? De-lish! A toe? Seconds, please!

A camera? Don’t mind if I do!

… Daniel lost that battle. We’re currently in the market for a new digital camera.*

Oh, the joys of having a baby that eats everything!

 

 

 

 

 

* Norm Fisher ~ We do not literally need a new camera. I simply took some creative liberties with the story. The Bellie did not, in fact, ingest a digital camera. I just thought the end of the video was quite dramatic, and it added to the humor of this post. We did not want you to worry.

They Say A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words…

New Skill(s) of the Day

Girlita has recently developed two very important skills.

1) Grabbing (and holding!) her feet.
(No video yet. I’m still waiting for her to continue doing things while the camera is pointed at her. She thinks having a camera aimed at her means she should stop doing whatever amazing and adorable thing she was doing just seconds before. I’m working on my sneak attack video technique.)

She always, always, always holds her legs in the air. At least now she’s figured out how to grab her feet! Too cute!!

2) Blowing raspberries. (My apologies for my scrub-osity in the video. Oops.)



A Love Story

This is the story of an unlikely pairing.

A young girl, looking for the perfect match.

A squid, looking for love.

Ellie happily played by herself every evening in her pink bumbo. She was content, listening to her own giggles and screams.

One night, Ellie realized that she was alone. (Cue music: All by myseeeeeeeelf… Don’t wanna be … all by myself!)

Ellie decided to begin her search for true love. She looked to her left…only to find her father’s foot.

Not one to be discouraged, Ellie continued the hunt. She searched high. She searched low. She had just about given up hope.

Ellie found a rabbit hopping nearby! (Okay, so not really hopping. Work with me, people.) Ellie thought this might finally be it! This could be the day she’d hoped for and dreamed of her whole life! Ellie enthusiastically stuffed one ear in her mouth, hoping to find true love.

Alas and alack, the bunny and Ellie were not meant to be. Ellie and the bunny parted due to irreconcilable differences ~ she loved Pepsi, whereas the bunny preferred the greatly inferior off-brand Coke. The bunny hopped away, and Ellie felt even sadder and lonelier than before.

Eliana was deep in thought. Her thoughts went something like this: “I need love. Dad’s sock was gross. The bunny liked Coke (the horror!). But I’m still lonely! (cue music) And I can’t liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive, if livin is without you!!!” Ellie’s father decided to step in at this point. He suggested that Ellie might try her luck with squid.

Ellie was skeptical.

After all, (Ellie thought) a squid would stink and be somewhat slimy, as it comes from the ocean. Besides, could I ever love a squid??

After her father handed her the squid, Ellie was still not sure. She still thought the squid was rude and had bad manners. After all, he squeaked when she squeezed him!

Then, one day, the squid wrote Ellie a note that read: “I like you. Do you like me?” Ellie had never looked at the squid in that light before. But Ellie thought she might be able to give the squid a chance, so she replied. She said, “I’m not sure. Let me think about it. I’ll get back to you in a week.”

Thankfully, a week later, Ellie saw the squid. She said, “Let’s give it a shot. Might as well!” The squid and Ellie have been happy as can be for the last seven years… er, I mean few months. Either way, they’re perfect for each other.

The (Thankfully) Rarely-Seen Fussy Girlita

Sometimes my dear Bellie forgets that her screaming powers should only be used for good, not evil.

Thankfully, she is rarely this fussy.