Hollman Family Christmas

This year we were able to spend our first Christmas at home as a family, and while it was the first time in my life I was away from my parents house (leaving me a bit nostalgic and homesick), it was also the first time I could savor Christmas with my family in the comfort of my own home. Granted, I did miss the buffet of chocolate cookies and treats (complete with bricks of yummy white chocolate and fairy food/seafoam, whatever you call it) and the warm niche of family surrounding me with all of the happiness of the entire year culminating in one collective morning of love, but I learned so much about how important it is for me to spend Christmas with my immediate family, just me, Drew and this year Collin (next year Collin and his little brother).

Our holiday started with a Christmas Eve trip to mass, where we wondered how much we'd actually gain in terms of hearing a homily and feeling like Christmas was meaningful through Christianity, as we generally spend anywhere between 50 and 75% of masses baby wrangling. Christmas Eve was no exception, the church was PACKED. Sardines in a can. Think Hoards of 12 year olds at a Justin Beiber Concert. There were kids everywhere, and their accompanying adults weren't far behind. We chose to sit in the back of the church (to make for an easy escape if necessary) and sat down between Mrs. Minnesota Mom and the extended family of Sven and Ollie themselves. Right away, Collin turned on his charm and within ten minutes Drew was talking to Mrs. Minnesota Mom about the snow (don't-cha-know), my job, Collin's sleeping habits and what we had planned as our holiday hotdish. The whole mass he played games with her, including talking, out loud and ignoring our incessant shushing. Collin is also in a phase of generalization, where any woman with longer blond hair that's older than about 40 and wears glasses is Nana. As a result, give or take every 10 minutes, he's point at some unsuspecting woman and say "Nana" with a giant smile on his face. I'd have to squash his hopes and remind him that Nana wasn't at church, instead she was back in Michigan. Overall though, he did pretty well. I mean, he didn't cry. He wasn't heard above the 400 other toddlers also talking straight through the mass and he didn't make a scene when we ran out of yogurt puffs. We left church with a sense of accomplishment. Look at that! We made it through our first Christmas mass alone, without any help, and everyone is still smiling and relaxed.

As it turned out, home was exactly what we needed this year, with baby Hollman due at what feels like any minute, and so many things to do before he arrives, coupled with our effort to try to spend every free moment with Collin we can while he still an only child, we couldn't help but savor the comfort of our quaint and effortless Christmas morning. I absolutely loved every second of spending it as just the three of us, taking our time to open gifts and remembering each moment like the piece of a perfect family puzzle.
Our morning started by pulling Collin out of bed at a nice and late 8:30 (even though he was a bit more than restless that night and wound up in our bed, it was nice to sleep in!). In Michigan we never got to sleep in as my little sister always was so full of anticipation that she wouldn't let us go past 7 a.m. before tearing into gifts. Not to shirk her responsibilities while we were spending Christmas at home, she called, bright and early (7 am!) to let us know that she was still planning on getting us up and out of bed, with or without our physical presence. Oh Andrea. Maybe someday I'll miss that part of Christmas when she finally gives up the early riser gig. Anyhow, Collin and his bed-head, got up, at a yummy home-made pancake breakfast and wandered down stairs to start the Christmas present extravaganza.


Its hard to describe the excitement of a toddler on Christmas morning. But if a photo could capture it, this one is pretty close. I don't think its even in focus all that well, but you can totally see Collin's "Oh! Oh! Oh! This is for me!?!?!?!" face peeking over the present. I mean seriously, does it get any cuter?
He was so very happy to open presents, and ran out of steam long before all were opened. Mostly though, it was great to see him so happy and fulfilled. We could have given him just one present, just one Thomas the Train toy and he would have been on cloud nine. It made me realize how greedy we are as adults, we give each other so much STUFF, but really, all we need is a little more love, thats what Collin reveled in-- he absorbed so much of the happiness we provided and rode along on those feelings all day like a little magic carpet.


Toward the end of the morning (after about half of the presents were open) he donned his new backpack and was heading upstairs to play with his new trains when I took this photo. I can't believe how old he looks in it. Its like he's on his way to school or something. I about cried when I saw the image because it made wish he would slow down a bit so I could hang on to these moments a bit longer. That's when we decided it might be worth it to keep Christmas a little more sacred at our house and always spend it at home.

Now, for all the family members out there who are saying "WHAT?" I can't say that this thought is a decision we've made in absolute terms, so you might find us back in Michigan next winter for the holiday, but I can also say its not without a bit of a struggle that I would be willing to give this up again. So, yes, there is some guilt and challenges involved, and I'm sure we'll cross those bridges when we get there. Its true though that time flies, and holding on to the simple holiday traditions that we make it our tiny nuclear family might have just become very important to us. Important enough that if you want to see us, you might need to come to Minnesota.

As the day continued and we snuggled in for a nice relaxing afternoon, complete with Turkey dinner and fresh cranberry sauce, Drew took Collin outside with one of his Christmas presents, a new sled, and trotted around the yard (above the 3.5 feet of snow we have). Collin LOVED this. He couldn't get enough of the sled-ride and after 15 minutes Drew was exhausted from trudging through the resistant snow.
And even though Drew looked like he could barely take another step, he kept pulling Collin, kept on with the Christmas spirit-- love, happiness and family. And really, who wouldn't when you see a smile like this looking back at you?

Baby Hollman's Nursery

Well, we are almost there. Here are some photos of the many things we've been up to and the nursery, very near completion. All we have left to do is finish the windows (add the tie back holders to the wall, trim the curtain rods and add the spindles on the ends), stain and hang the owl mobile that Drew is making over the changing table, and of course, add a little baby boy :)

Here's the nursery, you can see one of the boppy covers I made in the bottom right hand corner on the boppy pillow, and the curtains I made that match the bedding in the crib.

I also decided to make some boppy covers, here's one of the few that I made. These were super easy. I couldn't believe how easy it was to put in a zipper. I thought it would be so intimidating and it was a piece of cake.

Here is how the afghan turned out. This picture shows all the squares blocked out before I connected them.

And here is the afghan all finished!

A little closer view.

Holiday Season 2010

This holiday season has been unlike any other for us- with the imminent arrival of baby Hollman we decided to stay here for Christmas and travel for Thanksgiving, which made for a bit of a "reversed" holiday, as my parents decided to celebrate Christmas with us while we were visiting, a week after Thanksgiving. It seemed our holiday was over before it started...but waking up on Christmas morning in the warmth of my own bed hours have put an entirely different spin on things, one that I've learned I'm not so sure I'm willing to give up...

In review, our holiday season looked something like this:
We made it an epic, landmark trip. 5 hours to Milwaukee for Thanksgiving weekend, a trip from Milwaukee to Michigan (another 6 hours) on the Sunday after Thanksgiving to start a week of "pseudo-holiday" with my family in Pinconning, and what worked out to be an 8 hour trip (yes, 8 hours) back from Pinconning to Milwaukee, a quick overnight in Milwaukee, followed by another 6 hours back to Minnesota. So in total, we spent entire day on the road. RIDICULOUS.

But, in hindsight it was all worth it... you know, the drive wasn't that bad. Okay, who am I kidding. The drive was TERRIBLE. What were we thinking? Pregnant wife + monkey-climber toddler + winter storm warnings + quick little blizzard + 20 car pileup = DISASTER. Its true.

While we were actually in locations (Milwaukee, Michigan, etc.) - you know, not confined to a carseat, seat belt or winter storm, we had a great time. So it wasn't all for naught, instead, it just made me realize how hard we'll think about driving anywhere long distance once there are two babies in the mix.

It started with Thanksgiving in Milwaukee where we were able to spend some much appreciated time with Drew's sister Susie, in from Las Vegas, and Chris, Drew's brother in from Madison. Collin quickly re-attached to his Gram's hip and wanted to follow her everywhere. They made cookies together, washed dishes together, played together. He worked hard on wrapping her around his little finger. We wandered over to Drew's Aunt Jan and Uncle Mark's house, where they hosted a yummy Thanksgiving dinner, and Collin was able to try his first cranberry sauce and stuffing. It was great to see the Montgomery side of the family and hear about all of the latest and greatest happenings that surround greater Milwaukee.Collin was able to swim in the pool again (its an indoor pool here, folks. No worries, we didn't send our toddler off to a polar bear plunge). The first few minutes in he was a bit apprehensive, but once Drew started entertaining him with boats, floaties and silly daddy tricks he warmed up and started to behave more like a little fish than a toddler.


Meanwhile, Drew's parents had arranged for the family to have dinner with grandma Hollman, or to Collin, Gigi, who is still going strong well into her 90s. We're particularly lucky to be blessed with so many extended family members who are still around and still interested in connecting with family....
We followed family time, with wedding planning, picking out bridesmaid dresses for Susie's wedding. Susie picked a sassy little dress that I LOVE, and I'm anxious to have my post-baby body back to fit into it. I'm already day dreaming about the opportunities to drink wine without even the tiniest bit of guilt or resistance all the while parading around Las Vegas...(can you tell I'm excited!, its only what, 10 months away or so?)....

We also were able to squeeze in a visit to Drew's best friend Josh's, where we met Phillip James, the newest addition to their family. It was great to see them, and it made me realize that it feels like we've just about forgotten what to do with a little tiny baby. It should be interesting to see how we adapt to the parenting thing with an infant once baby Hollman arrives. We did get at least a few minutes of practice while we were there, although poor Phillip doesn't look like he's enjoying it much :)

Then on to another day of travel, heading into Michigan. The trip there wasn't actually all that bad. We were able to stop about half way in Kalamazoo and catch up with some friends, and it gave Collin time to run around for awhile before we returned him to the lock-down position of his car seat. We arrived in Pinconning on Sunday night, ready for a week of fun and family.

We surely weren't disappointed. From Monday through Sunday Collin was surrounded by family (mostly Auntie Andrea, Nana and Papa) that couldn't get enough of him. We played with toys, terrorized the dogs, got into trouble with Nathan's girlfriend, Faya's daughter, Jayla, and generally secured a spot around Nana and Papa's smallest fingers, nailing down all of the grandparents, quickly and effortlessly to succumb to his ridiculous little charms.




While we were home, our newest addition (to make his appearance in the very near future) made it clear he was not to be forgotten, sending us to the emergency room. It was less than stellar to be seen by a host of doctors that I didn't know at all, with little knowledge about my pregnancy and hear that we were having contractions that they preferred to stop with medication. So, a few shots later and two annoying trips to the Midland hospital made us well aware that this baby had a say in things too.
But, he didn't slow us down too much! I was still able to visit with friends from home and while I was out with the ladies, Collin stayed home with Drew, Nana and Aunt Andrea to make cut-out cookies. They were his first cut-outs and he did a fantastic job. First he helped roll out the dough, then he cut out the cookies, and finally he decorated a masterpiece of a gingerbread man, complete with an entire jar of crystal sparkles.



On Thursday we had "psuedo Christmas", waking up to presents under the tree and Collin continuously saying "Open!", "Open!" to every present. Apparently, Santa sure had extra time to shop for Collin, because he went WAY above and beyond in the spoiling department. Its a miracle we had enough room to bring it all home...


First Collin opened his stocking, filled with all things boy (balls, trains etc.) and some yummy fruit leather treats.
Then Collin got a glimpse of all of the gifts around the tree. His little face seemed to say "all this?!?!, for me?!?!" It was sheer joy (and a bit ridiculous that indeed, nearly all of the gifts were for him!). One of Collin's most elaborate gifts (and now is quickly becoming one of his favorites) was the train table for his Thomas the Train toys. He loves waking up everyday and getting to play with trains and all of the lights and sounds contained that came with the track.After opening presents and cleaning up the mess, Collin was nearly ready for a nap. All of that present opening had really tired him out. So off to sleep he went, and soon after he awoke another party was about to begin with more gifts from the extended family.
I think Collin's favorite gift was the snow globe great grandma Wackerle gave him. Everyday he goes up to it and says "on!, on!", he loves to watch the snowman and little snow dog twirl around and around in the sparkling glittery snow.
During the second party, after a well rested nap-time, we tried to capture a brief moment of toddlers being still with Jayla and Collin. Getting pictures of two toddlers that are anything but hilarious is nearly impossible, but we tried (and tried, and tried), to no avail. We ended up with lots of shots like these, pointing, looking different directions etc., but nonetheless they sure are cute in their Christmas best together.

So party after party we enjoyed spending time with my family, but, as usual felt the time went by so quickly and we nearly didn't have a moment to relax, we were on the go so much. But, time marches on, so we awoke Sunday morning, packed the car (filling every nook and cranny), and started our journey back to Milwaukee. About 2 hours into the trip we learned that the west coast of Michigan was expecting a heavy whiteout due to lake-effect snow. Right past Kalamazoo it started to snow and visibility dramatically reduced. Suddenly, within a split second of going from some snow to whiteout conditions, we found that we were a few cars behind a pile-up accident. We were close enough to the accident to be stuck in the "sit on the freeway and wait it out" group, rather than the "be re-routed because the cleanup of this accident is going to take at least 4 hours" group. So, after sitting with a toddler in the car for two full hours, we decided to take matters into our own hands and follow a handful of risky-behaving folks and go down the freeway the wrong way back to the nearest exit. At this point we were frustrated, tired, hungry and Collin was exhausted and sad. He kept saying "momma, out!" because he wanted out of the car seat and I felt like the worst mother ever continually having to say, no Collin, you can't get out....

So, after getting back on track (but still in blizzard conditions) we started toward Milwaukee again. We landed in Greenfield 8 or 9 hours later ( I quit counting after awhile), miserable, tired and worse for the wear. It was something like 9 pm then, putting Collin at a cross between awake and asleep, and neither willing nor resistant to either....
We found our way into bed and took on driving home the very next day, anxious to see our own bed's and get back to our everyday lives after so much commotion.

Its true, we had a fantastic time, but we are genuinely grateful that the driving only occurs a handful of times each year and that even through all of the mess, it could have been much worse.

We continue to consider ourselves blessed, and thankful for all of the time we were able to spend with our family members. Its hard to be so far from them when family means so much to us, and holidays make being with family the pinnacle of our lives, if only for a few brief moments in the glimpse of each year.

Its almost Christmas!

This past weekend we met with a few friends to make Christmas cookies and catch up post grad school. Collin, Liam and Linnea enjoyed all of the gingerbread making and sugar cookie frosting. Collin was especially enamored with Angie and Pat's dog, Tonka, a Newfoundland, who is enormous. Everyday he now says "big dog! Tonk!" remembering just how horse-like Tonka is compared to our much tinier Samson.

We cooked and frosted cookies, caught up on the goings-on in our local school districts (for me at the University) and reveled in dissertation completion, dissertation motivation, family excitement (the McIntyre's are expecting number 2 in May!),and general life events (new houses, new babies, new cars etc.). Collin loved frosting the cookies and persistently showed me anytime a tiny bit of frosting got on his fingers (he tends to not like sticky messes very much), but once he figured out he could lick it off he was less concerned with the messiness and more interested in the potential access to sugary cookies and frosting.



Liam, the resident two year old, was generous enough to share his toys and Christmas decorations, which Collin loved. Once he discovered the dancing holiday globes he spent his energy pressing the buttons. About an hour after we arrived, Collin turned on the charm, and decided Isadora was his lady of choice spending the rest of the morning asking her to take him to Angie and Pat's cat, Seamus, who seemed to tolerate Collin's requests to pet him. We came home with a selection of cut outs, gingerbread men, walnut-sour cream cookies, cherry mice and classic peanut butter kiss cookies, all which promptly disappeared within, oh, say 48 hours.


It was great to see the girls from my cohort and see how their lives have changed and families have grown. It once again confirms we're all grown up now! It feels like it was just yesterday we were launching ourselves into the pit of wolves otherwise known as graduate school. Our heads buried in books, school psychology articles and assignments surrounding and filling every moment of our lives. Its nice to have such a pleasant change as we've reached the end of the tunnel, because all of that grad school put all of the little things in perspective, making moments and events like these what its all about.