No Year's Resolutions!

I don't do New Year's Resolutions. I'm not legally opposed to them, but I just don't like to start my year setting myself up for failure or disappointment. That comes naturally :) But during the year, I am constantly trying to change and improve improve things. Items that I'm currently working on: Getting up at 6 am and having a quiet time; Organizing my ever constant unorganized house (we'll have a crawler soon); Spending more quality time with my spouse and improving our communication; watch James improve with his speech and spend more time with friends.

I anticipate a few milestones next year: James entering Pre-K, Ryan entering preschool; Olivia crawling, walking, talking, etc., Cleaning house, getting rid of baby clothes and toys; Improve my couponing skills, moving more kids out of diapers and all in all getting some resolution to this economy!

But who could not smile when they see this adorable photo of my men!

The Holdgate's, Year 2009

Wow! It's hard to imagine another year come and gone. Here are a few highlights from Fiddler island.

We started off the year in our new home and have thoroughly enjoyed it. As we continue to pick away at unfinished projects, we consider ourselves very blessed to be living here.

We had a few visitors that we really enjoyed seeing: The Schultz's and the Wallace's. We really enjoy guests because first, we clean the house, and Second, we get to spend time downtown.

In May, we welcome Olivia Marie Holdgate to our lives weighing in a 7 lbs 11 oz. She has been a joy and a great addition to this crazy family.

Sometime in August, Alex had an office procedure that will make sure that our family stays at 5 and all went well.

We celebrated Thanksgiving here at our house with 18 bodies and had a great time. Alex and I celebrated our 5th anniversary on November 27th and were able to spend the day with family. My brother in law Nick, married Kristy in December and we are very excited to welcome her to the family.

In the summer of 09, we had Operation No Binky, Operation Ryan in the Big Boy Bed, and Operation Potty Training for James. All were successful. More recently, we had Operation Help Olivia Sleep Through the Night which is almost a complete success.

As we embark on 2010, we look forward to a few more milestones and happy times!

Is it Christmas time already?!

Yes, it is. I knew, not by the christmas music station that started around Halloween or the holiday lights that started showing up in mid-November, but when we pulled out our wonderful tree and plugged it in! Growing up, we always had live trees. One year, we bought a tree that we re-planted in our yard. It finally got too big that my brother finally cut it down. Anyways, we invested in a sizable artificial christmas tree last year. The reasons being the cost, the mess and the short amount of time that they can be put up. We've been very happy. So this year, Alex opened up the bag, took the tree out, attached the 3 parts then plugged it in! All in 7 minutes. It even has lights.

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This year, the decorating is sort of a hodge-podge of new and old, semi-breakable ornaments. I still have my ornament box that I've had since I was a little girl, minus the few that the kids broke last year. Call me sentimental, but I made Alex put those special church-made ornaments higher up so they can't get them. I guess I won't share EVERYTHING with my kids :) There's also a few mom-made ornaments that I treasure dearly that are illuminating my tree.

I have a goal to buy the boys ornaments, but I'm always thrown off by the cost of them. So, I think I'll buy a bunch after Christmas and save till next year.

Anyways, it's Christmas-time, only a week and a few days away and my shopping is 95% complete!! What would we do without the Internet???

P.S. Alex has been searching high and low for a train set to go around the tree. He finally found it this year and it's been a great treat for the boys. There's even a few presents under the tree already (Thanks Mom!)

James

James is the oldest and therefore, has a lot more interests. He is into movies, spiderman, games, fire trucks, legos and I'd say anything new. He loves presents! .

James is still my quiet child, and I'm thinking that a lot of that is due to his speech difficulty. Speaking of which, he is doing really well, meeting with Miss Katy, once a week. I worry that he doesn't participate socially due to the fact that he can't communicate as effectively as his peers, but I don't think his peers pick on him about it.

He is 4 going on 10 and it's hard to remember sometimes how much he's grown. He wears 4T but sometimes the waists on those are still too big. So, he needs slim style.

And that's my James!

Ryan

Ryan is a typical middle child. He's also been and currently still is, my hardest child. I don't blame him, I think he has a very passionate personality. However, my laid back parenting for James and Olivia does not work with him. Anyways, back to Ryan. He is an attention grabber and loves to do what everybody else is doing. He likes cars, trucks, movies, candy, and pretty much anything that James likes. I don't think there's anything in particular that I've seen so far that is distinctly Ryan. He is a 2 1/2 year old who is happy to receive any kind of gift, especially if James got one too.

Olivia

In no particular order: these posts are inspired by my sister. Every year for chrimas, she writes a post about each child, talking about their likes and their clothes size. It's very helpful for those of us who are purchasing gifts. So, here's what I have to say about Olivia. She is 7 months old. She likes to crawl around and put things in her mouth. She has received 1 girl toy, which is a teapot set that she'll soon be able to play with. Other than that, she plays with cars and trains and books.

She wears 6-12 months clothes and fits into 9 months right now. She's 95% for length and 75% for weight. A little more Boyd in her. She has strawberry hair and big blue eyes. She looks really good in pastels - green. She also looks good in bold crazy colors and designs.

Thanksgiving

This year, we were blessed with a bucket full of family for Thanksgiving! My brother and his family came - Ela, Ana, Emma, Colin and Aunt Nuta. My sister and family came - John, Jack, James, Grace, Kaylinn, Justus, Liberty, Josiah...I think I got them all. And us Holdgates.

Scott and Ela arrive Wednesday, the day before, just in time for dinner. Then John and Jamey arrived the next morning. After the first 20 minutes of the cousins meeting and greeting each other, things settled down, for about 10 minutes. With 13 kids ranging from 11 or 12 down to 6 months, anything could happen. Thank goodness, nothing happened this season. This is the only picture I managed to take due to overwelming cooking demands, but you can see 8 of the cousins, less the 4 who were hopefully napping.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the food, the fellowship, the naps and the beginning of the holiday season. Also, James' birthday is around and sometimes on Thanksgiving and our anniversary is right around there also. So, there's always a lot to be thankful for.

Here are some of my thanks-givings:

1. 4 years ago I gave birth to our little butterball, James

2. 5 years ago. Alex and I were in Annapolis, preparing to start a life together

3. My siblings and in-laws and nieces and nephews

4. Even though we didn't get to see my other brother Jimmy or my parents, We remembered them and missed them terribly

5. I'm thankful for new recipes...some good and some bad

6. I'm thankful for 5 years of adventures with my husband, Alex. Hopefully the next 5 won't be so adventurous :)

All in all, I'm just thankful. Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays!