Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Peanut's First Christmas

This Christmas was very special, seeing as it was Peanut's very first one. She even woke up earlier than usual in anticipation, I'm sure, of opening her gifts!


We spent a relaxing morning opening gifts and eating a late breakfast. Peanut received a doll baby from her great-grandparents and a rattle, book and homemade quilt from Daddy C and Mommy C. The week before, she visited our extended family and received tons of gifts then as well- meaning her toy bin is officially overflowing! But this just means more for her to throw, which she is really enjoying right now!

After breakfast, we lounged around and watched It's a Wonderful Life (afterwards, I discovered this was to be the last video ever played in our VCR, as it had eaten up the tape! Such is the bane of modern technology.). We ended the day with a delicious dinner of homemade noodles, grilled chicken, peas, corn and baked potatoes!

This weekend, we will be visiting more family, but will have to travel by plane to get there. It will be Peanut's first plane ride! Mommy C doesn't know whether to be excited, nervous, worried or terrified of the prospect of traveling in air with a 6-month old teething baby, but she guesses she'll soon find out!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Christmas Traditions

The other day, Daddy C and I were discussing all the different Christmas traditions we wanted to start doing for Peanut. Knowing that she will grow up and remember this time of year in connection with certain events and traditions, we wanted to make them as meaningful as possible. Here are a few of the things we plan on doing each Christmas season!

  1. 3 gifts - In effort to prevent a materialist mindset for Christmas, we have set a limit of 3 gifts. We wanted to mimic the number of gifts Jesus received from the wisemen. I think this is a great tie-in to the Christmas story. However, it is proving difficult not to shower my little one with tons of gifts this year! But I am so happy with our decision to stick to this rule, as I think it will make a positive impression on her as she grows up and is older.

  2. Reading of the Christmas Story - My favorite version is in Luke 2. We plan on reading this story on Christmas Eve together as a family.

  3. Singing of favorite Christmas hymns - On Christmas day, I would love to have us sing our favorite Christmas songs. My favorite has always been 'O Holy Night' and Daddy C's is 'O Come, O Come Emmanuel'. Peanut hasn't had a chance to decide what her favorite is yet! Daddy C is incredibly gifted in vocals and guitar, so he will lead us in the family worship session.

That's all I have right now. I figure if we try to do too much at once it will be difficult to follow each year.


What are some of your Christmas traditions?

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

What's on Our Menu this Week?


I used to be pretty diligent about menu planning, but having a baby can really throw everything off kilter! However, I am so glad I did this week, since we are practically snowed in with the winter weather madness.

Menu Plan week of 12/14

Tuesday: Roasted chicken, frozen veggies
To do: soak oatmeal, prepare stock

Wednesday: Chicken salad
To do: finish stock

Thursday: Homemade Chicken noodle soup
To do: soak flour

Friday: Homemade pizza
To do: bake 2 loaves of banana bread, pack snacks

Saturday: meal w/ family
To do: nothing

Sunday: Leftover chicken noodle soup from freezer
To do: soak oatmeal

Monday: Homemade hamburger helper
To do: nothing - focus on unpacking, laundry


On Saturday, we visited our local winter farmer's market and picked up a pastured chicken that I can't wait to roast. We'll be reaping the benefits of that chicken for several meals! I finally roasted my first chicken last week, and I can't believe it's taken me this long to just do it. I don't think I'll ever go back to the boneless, skinless breasts at the store - it was just too good!

Monday, December 13, 2010

Oh Christmas Tree

We here at the Campbell Castle are constantly evaluating every item we own, least it take up more precious space than is necessary. For the first time in 3 years, we realized we simply would not be able to fit in a full-sized Fraser fir Christmas tree this year. But we were ok with that. In fact, I am so happy we decided to just do a mini tree this year - it feels more personal and intimate and looks so much better. Here is a pic of Peanut posing by her very first Christmas tree:

We have since actually finished decorating it, showcasing only those ornaments that mean something to us. We have a pickle ornament, two snowmen in love, a sparkling pink bootie, a first Christmas ornament and a few homemade ones given to us from family members. I love our tree, because it makes everything feel so much simpler! We were also able to use the extra lights on our mantle, which really adds a festive glow in our apartment on dark winter evenings.