Christmas 2009/New Years 2010

If the craziness that began 2010 here in the Ludgate household is any indication of what’s to come this year, I am going to be one tired lady! I know it’s been far too long since I updated this blog, but hear me out. As much as I wanted to update right after Christmas, with all kinds of stories and pictures mapping out Mallory’s Christmas, I just ran out of time. I know there are other moms out there who understand what I am talking about. I have also been battling some reoccurring headache problems, which was making it difficult for me to get a good night’s sleep, making me more and more tired each day. Now that the doc has helped me to get them taken care of (not really sure what the problem was, but they are gone now, so that’s all that matters), I am just getting back on track. Before I knew it, it was New Years Eve, and we were getting ready to head out of town. So here you go, my faithful readers, the long and jam packed Christmas 2009/New Years 2010 update.
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CHRISTMAS 2009
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Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent at our house. We hosted because my mom recently had foot surgery and can’t put any pressure on her foot, making it difficult to cook. No biggie, we enjoy hosting, and it gave me a chance to use my, finally completed, collection of Christmas dishes.
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Christmas Eve was just Mallory, Christopher and I. I was lucky enough to only have to work a ½ day, so we took full advantage of the new snow, and went sledding in the afternoon. There is a great hill, just north of us into Eagan. This was Mallory’s first time sledding, and she got to wear one of her first Christmas presents too. Uncle Scott, Aunt Cindy, cousins Hunter and Mackenzie gave Mallory this super cute, pink camo “snow suit”. It’s not really a snow suit, as it’s more like a fuzzy blanket, but either way, it worked and Mallory loves it.

When we got to the hill, Mallory was very excited and checking out what everyone else was doing. She was very attentive to the activities going on around us, and wasted no time getting into her sled. Here we are between the cars in the parking lot still….

Once we reached the top of the hill, Mallory was ready. We took our first pass, and second, third and on and on. It was quite the workout, but worth it to see how much fun Mallory was having. When we reached the bottom on the hill, she was first to her feet, and ready to head back up for another pass. Here is a little video of our sledding adventure!

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What a wonderful night! There were several families out sledding with their kids, enjoying the freshly fallen snow, and starting their Christmas celebration. When we were done (I don’t think Mallory would have ever been done), we headed home for supper and enjoyed king crab legs, and biscuits. Once our bellies were full, we started opening some gifts. We gave Mallory all of her gifts from us, since she had been so patient, and so good the whole month of December, seeing them under the Christmas tree and NOT trying to open them too many times. She ooohed and aaahed at each one she opened, played with it for a little while, and moved onto the next one. I think her favorite gift from Christmas Eve was her Mega Play Land. We grossly underestimated the word MEGA, and learned as we were putting it together; it’s much too big for any room in our house. It fits in her playroom, but it doesn’t leave much room for anything else. Either way, she LOVES it. It’s made of nylon, had tubes to crawl thru and a ball crawl in the middle.

Christmas Day morning was no different from any other morning, except Mallory had a HUGE present waiting for her in the living room, which Santa must have dropped off the night before! It was Elmo’s Restaurant, complete with a cash register and working microphone! Mallory jumped at the chance to play with her new toy, and it kept her busy right up until it was time to leave for church.

When Mallory was born, my best friend Jessie’s grandparents gave me a beautiful Christmas dress for Mallory when she would be a little older. It’s been hanging in her closet this whole time, and I finally was able to use it. Mallory looked so beautiful in her dress, and Father Dennis commented several times on how cute she looked in it! After mass was over, we went up to the altar to look at the poinsettias, creating a perfect photo opportunity. She’s such a beautiful little girl!!!

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Unfortunately the weather made it difficult for travel, so Grandma and Grandpa Hauer opted to stay home instead of coming over for Christmas dinner. Grandma Dee on the other hand, lives a little closer and came over for the afternoon. We opened more presents, enjoyed a fire and watched some TV together. The whole time Mallory was playing with her new toys, puzzles and Mega Play Land. Little did she know, there was even more to come!

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On Sunday, December 27, we were FINALLY able to get together as a family and celebrate Christmas. Dinner was wonderful, prepared by Christopher with side dishes from Grandma Dee, and Grandma and Grandpa Hauer. We were all stuffed, but still had more presents to open! Mallory ripped open all of her gifts, from both sides, and with every gift she said “Oh cool!” She must have picked that up from the Kreiling kids. It was the highlight of the afternoon, all of us were in stitches.

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From Grandma and Grandpa Hauer, Mallory got new clothes and a Yo Gabba Gabba DVD. From Grandma Dee she got a very nice, Amish made rocking chair, which she LOVES! She was bummed when she was out of presents, so she just started opening everyone else’s. What’s the harm in that, right?
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It was hard to say goodbye, we were having so much fun, just hanging out and watching Mallory absorb it all. Even though Christmas was interrupted by Old Man Winter, we were able to celebrate after all, and because of the extension, we had three full days of presents, rather than one!

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NEW YEARS 2010

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Last year we went to our friends Jessie and Eric’s house for New Years Eve, because Mallory was only 5 months old, and Jessie was pregnant, we opted for an evening in with friends. This year, Mallory went to sleep around 8:30PM, Christopher followed around 9:30PM and I made it all the way to 10:30PM. My how times have changed. I am okay with it all, there will come a time again when I want to stay up until midnight, but I didn’t mind getting caught up on a little sleep, neither did Christopher.

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On January 2nd, we headed to Duluth for an overnighter. I know, how messed up is it, that during the coldest weekend of the winter so far, we head north? Well, we had a free nights stay at a Radisson (thank you Dad) and it needed to be used soon, so we figured one night, somewhere away, but not too far away, would be nice. This was Mallory’s first time in a hotel. She has been away from home before, when we go to Bayfield each year, but there we stay in a condo. Mallory loved the hotel. She loved the long hallways to which she could run up and down. She loved the elevator to which she walked in and out of herself and was so proud. Mostly, she loved the pool. Actually, she preferred the hot tub, and had no issues with kicking back, hanging with daddy, amongst the bubbles.

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She had a blast and was exhausted at the end of the day. Mallory slept fine in her pack and play, and thought the rotating restaurant at the top was pretty cool. She really enjoyed watching the floor go round and round while we ate brunch on Sunday morning. What a view!

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On the way home, we listened to the Vikings kick some Giant tail, and Mallory napped. We really enjoyed just being together, the three of us, as a family. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to ring in the new year!
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So there you have it! We wish you all a very Happy New Year and we hope 2010 brings you nothing but the best!