Catching Up

Boy, it's been a while since I've blogged! The holidays are always a whirlwind, so it's time to get caught up!

Unfortunately our holiday season started on a very sad note. We said good-bye to our 15 year old shih-tzu, Elliott, who crossed over the rainbow bridge on December 3rd. While we knew the day was coming, but it certainly doesn't make it any easier when it actually arrives. I remember adopting him when he was three months old, from a shih-tzu rescue organization (he was left at the pound when he was a few days old, with his mom and sister). He was always so amusing and such a big part of our life. We always referred to him as our "little boy trapped in fur" - he always seemed to be so much more then just a dog. He loved squeaky stuffed animals and eating Frosty's from Wendy's. When he ran he would bounce, and loved a good game of tug-of-war. He was SO good when we had Bella, which could not have been easy after ten years of a child-free home. He was also amazingly patient with Milo, the cocker spaniel who joined our family three years ago. I miss Elliott every day, and still think I hear him barking sometimes (or snoring at night - many nights my poor husband got a shove to the shoulder to stop snoring, when it was really Elliott).

So that certainly wasn't the best way to start off the holidays. On the other hand the holidays did provide us with lots of distractions, which was probably really helpful. Bella, who you would never know even had a broken ankle, had two really fun holiday dance performances this December. One was at a tree lighting ceremony at a hospital, and the other was at a nursing home. I really like having these sort of peformances, compared to the competitions. I feel that it's really important for Bella to learn about giving back to her community, and I think these were a nice example of that for her. We talked quite a bit prior to the nursing home show, about what exactly a nursing home is, and how it is really special for the residents to have a show like this. On our way out one resident in a wheelchair stopped Bella to tell her thank you for coming and dancing, and that it really made her happy to see them. Bella really lit up, and I think that quick conversation with that sweet woman really made the "giving back" aspect tangible to Bella. She seemed to feel very proud that her dancing made this person happy. That to me is one of the most important things she can get out of dance.

Every December I experience quite a bit of mommy guilt for being SO busy with work. There are so many orders to be made, and I want to accodate everyone and make sure that all of the orders are out in plenty of time for gift giving. So this year I had planned a trip for us to Disneyland, right after my holiday shipping deadline. We have never visited Disneyland at Christmas time, and it was magical. Just beautiful. Unfortunately it was also cold and raining. No, raining is not the right word. POURING! I felt like we were at Disneyworld, in a hurricane! We had to wear rainboots, two-three jackets each, ponchos and whatever other gear we could get our hands on. Being a Phoenix native, I'm ill equipped for that weather!

But we solidered on, and had a blast. Bella met every character she wanted to meet, and was especially enchanted with Alice (from Wonderland!). There are very few moments in life where Bella is speechless, but Disney manages to create many of those moments! Between meeting the princesses, seeing the castle lit up with icicles and experincing some Disney show, for her I think it truly was the happiest place on earth. Sometimes you just wish you could freeze those moments, and hold on to them forever!

We had a wonderful Christmas, and spent lots of time with our family. I

did lots of baking, soemthing I do every year for Christmas. I find something really sentimental about baking with the recipes my grandmothers used when I was a child, so it's a tradition I always find a way to make time for. Luckily Rick had unused vacation time to burn up, so he was home for the better part of two weeks.

Santa brought Bella a pink guitar - which was a hit. Rick's played guitar almost all his life, and Bella is always trying to play his, but they are just too big for her little hands. Well now she has one of her very own, her size, her color! Santa should have probably passed on the included microphone, as she prefers making feedback sounds to singing. My ears may never be the same!

We had a pretty quiet New Year's Eve - just how we like it. We enjoyed a nice dinner with my parents, followed by our first attempt at making fondue at home. It was great and I think everyone had a good time with it. We picked up a little fondue pot at Target, and it worked like a charm - very easy! I think we'll give cheese a try next time. We LOVE LOVE LOVE The Melting Pot, and while this certainly isn't the same, it is a nice little something to tie us over between our visits once or twice a year.

I think that covers most of what we've been up to! I hope that everyone has a healthy and happy 2009!!!!