Christmas Letter 2012

December 2012

To our dear friends and family,

We hope that this message finds you well this Christmas season.  We are immersed in the wonderment that comes this time of year; thanks to our babies… 

Our sweet, patient, yet determined little Hannah is nearly one.  She fills her time crawling, making new and inventive noises and showcasing her four teeth with an all-encompassing smile. I can count the number of grown adults who have confided in me that Hannah “just understands them” on my hands and feet.  Apparently there is an old soul tucked into her tiny little body.

Big sis, Emmy, has embraced her role completely.  She can get Hannah to laugh just by looking at her sideways and is quick to “mommy” her, even when her bossy direction is completely unwarranted (is that how she sees me?)  Emmy is self-assured, fun-loving, “helpful,” unrelenting, affectionate and has a gentle, tenderhearted nature; I am so grateful to have her as my sidekick (except when we pass the impulse buys on shopping excursions.)  On the eve of her third birthday, Emmy’s favorite things include: “school” (Mom’s Day Out), cooking with mommy, kissing sissy, going to the park with daddy, caring for her baby dolls, “dancing shows”, Fancy Nancy books, dress-up, and playing with her friends.  All girl, that one.

Nick has been granted a company command in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, beginning next summer.  We have opted to stay in the military for three more years so that he may have this opportunity, for which he is so honored to have been considered and selected.  He is currently working at an administrative job, taking a handful of domestic work trips in addition to a six week deployment to Afghanistan in August. Down time is minimal, but he spends it loving on us girls, and testing his leadership capacity  (and patience) by shepherding elementary school children’s hearts at church Sunday mornings.

It’s hard to detail my day-to-day life as a stay at home mom, but my responsibilities might be more easily noted if I just neglected to do them.  Managing our Horn Household Cent-Com, is a 24 hour job, and I’m blessed to do it.  Things got real this spring when we decided to upgrade our home from Nick’s former bachelor pad.  I could have starred in my own HGTV real estate drama, my co-stars being my two year old and four month old (and two high maintenance, yappy dogs), with the plot line including a last-minute deployment.  Good times.  The end justified the means , though, now that we live in our dream home.  We are blessed beyond measure. 

Wishing you all a happy and healthy holiday season!

With Love,

Nick, Ali, Emmy, Hannah, Molly & Darla Horn

Decking our New Halls

We had our Christmas decorations up and the holiday music playing before our Thanksgiving leftovers were completed... Considering we never really stopped talking about Christmas since we celebrated it last year, the excitement is positively palpable in our home.

Last Saturday, Nick begrudgingly put aside his plans to calibrate the new scope on his new hunting rifle to help me "winterize" the backyard.  I knew I needed to make it up to him and the kiddos, so we spent the latter part of the day eating out at Five Guys and watching the downtown Clarksville Christmas parade and strolling past the Riverfront light display....

Emmy is music-obsessed, so the all high school marching band left quite the impression...

 ...but not as much as seeing Santa and Mrs. Claus ride in the sleigh float.

We kept the girls up late so they could see the lights at Riverfront park. :)

I realized that Nick and I don't have any recent pictures of just the two of us.  So what do I do?  Ask Emmy to take a picture of us from her stroller...She took a bunch of photos, this the only one where you can see both of our upper bodies.

This past Friday night, we stopped off at Starbucks for some hot cocoa and then went for a drive to a home that boasted a light show set to music.

The 35-minute drive time to the light show swelled substantially when Emmy announced she needed to go potty.  As you can see, she wouldn't be rushed.

We made it!  It's incredible what people create.

 Daddy and his dinner dates at Chuy's in Nashville.  We braved a sit-down restaurant for the first time in who-knows-how-long.  It was fast-paced, but, luckily, there were no melt-downs!

Millin' around the Opryland hotel.  Their Christmas decor is world-class, and could get even the grinchy-est person in the Christmas spirit.

Unfortunately, we missed Santa by seconds the first time we went to the Opryland Hotel on Thursday night.  He was literally walking out of the room as we walked in.  Emmy was crushed.  So, we promised her that we'd come back...We made good on our promise on Saturday afternoon.  Pretty much everyone had the same intentions as us, which led to a fantastic traffic jam entering into the area surrounding the hotel.  I chose to view it as a rite of passage...:-P  Emmy savored her time with Santa, and spent a whole minute spilling her thoughts.  I would give anything to know what all she told him; the only thing I could get out of her was that she told Santa she wanted to go ride on the miniature train that was in the neighboring arena. 

11 months

Emmy-isms

"That's so special for me." (Said in protest when we are taking away something she's not supposed to be playing with.)

I feel like I just posted about Hannah, but I guess that's fitting, because, literally, each time I turn around, she's into something else.  Sissy is a crawling fool now.  She's prone to come find me whenever I might leave the room. :)  She's pulling up on everything in her path.  I even saw her "pull up" on something that was lying on the floor, which led to a "pike" position with her tush in the air.  She is a liberated baby with this new-found mobility.

I believe Emmy has met her match.  Hannah is incredibly patient, until you hit her threshold, which Emmy successfully pushes her to regularly.  If Hannah is playing with a toy, Emmy reliably comes and takes it away (often times saying "You'll NEVER get it back" with an evil-sounding cackle,) Hannah will scream and look at me as if to say, "Did you see that??  Aren't you going to do something about it??"

Hannah loves connect with people, particularly with her emphatic wave. She uses a simultaneous two hand wave to indicate that she is "all done" (whether or not she is actually "all done.")  Her regular sounds are "dadada," "mamama," "vavava," "doh!"  She always lights up when she gets a response to her sounds. :)

Hannah likes to laugh, and if you laugh with her, she'll laugh harder.  She loves to play tug-o-war with her water sippy with Emmy, which always produces a quality case of the giggles.

Sleep is still a work in progress...I am weaning her from nursing (well actually she has been weaning herself during the day for awhile now, I'm just now taking the hint.)  As of a couple of days ago, I stopped pumping during the day and went exclusively to formula bottles, reserving our nursing sessions for her first and last feedings of the day when she is most focused.  It's actually helped with her sleep a bit, as she's slept longer and later than she has in months.  I am so grateful for every additional minute of sleep this new regime affords me.  As for table food, she's feeding herself 75% of the time, which has also been a welcomed development!

Thanksgiving Madness!

We all agree that Thanksgiving 2012 was one of our most special yet... 

I had the wonderful privilege of joining Emmy for a Thanksgiving lunch at Mom's Day Out on the Tuesday before Turkey Day.  She shared her one-of-a-kind artwork with me over some cheesy potatoes, ham and cookies.  I cherish our time together...

Kris and J.P. and their babies drove in on Wednesday, and were welcomed by a reaction from Emmy befitting of lottery jackpot winner.  Within the hour, the kids were squabbling like siblings.  The "polite" period is getting shorter with every visit. 

Seated around our fully extended table, we collectively devoured three pizzas for dinner before retreating to fire up the fire pit.  Andy commented how he'd never seen a campfire before, let alone roasted marshmallows over one.  I feel so blessed to be able to share "firsts" with my beloved niece and nephews in spite of our usual geographic separation.  After bathtime to rid the babies of the sticky remnants of s'mores, we began the torturous bedtime proceedings.  Clairey graciously declined Hannah's room, so that Hannah might sleep in her own crib, in favor of crashing with Andy in the bonus room.  Emmy was in her room (MUCH to her chagrin) and Jacob aptly slept like a baby in the guest room with Kris and J.P.  Emmy felt very left out of the party; which was only compounded by Clairey dictating that Emmy mustn't come out of her room, inside of which they both were standing.  Just after the clock struck 9:30, there was no sign of wakeful children.  The boys hung out by the fire and Kris and I baked some pies, and dove into other Thanksgiving meal preparations.

Thanksgiving was all about the parade, playtime, football and cooking.  I've come to believe that making Thanksgiving dinner is like the final exam in an advanced time management course. The pass or fail grade relies on every dish being the appropriate doneness at the time that everyone is ready to eat.  It took a few years to iron out the kinks, but I would say that this Thanksgiving meal was the best yet.  Our friends/family the Andrjeski's and their precious babies joined in for the fun. We had three tables worth of mouths to feed, which absolutely did my heart good.  With 9 children literally making laps around the kitchen; it was kind of like a fast-moving parade of our most cherished blessings. :-P There was no shortage of excitement during out meal.    :)

Friday, Kris and I decided to make a run for it under the guise that we would partake in Black Friday shopping.  Of course, neither of us claustrophobes would touch that madness with a ten foot pole, so we opted to go to the least densely populated establishments in Clarksville.  As we were leaving the house, Clairey approached Kris and very innocently asked who was going to take care of them in our place.  I'm still laughing every time I think about it.  Nick and JP more than rose to the occasion.  In recounting the details of their park adventure, they mentioned the bizarre looks that they got as they each chased the older kids while toting the littlest ones in Kris and my feminine Ergo baby carriers.  Super Dads, those two.  The uninterrupted sister time was blissful.  Spending three hours just the two of us filled up our buckets.  Not a moment was taken for granted, we made sure of it.

Saturday arrived and the Sacksteders departed.  It was time to change gears.  My good friend, Sara, and her sweet Claire had come to Clarksville for the holiday while her Ranger hubby worked in Florida.  In an effort to re-live our good old days, we had my girlfriends, Molly, Kristy, Lindsey and their families over for a little dinner.  It was so wonderful to be under the same roof once again (even though there are many others who've moved away that we were still missing.)  Times have certainly changed since all of us military wives first came together.  We have been busy multiplying over the years; the nature of our gatherings is a little different now (they start and end earlier and far less wine is consumed,) but I am grateful to say that an awesome friendship remains.

Come Sunday, we were getting a little party-weary, but knowing that our incredible church group would be coming over was excitement enough to rally.  It was such a relaxed night, complete with an entertaining talent show from the kiddos.  We feasted our eyes on a couple of "ABC" renditions, Taylor Swift cover songs and some sweet dance moves.  Nothing like ending a long holiday weekend with some quality belly laughs.

My lunch date at Mom's day Out!

Sissy got to eat lunch with the big kids in the one year old class!

Our "campfire"

Clairey with her inaugural roasted marshmallow.

My girl skipped the marshmallow and graham cracker and went straight for the good stuff.

The beautiful Sacksteder family!

EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT THE CAMERA!!

Hannah ate her weight in mashed potatoes and string beans.  I should also note that she spent about two hours in her high chair while we finished up the final push before serving Thanksgiving dinner.  What a TROOPER!

TWO kids tables!

Hannah's first taste of pumpkin pie...She's been ruined forever!

Viewing the "Elf on the Shelf" movie under the watchful gaze of Henry, our elf.

The first realization that Henry showed up during the movie.

Saturday night! (I stole these photos from Sara. I am KICKING myself that I didn't take any! UGG!)  Kristy, Luke, Molly, Willa & Mr. Conlin

Mrs. Conlin cuddling Hannah and dear Claire cruising.

My Nick, Claire and Mr. Henderson.

Sunday night!  We found that the very quickest way to evacuate a room full of children is announce that ice cream is on.

The big kids helped the little kids put on a highly entertaining show! :)

Dancing to "Call Me Maybe"

Hannah doing what she does best....Spreading the love. :)

Just Three Words...

FOUR MORE YEARS...

Somehow, even without a crystal ball, I am certain that's a loaded "...".  I am also certain that God is in control and the latest election results are part of His master plan, even though I may not understand it.  I feel comfort in knowing that I derive hope through my faith in Christ, and that I can do all things through Him, not our government.  I also know that Nick's gun arsenal is growing as is our survival stash... 

The month of Halloween

We have celebrated Halloween throughout the entire month of October!  The girls have worn their costumes to a multitude of different activities, which caused the excitement to mount tremendously for the big day!

Trip to Indy:

The very first, and I mean VERY FIRST thing the kids said to each other when we arrived in Indy for our most recent visit was, "Do you want to see my Halloween costume?"  No sooner had we walked in the door were all of the kiddos decked out in their duds!  Clairey is the most beautiful scarecrow, Jacob is a fearless crow, Andy is an authentic Colts football player, Emmy is a shimmery black widow and Hannah is the friendliest ghost you'll ever meet.

We needed to invest in a turtle neck because the bandeau top made it hard for Emmy not to show off her "goods."

In an effort to get smiles, Auntie Kristi showered them with leaves...

Pure joy!

I ripped this photo off my girlfriend, Molly's, facebook page because I love it so much!  Molly took the photo at her sweet daughter, Willa's Halloween-themed first birthday party!  Obviously, Emmy had a wonderful time (as did the rest of us!) What I would give for her to smile like this for me when I take her picture!!

Trunk or Treat:

With just a week lead time, I was given the honor of creating our church small group's trunk for the trunk or treat decoration competition.  I am intrinsically incapable doing things half-way when I make a commitment; I am also notorious for snow-ball projects.  Superfluous tasks like laundry and dishes were put on hold for the week, but, we had a fancy trunk to show for it.  We were the runner-up, second to a walk-through trailer "spooky lab,"  but it sure was fun getting to make use of my thinking cap for something other than quick tantrum interventions in public places.  Our theme was Dr. Suess' "The Lorax;" it was Kris' brilliant idea.  Since the recent release of the movie, it's pretty big with the kidlets.  I, of course, had never head of it until a little over a week ago, but I now dream of it in detail...

I neglected to take wind into consideration with the design.  My Truffula trees looked better in my living room...

Derek and Nick were our front-men/candy distributors!

Pumpkin Carving:

Daddy printed off a stack of pumpkin design stencils and we all got to choose one, then Nick and I got them all carved after bedtime. :)

Emmy assists with her plastic knife.

Halloween Dinner!

Apple Cider Vermont Cheddar and Gruyere fondue & Pumpkin Pie Coconut Milkshakes

(This tradition is dumb considering 2/4 of us are dairy-sensitive. :( New tradition next year!)

Finally!  The main event!!  Trick-Or-Treating:

Ta-Da!!

I get excited thinking about Hannah running around with Emmy next year!  She has no idea what fun she's in for!

 Nick and my pumpkins carved by my Nick. He's got mad skills!

Emmy and Hannah's pumpkins carved by yours truly.  Emmy's on a Cinderella kick even though she's never seen the movie (little does she know that it's in my closet waiting for her birthday!)

After we returned home from trick-or-treating and did bathtime, Emmy got to stay up late to help Nick pass out candy while I fed Hannah and put her to sleep.  I listened contentedly from the glider upstairs to Emmy's delightful squeals, "this is so exciting!" each time the doorbell rang.  When one young trick-or-treater asked why Emmy was already in her jammies, Nick explained that she's still just a little girl.  Emmy proudly followed up with, "my birthday's December 16th!" :) 

She has been carrying her candy bag all over the house, hiding candy and passing it out to us as special treats for good behavior.  She even packed her loot in a Target bag with the intention of passing it out to her friends at school today.  (What I would give to let her do that, but I knew that wouldn't end well for her dear teachers.) Love her kind heart and giving spirit!  It's the perfect segue to November, the month of Thanksgiving!! :)