reading readiness

Despite Ben's lack of desire or motivation to write much, he does have some great pre-reading skills and really enjoys making some connections to reading with sight words he knows.  I don't mean to imply he'll be reading anytime soon, but we've been trying to extend his love of reading by having more frequent family reading times.  There are lots of times throughout the day when Ben "reads" while I'm doing other things and certainly several times where we read to him, but family reading time while we're all reading independently has not been as common.  Thanks to some downtime and new books, family reading time was more common over the holiday break and I can hardly wait to do more and more of it.

Winter Camping

 Winter in Colorado came right on time, in like a lion, with no sign of departure.  With temps frequently in the 50's and 60's leading up to the start of the fair fourth season, the cold, snow and ice have been hard to acclimate to.  Ryan had to go back to work for a couple of days between Christmas and New Year's Eve so Ben and I resorted to winter camping........

Ben told me over and over how he was pretending but that he COULD touch this fire.

We "hiked" the stairs and saw a bear on the next peak over.

Ben got a pretty fancy headlamp for Christmas that was the highlight of our camping excursion.

Meanwhile in the backyard.......

 

boys and their toys

Ryan received a new toy for Christmas from my Dad and me, and though a GoPro wasn't even on his radar, it has shown to be the perfect gift.  We spent the days after Christmas enjoying the snow and sunshine and Ryan clearly enjoyed capturing and editing the fun.

You can watch a great video of our sledding fun, here.

and what Ryan calls, Wash Park Mush, featuring Luke Dukers, here.

It also takes pretty great still photos and is at the cutting edge of 4k video technology so will be great for capturing our family's fun for years to come.

Santa! Santa! I know him!

Ben had stayed awake pretty late Christmas Eve chattering away so he slept longer than all of us by far.  Tante asked at one point if we could wake him up, but instead the adults enjoyed coffee and breakfast prep until Ben joined us.

You can watch a video of Ben coming downstairs on Christmas morning, here.

For better or worse, the video sums up how Ben felt most of the rest of the day.  He had little interest in anything new or any gifts from Santa.  He was mostly interested in his old baby-toy music table until we just took it away. :(

Santa and his entourage enjoyed the treats.

Ben was pretty excited to be an Elf.

Santa was good to us.....

Ben gave little notice to his "black" car or "black" bike that Santa went to the 

ends of the earth to find.

These Wall-E and Eve robots talk to each other.

mmmmmmm! Butterbraid.

twinsies :)

dye-free lollipops were possibly Ben's favorite stocking stuffer

Ben was very interested in Tante's "BIIIIG present."

I wish I remembered what was so funny.

Ben got a hiking backpack filled with all the essentials for his adventures with MeeMee.

This Hotwheels track Ben received on Christmas Eve from Great Grandma Lola was the hit toy.  It was fun at MeeMee's and a blast on the stairs at home.

 

 

Thanks to a white Christmas that started late and picked up steam as the afternoon wore on, we stayed at MeeMee's an extra night and enjoyed an extra cocktail after an amazing prime rib dinner. 

This Holiday season was a little shorter due to a late Thanksgiving and a little rushed due to the stomach bug that ravaged our house, and Ryan's travel the last two weeks before Christmas.   Despite all that, this year more than many, the kindness of strangers, fellow shoppers, retail workers and neighbors really got me in the spirit.  I felt like people were kind in general and really slowed down a bit to help each other out. Because there were a few traditions we were forced to miss, I really focused on being present for the ones we did enjoy and really felt the love and magic of the season around me.  We finished the Christmas holiday as healthy, happy Heimer's and have lots more Holiday time to spend together and with family and friends.

Christmas Eve

We were thankful to continue the tradition of Christmas Eve at the Heimer's this year, as everyone's work schedules cooperated.  Unfortunately, for the second year in a row, Ian and Christy were sick, so the Witherspoons were absent from the celebration.
We arrived late morning ready to make merry and enjoyed snacks and drinks throughout the afternoon.  Lots of heavy appetizers, and white bean chicken chili meant our tummies were full and happy all day.  Ryan and Jim ran a couple errands for Uncle John as Nana wrapped a few last gifts and Ben and I bopped about trying to be helpful and enjoy the time with family.  After a late afternoon meal, we opened gifts.  Ben was more excited for gifts this year and WAY more excited at this point than he would be the following morning.

Ben LOVED this B-toys walk-on piano

Two phones and a dimly (yet holiday appropriate and lovely) lit living room meant these  were the closest to a nice family photo we got that evening.

Ben had his standard measurement and grew another 3/4ths inch since Thanksgiving!

All 3 Heimer men tickling the ivories.

After gifts and a couple of sweet treats, we headed to MeeMee's where Tante would arrive shortly, and we'd hurry off to bed after leaving treats for Santa and the reindeer.

First, mystery bars for Santa, then.....

carrots for the reindeer.

Ben got to have a slumber party with Tante in his room at MeeMee's house.....

Up they went! 

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!

Note: our DLSR camera is broken and in the shop so holiday pics left lots to be desired.  Ryan's iphone 6 takes some great pictures but can be nearly as technical to operate as our big camera for people unfamiliar.  Hence, no great family shots, but I'm extra thankful for the few decent shots we did get. (Mostly in the daylight of the next day.)

Happy Holidays from the Heimer Haus

Lights of Love

Last night our neighborhood hosted the first ever Lights of Love Luminaria to combat local childhood hunger.  Together we raised over $3,300 for NO KID HUNGRY COLORADO. That gives children in Colorado up to 23,000 nutritious meals! The event was sponsored by a local realtor who paid for all the Luminaria supplies.  The money raised was cash donations from those who participated.  As we saw on our walk to check out the lights, many families used the opportunity to host holiday gatherings.  MeeMee, neighbor Arnold's and the Lineberry's joined us for festive drinks and lots of yummy treats.  I hope the event catches on and that lots more families join in the coming years.  I spent a lot of time throughout the evening thinking about how blessed we are to never be hungry.  At this time of year more than any other, our pantries and fridges are overflowing with delicious traditions that we all eat too many of.  I love that this event benefits kids very locally and that 100% of the donations go straight to the cause.

Here's a movie of the set-up and lights.....

Luminaria

A luminaria or farolito is a small paper lantern which is of significance in New Mexico and in southwest United States at Christmas time, especially on Christmas Eve.

When I was a kid and would spend some of my Christmases in Arizona, the ENTIRE town would be filled with luminarias on Christmas Eve.  I so vividly remember the anticipation as we sat through Christmas Eve mass knowing the whole town would be aglow on our journey home.  It made the world feel so small on a night already filled with so much love.  If it doesn't catch on in the next few years here, I might have to take my boys south for the Holidays one year so they can experience the magic. 

the imperfection of magic

The holidays can be filled with so.much.magic.  If you get lost in the sparkle and the love and the music and the excitement, the anticipation of Christmas can be joyfully overwhelming!

The holidays can also be and often are busy and stressful and frantic.  I love this time of year so much that I work hard to get things done early so I can really soak in the light.  No matter how I try there are always stressful moments and mounting feelings that I'll never get it all done.  With a little person (and a big one,) I sometimes feel caught in a fleeting circle of trying to have the holiday decor DONE.  Many things in life are never done, they just are.  We humans are perfect examples, and this year the magic overtaking Ben has been the perfect reminder to let the little things go.

Ben absolutely glows in the excitement of the season this year.  He is stopped in his tracks by the tree every time he passes it and loves to talk about the ornaments and the lights.  He notices the garland and the decor in his room and grins from ear to ear about all of it.  He's also excited for gifts for the first time ever and has asked more than once to open them early.  Receiving gifts is an important life skill on many levels, as is the gratitude we feel for them.  I'm absolutely thrilled he finally "gets" what gifts are about-on any level. I think that leads to understanding the excitement others feel when we give to them, and the joy of giving is born.

As we sat basking in the post-tree decorating glow, I looked up and saw one of the command hooks for the stocking showing from under the carefully placed pine bough.  I started to hop up and fix it and saw........

and I sat back down, took a deep breath, and soaked in the magic that was happening.  And I've never gone back to fix that bough.  I let.it.go. and am so thankful to a little four year old for the reminder to do that more often. 

So, I wish you all what I am calling the imperfection of magic.  The beauty and sparkle and love of the holidays can overcome so much if you let it.  Take some time to take it in this season and let's all carry some of that "letting it go," into the new year!

Here's a link to our family decorating the tree.  Click here.  And yes, I've had the talk with Ryan that he's had with me many times to turn the phone around. ;)

2nd Annual Cousin Christmas Cookie Day

This year Nana and Papa were able to join us for cousin Christmas cookie decorating.  We made an earlier day of it than last year and got to spend some time playing Anki drive and checking out Ian and Luke's new outdoor playset. 

As I have really tried to cut out artificial colorings from our family's diet, I broke down and bought the natural food coloring at Whole Foods that was $13 at a $5 discount!!  Well, it turns out you can have vibrant color or your health, but maybe not both............

I had expected the red would be ok as lots of things with natural red coloring look beautiful and make me wonder why we have to load food with that chemical crap.  Both Ryan and another friend joked that the green looked like guacamole.  Although I only had one cookie, I can attest that they tasted delicious and Ryan has his cream cheese frosting down to a not-too-sweet science.

I joked with the kids that the reindeer came to help.

Ben and Ian lasted slightly longer in their decorating chairs than last year and we headed home in the late afternoon to decorate the noble fir we had gotten earlier in the week.

A rare juice box AND cookies-whoa!

Ben was sneaking the goodies in whenever he could.

Ryan's piece de resistance

Sweet Luke was excited to wake up to cookies.

we finished the afternoon with some hot chocolate:)