Week 142- October 1 – October 7, 2018

It’s October, which means the beginning of Fall and Halloween month. For a while you wanted to be Batman – we have no idea why! But then you changed your mind and decided you wanted to be Elsa from Frozen. Well, on Sunday your costume arrived in the mail. You had the greatest reaction ever! see video below.

Week 143- October 8 – October 14, 2018

Week 144- October 15 – October 21, 2018

Dad thoughts:

I figured I would take a few minutes to share my thoughts and what’s going on in our lives right now. All in all, things are great right now. We are healthy, we have a roof over our head, and we aren’t struggling financially. I’m happy, but could be happier. I need to be making more money to provide a better lifestyle for you and mom. Again, we are doing ok, but I want the best for our family.

Week 145- October 22 – October 28, 2018

When we go shopping, it’s hard for you to understand the concept of how much things cost. We tell you that we don’t have enough money for some things so the next time we go, you ask “ daddy, do we have enough money for this today?” It’s the cutest thing ever!

Week 146- October 29 – November 4, 2018

You absolutely loved Halloween!

Week 147- November 5 – November 11, 2018

Dad got promoted to Manager, Philanthropy & Events this week at work. It’s nice to be recognized for the hard work and success I have had in my short time at Big Lots. It’s been fun and this is a step in the right direction to moving up the ladder and providing a better life for our family.

Grandma also came down this weekend and we took her to her first hockey game – and it was a good one! There was a fight, overtime, and a shoot out! And you got your favorite chicken fingers and ice cream!

Week 148- November 12 – November 18, 2018

We found out about your baby sibling on Nov. 12! It’s so exciting to add to our family and I know you’re going to be a great big sister. We don’t know the sex yet, but you keep saying it’s going to be your baby sister, so we’ll see. You have named it “Spitty” 🙂 and keep saying that it can already talk.

We went to the Gahanna Christmas tree lighting this Sunday night. You got to see Santa and Marshall come in riding on a firetruck. We also took pictures with Frosty!

I’m so excited about this year’s Christmas because you are getting so excited about everything. But with that, you are also wanting lots of presents from Santa. I’m sure your mom will do a great job of being creative with your gifts.

Week 149- November 19 – November 25, 2018

Your mom and I got tickets to THE GAME: Ohio St. vs. Michigan. This was a bucket list for me.

Some of the things you are saying:

• “Actually…”
• “Oh, yeah” with an emphasis on “Oh” especially when we ask if you remember something.
• If you don’t like they way were are answering a question, you will say “I want you to say (insert the answer you want to hear)”

Week 150- November 26 – December 2, 2018

We took out our Christmas decorations this weekend. You thought it was the best thing ever. You were carefully unwrapping each decoration and got so excited with each new decoration. I can’t tell you how special this Christmas is now that you are getting more excited about Santa and all the lights and presents.

You also started mentioning things you want added to your “Christmas List”. Right now you want a dinosaur you saw at Kohl’s, Paw Patrol Lookout Tower, and a Minnie Mouse Phone.

Week 151- December 3 – December 9, 2018

St. Nick made a visit to our house this weekend. I had no idea who St. Nick was until I met your mom. Apparently he visits good boys and girls on Dec. 5 and fills up their stockings. Well, you must have been a good girl, because St. Nick came through! Your St. Nick was better than my Christmas at your age. But that’s what it’s about. I’m trying to do all i can to make sure your life is better than mine was growing up.

We also went to the Gahanna Holiday character breakfast on Saturday and made our gingerbread house on Sunday. It was shaky in the beginning, but our house turned out pretty well. You had so much fun decorating the house!

Week 152- December 10 – December 16, 2018

I went to the Big Lots sample sale on Saturday. This when associates get to go to the distribution center and fill a large trash bag with whatever we can in 30 minutes. You thought it was the coolest thing when I came home with this huge bag and you were most excited about what I brought for you. I of course got quite a few things for you, which you loved, but I did have to save a few things for Christmas presents.

Some of the things you are saying:

• “Last Night” You don’t quite get the meaning of “last week” or “last month”. You know when you’ve been somewhere before or done something in the past, but you always say that it was “last night”.

Week 153- December 17 – December 23, 2018

It’s almost Christmas! You are getting more excited by the day, but your patience is also being tested. Packages keep getting delivered and you don’t quite understand the concept of having to wait until Christmas to open them.

You did get a Manger set from Grandma Carol and mom also ordered you a Manger book. We are trying to teach you a little about baby Jesus so you can understand the deeper meaning behind Christmas and the fact that it’s not just about getting/giving presents. You love the Manger set, especially putting your other friends inside it with Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. You also like to read the Manger book by yourself – which is the cutest thing ever. You are starting to “read” alot more of your books by yourself. It’s amazing how you remember the main points from when we read it to you and then you add your own spin to it with your story. My favorite thing right now is when you read the reindeer book, you say one of the reindeer names is “On Donder” 🙂

On Friday, we all went to your mom’s first doctor’s appointment since we found out she’s pregnant. We got to see your little brother or sister on the ultrasound and was able to hear the heartbeat. You even helped the doctor with the light when she was doing mom’s checkup. I don’t think you knew exactly what was going on, but you seemed excited to be a big sister. You kept saying that it’s your baby brother, so maybe you know something we don’t. The baby is due July 25!

We’ve made it to Grandma’s house! Christmas day can’t come soon enough – your patience is really running short with all these presents under the tree and all the talk about Santa! You, mom, and grandma had fun with the tradition of icing cookies. I just got in trouble for wanting to eat cookie dough the night before and eating too many cookies when you were finished icing. You made a special plate of cookies just for Santa!

Week 154- December 24 – December 30, 2018

Needless to say, you LOVED Christmas! When you finally woke up, around 10:30, you went straight to the fireplace to see that Santa had eaten your cookies and taken the carrots for the reindeer. You kept saying “He came! He came! He just left crumbles!” You then turned your attention to the Christmas tree and saw all the presents Santa left you for being on the nice list. You got everything you asked for: PawPatrol Lookout Tower, Vamperina Car, Gooie Louie Game, fake fruit you can cut, and puzzles. After opening each gift, you would say “This is what I have always wanted for Christmas!” It was the cutest thing ever. I now understand why my parents would always say that they didn’t want anything from Christmas, only to see the joy of getting us kids presents. It really is a special time and memory that i hope you never outgrow.

We also took you to see your first movie, The Grinch! You loved it! Of course the large popcorn and candy helped but you didn’t say you wanted to go home until about 15 minutes left.  It was another special moment we were able to share with you. I love that you love movies (because your mom really doesn’t) and I especially love that you love watching movies on the couch with popcorn and pickles. That was always something special I shared with Grandpa Mario and I’m happy to share this with you