December 2013

              The holiday season has come and gone and Deb and I are wondering where it went.  It seems to have rushed by us and we found ourselves thinking of things we can do next year in advance to help us enjoy the holidays a little more. Maybe some shopping for Christmas presents (which I didn’t help with one bit) or maybe getting the Christmas cards out earlier…or this is just how it is and we just didn’t notice it as kids! 

I wanted to let everyone know that there is a service we have signed up for in the past, which is the link below, that you can sign up to get an email to let you know when we update the blog.  If you signed up in the past, then you shouldn’t need to do anything, but this is a helpful way to keep track of what we are doing without having to keep checking this link each month. (http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=keithdebbiecarrollblog&loc=en_US)

We celebrated with my mom and sisters (and their families) the weekend before Christmas.  We went over on Saturday morning and enjoyed a nice casserole that Beth and Matt made and then opened presents.  It was fun to watch all the kids run back and forth with presents and be interested in each other’s new toys.  We tried a new thing this year among the 6 “adult” children where we did a secret gift exchange that seemed to work out well.  We went back over to my mom’s condo for some meals throughout the weekend and it was really fun to watch Allison and Jake play together while trying to kick a football and chasing each other around the place. 

We left for West Virginia on the 23^rd with a sick little one.  Sarah had a deep cough and wasn’t very comfortable.  We had taken her to the doctor who gave us some medication and told us that we pretty much needed to just ride it out.  We stopped halfway on our trip and she got sick all over me at a restaurant.  We made it the rest of the way and she did OK given the fact she didn’t feel well.  Allison enjoyed sleeping in a big girl bed this trip, which was her first time in a twin bed as her crib is currently converted to a daybed.  One of the highlights of this trip was Julie explaining to Allison the process Santa goes through by landing on the roof and coming down the chimney and eating some cookies.  She was pretty excited about it and she and Julie helped put out some cookies and milk for Santa (along with some green peppers?!?).  We went over to Kyle and Julie’s house for dinner on Christmas and we were cut short due to Sarah being cranky, but they were great hosts and had prepared a very nice meal. 

Randy and Anna visited in mid-December for his one month follow-up for his shoulder surgery.  Deb and I took advantage of having them around to go to our annual Purdue Christmas dinner on Friday and then to the Basset Christmas party on Saturday night.  They did well with the evening routine and putting the girls to bed.  I’m sure they had fun interacting with the girls on their own. 

Allison had been squinting at school, so we mentioned it to our doctor and she referred us to an eye specialist.  It turned out that Allison has cataracts and needs to have them removed.  The procedure seems to be relatively routine for this specialist even though it is pretty rare for a kid to have cataracts. They have to be removed one at a time, so the first procedure is scheduled for Jan. 7^th.  This has caused some stress in our house and we just want to get the process started to remove the cataracts and help her vision.  She will begin wearing glasses after the procedures are done.

Sarah’s Thing of the Month

                Sarah had her first illness this month.  She did well with it and is already back to her smiley ways.  I forgot how frustrating it is to have a sick infant.  Without the ability to talk to them, it is hard to tell them it will be OK.  She is sitting up well and loves to smile.  She doesn’t seem too interested in crawling just yet. 

Allison’s Thing of the Month

                All Allison asked Santa for was “pizza.”  Hey, I can’t argue with that.  So, Santa delivered with a fun wooden “make your own pizza” kit with toppings and everything.  She was serving everyone pizza on Christmas morning.

 

A few more items from this month:

·         Beth and Matt came over for the Colts game Thanksgiving Weekend.

·         Mom had a second knee surgery to help with swelling.

·         Allison and I went to Emma Anderson’s birthday party.  This was at a gymnastics academy and she loved it.

·         Beth and I went to “Breakfast with Santa” with Allison at her school.

·         I went to a Christmas Party at the Symmes house with Mom, Mark, Beth, Matt and Frank.

·         We went to “Jolly Days” at the Children’s Museum (we received a year family membership from Anna and Randy for Christmas).  It was fun and Allison and Sarah loved it. 

·         For the first time in our 11 New Year’s Eve together, we stayed at home and didn’t stay up to see the ball drop.  I found this a little disappointing, but with the girls waking up at 6AM, it wasn’t a time I wanted to be hung-over!

·         I enjoyed a few days off around Christmas with the girls at daycare and Deb was working.  I got several things done around the house, made dinner both days and had lunch with Jeremy one day and Beth the next.