Since our journey into the abyss of Newbornland coincided with this season of Advent, being intentional in our holiday festivities was a must. Also, since Lindsay travels during the week, any activities as a family of five (yikes! still getting used to the sound of that!) were limited to the weekends. With some careful planning, I think that we squeezed in the perfect combination of fun and rest (well, enough rest for everyone, that is, who is not nursing a newborn through the night.)
Through a few pictures and a few words are the highlights...
Our season began on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, when, for the seventh (yikes! again.) year in a row, we watched Charlie Brown Christmas and trimmed our tree. We chose a beautiful Fraser fur for our main tree, and the girls decorated an artificial tree upstairs with a fun collection of Disney ornaments and ornaments from my childhood.

Our Tree.

Eventually, the trash bag tree skirt was replace by a lovely red one,

but those stocking holders never did hold stockings.

The following weekend, on December 1, our beloved Elf on a Shelf, Dolly, made her appearance in the Lewellen home. Both of the girls woke up each morning excited to find Dolly and see if she was up to any silly antics. Several mornings, I'd hear Murphy waking up in the mornings saying, 'Dowee is?!?!?' Carter was quite aware of both Dolly's presence in our house and her power with Santa.

Dolly got wind of the Hostess bankruptcy 

and dug into our Twinkie stash.

The first pic of me and my three minis, taken at the Southpark Tree Lighting.

Baby Wright was so tiny that she couldn't even be seen above the Beco.

An interesting observation over the month was Murphy's fear/dislike/skepticism towards anything/anyone in costume. This feeling, of course, extended to Santa upon whose lap she had no desire to sit.

Cousins together with a non-red-nosed Rudolph.

Notice Murphy Girl's expression.

Here's 2/5 of us at Mistletoe Magic.

Murphy dared not even glance in the direction of the stilted soldier

whose picture was only taken because of his striking resemblance to George W. Bush. 

Not quite sure how a baby kangaroo (or the unphotographed baby tiger)

related to Christmas/Mistletoe Magic, but we'll take it. 

Our little elf.

I, of course, enjoyed dressing the girls in the season's most festive attire.

Even the presence of the elf and the joyous spirit of the season did not make for perfect children. The picture above was taken when I had Carter sit beside Murphy was sitting in time out (prior to 8:45 AM) for screeching the word 'Nooooo!' at my every request.

And here's an example of how quickly IPad sharing can go awry.

Both of the big girls participated in a Christmas program at school. Loved seeing them on stage celebrating the true meaning of Christmas.

Nothing more sweet than this precious little face singing

'Jesus is our different daddy.' 

Carter spent most of her performance time preoccupied with the ribbon on her shirt.

The little girl beside her is not in her class;

Carter told me her name is 'Mitten Girl.' 

The Christmas program marked the last day of school for over two and a half weeks. I began to feel shaky even thinking of how we'd fill our time! I signed Carter up for a few fun 'camps' and lined up some special holiday playdates. 

All set up for our gingerbread house party!

Four happy kiddos with tummies full of sugar.

Carter triple-adores little David and it's easy to see why!

After a trip to see the Bear Orchestra at Founders Hall,

we enjoyed an uptown Chickfila date with our favorite fellas.

Love this pic of our crew walking hand in hand.

Christmas Eve!

Matchy-Match to the third power.

We joined family and friends for a special lunch.

Love any chance to get a pic of all five!

After naps, feedings, tootsie-nail painting, and general recharging, we headed to a lovely Christmas Eve service at church.

If you think these expressions are interesting, 

you should see the outtakes.

After church, we quickly got the girls fed, wrote notes to Santa, and prepared his cookies, milk, and fruit snacks (a Rudolph favorite, we hear). The girls were sad to realize this was their last night with Dolly and wanted to say goodbye.

Carter giving Dolly a 'Skype-hug'

And Murphy Girl blowing her a kiss.

Luckily, Dolly stopped by each girl's room for one last goodbye.

She even snuggled in with Carter.

Once the Christmas story was read, and the children were nestled, 

Mommy and Daddy got our Santa-on. 

Each year we love that role even more.  

The little fridge, to complete the girls' kitchen playset, 

came stocked with Murphy's one consistent wish from Santa:

fries and ketchup.

Presents from Mommy and Daddy: Matching Mini Coopers!

(And we unashamedly admit they are just as much for our pleasure as the kids.)

Carter woke up a touch earlier than normal on Christmas morning, and we finally woke Murphy Girl at around 8:30. They were thrilled with Santa's offerings.

Murphy Girl got just what she wanted and dug right in!

After Santa's surprises had been explored, we sat down to enjoy blueberry French toast that I'd prepared the prior evening. We then headed outside to show the girlies their new rides! 

Carter almost immediately asked for some wipes to make her car 'nice and shiny'

and was so proud that she could drive it all by herself in no time!

Murphy took a little while to check hers out

and loved being big sis's passenger.

Our Christmas Day was low-key and fun yet not documented with photographs. Lindsay and I shared cooking duty for what was my first time cooking a real Christmas meal. On the menu: beef tenderloin with a red pepper and olive spread, potatoes au gratin (the only not homemade item, but oh-so-tasty), tomato-basil mozzarella skewers, corn casserole, broccoli with hollandaise, and sour cream biscuits. (I was happy to have my parents join us for our feast!) 

For me, the lovely day was completed

with bedtime snuggles with my tiny elf.

Intermixed with all this was Christmas movie watching (Murphy Girl LOVED the 'Ginch'), book reading, light viewing, song singing as we counted down the days of Advent (with the help of two special Advent calendars: one from Dolly with trinkets inside and one from Great Grandma Margie with a moving Santa.) 

As is often the case with these sorts of posts, this one was written much more with me and our family in mind. With a month that seemed to be full of tragedy and sadness on both personal and national levels, I do hope that you and yours created equally special memories this season. 

At Least I'm Not Pregnant

I'm coming to you today from deep in the realms of Newbornland: a place that is certainly not for the faint of heart. Here, sleep is attained in maximum increments of four to five hours but more often in just three. Daily scheduling revolves around breastfeeding sessions that can range in length from fifteen to forty-five minutes and must be conducted by yours truly every three hours. Laundry amounts have tripled as the princess of Newbornland prefers to wear several outfits in a single day; if her wish isn't granted, she'll be sure to soil her clothing to such a degree that not just a clothing change but also a bath is necessary. The elder princesses are vying for attention of their own in this altered kingdom and reminding me of the need to maintain normalcy for them, particularly during this holiday season. Fortunately, our friendly Elf on a Shelf, Dolly, has been appeared to aid in curtailing the constant whining and promoting good behaviors.
While awaiting the arrival of Santa and his crew and remembering the real meaning of Christmas, we are all adjusting to Newbornland. As the Mommy, who's on round three of this adventure, I recognize that our time spent here will be relatively short. I know I'll look up and my itty bitty will be running circles around her bigs. But on long, weary nights, that thought is not always at the forefront of my mind.

One thought, though, does keep me focused, motivated, and sane: 

in a simple phrase, 

at least I'm not pregnant! 

Below is a list, though certainly not comprehensive, of ten of the reasons this phrase provides comfort:

1. I can stand-up from the floor or get out of bed without moaning, groaning, or using a crawling stance as my transition position.
2. I have complete control of my bladder at all times.
3. I can enjoy an evening a glass (or two) of Malbec.
4. I no longer stare at my clothing choices and think, 'OK, now how am I going to keep this belly covered today?'
5. I can snuggle with my big girls and give them great, big, squeezable hugs.
6. I can roll over in bed at night without having to wake up, adjust all my pillows, and manually lift and move my tummy.
7. I am not awakened by leg cramps that lead to the need for jumping out of bed. (See #1 to realize the challenge this posed.)
8. I am no longer subjected to the unwanted touches of strangers or their speculation that, because of my tummy size, a) I am wrong about my due date or b) I must be carrying twins. 
9. I am no longer plagued by hip pain, tummy contractions, and irregularity.
10. Rather than being awakened by her sharp kicks and jabs, I can hold my little belly dancer in my arms.

I'd say I'm actually enjoying this visit to Newbornland more than any other previous trip. Having been here before, I know that an end is in sight: sleep durations will lengthen and schedules will become more predictable. The little itty bitty who sometimes prefers to sleep on her tummy on Mommy's chest will soon be a crawling little monkey with a mind of her own. I'm taking in her smell, her snuggles, her smiles. And, when all these realizations aren't enough, and the reality of this place becomes overwhelming and exhausting, all I have to do is remind myself...

At least I'm not pregnant.

PS... for those readers who have never before been pregnant, yet hope to be one day, I assure you, it's a beautiful, magical thing...