The holidays were particularly unique this year. For Celeste, I was completely unsure of how she would handle everything but she was able to have a pretty incredible Christmas.
Every year, we have the extended family Christmas for my mother's side of the family. When I was a kid, it was a time when we would all get tons and tons and tons of gifts and our parents would all go broke trying to supply gifts for the rapidly growing family (can't say I minded!). But now (thankfully) it's turned into more of a fun get together, get crazy and eat everything in sight. My Aunt Cyndi has done an incredible job revamping our family Christmas and I look forward to it each year. We get together and everyone brings a single white elephant gift. Most are just plain hilarious. And then we have an ugly sweater/outfit contest and it provides quite the laughter.
This year, I wanted to do something special with Celeste and since she's so incredibly artistic, we decided to make out own t-shirts. I am not surprised that my 6 year old's top is neater than mine!
Celeste making her shirt
Hah... mine
We started the evening off with what everyone loves - food! I loved this party; so much fun. :) (Yes, that is my little brother wearing a pj onesie that has jingle bells safety pinned to it and his son in the candy can angry bird costume.)
Landon, Gabe, me, Alicia, Aunt Cyndi, Kyle and Luwannah (and "Bun")
Luwannah (and "Bun"), Alicia, me and Aunt Cyndi
Now a little bit about "Bun." "Bun" is the name that my sister-in-law has given to her little bun-in-the-oven. Yep, that's right; there's another member joining the Johnson family in about 6.5 months!
After the food, laughter, white elephant gifts and custome contest, we all decided to take the party to Target and to surprise my cousin, Emily, with a family flash mob. Oh yeah, awful clothes and all. And yes, we sang.
The. Whole. Family. @Target
It's like Oh Brother Where Art Thou? meets awkward family Christmas photos
And now for the video.... oh yes, there's a video...
I love my family. And the holidays... ahh... such a nice time. :)
A few weeks ago, the sweet breeder who we purchased Mikado from contacted me and asked if we were still interested in adopting another Akita (she knew we were looking for a playmate for Mikado).
Taking Mikado home in 2009
One of the families who had purchased another male Akita from her last winter is moving to a new place and couldn't take the dog with them, so they contacted her in hopes that she could find the dog another home. So a little over a week ago, Eric and Celeste took Mikado to meet Hatchi, an 11 month old Akita male (and Mikado's little brother), and they brought Hatchi home with them.
Meeting Hatchi
When I met Hatchi, it was quite interesting. He'd already taken to Celeste and Eric and I met him when I tried to walk through the front door that night; he was not too thrilled with me being there. The next morning, I had to hand him treats just so he'd allow me back in my bedroom as I was getting ready for the day. Oh my goodness, I was scared! But after that, he's taken to me pretty well.
We gave Hatchi a couple of flea baths the next day because he had a crazy horrible amount of fleas; and he reallyenjoyed the pampering!
Celeste feeding Hatchi some treats during his bath
More massage please!!
Mmm..... this feels niiiiiice...
Yes, you're getting it, right behind the ear. That's the spot.
Two Male Akitas in the Same House?
It's not suppose to be possible. Oftentimes, the Akitas do not do well with another adult Akita that is their same sex under the same roof. However, Mikado's always done well around other dogs so we thought we'd give it a try and see how it goes.
Hatchi showed aggression with Mikado at first, but has since calmed down around him. We've taken precautions and moved slowly with these two together.
So far, it's working pretty well! We walk/run them beside each other in the evenings at the park and dog trail near our house and they seem to be getting along pretty great there.
This past Saturday, we took both Mikado and Hatchi to a mobile pet vaccination tent in League City (www.project4paws.org). A couple hundred dollars and two morbidly petrified dogs later, we had both caught up on their shots, heartworm meds (Hatchi tested negative, thank goodness), etc. Mikado weighs 65 lbs. (he's lost some weight with the heartworms) and Hatchi is 71 lbs.
Celeste took this next little video with my cell phone after we picked her up from school last Friday with Hatchi in the truck bed. Note: If you can't see either of the 2 videos in the email, you'll have to go to the blog online to see them at http://amandajtaylor.blogspot.com.
Why Akitas?
Akitas have a natural affinity for children (look it up here). Their bark is intimidating, but is usually reserved for after a threat has been assessed and there is cause for alarm.
Mikado has only barked a handful of times in the three years that we've had him. Each time, there was cause for alarm (suspicious people on our property and once, moments before a transformer blew that was located a few blocks away, sending up a black ring-shaped smoke cloud and shutting down power to the whole area). It could be pretty creepy/scary to guests who weren't aware of the dog's existence because Mikado quietly comes closer and sizes you up before he decides on his response (which is usually a wet nose on your arm, some licks and sometimes a couple of paws on your shoulders).
Oh my goodness, they shed like crazy! Two full coat blows each year. We're currently on the hunt for a FURminator (thank you, Leslie) to help with the shedding. But both dogs are fun, kind and loving dogs, and we are really enjoying the new addition to the family.
Celeste has been learning John 1. Bay Area Christian School uses the English Standard Version (ESV) and we're working on her memory verses every night. She's doing AMAZING for a first grader!
I am incredibly proud of her! She is doing such an amazing job in school!
Last night, I was watching her do her homework. She's reading books and interpreting what she's read, and she's doing simple addition (the kind that we didn't do until 2nd grade). I was so proud of her that exuberantly, I asked for a high-five. She hesitantly gave me one, then coolly said, "It's fist bumps now, Mom."
Suddenly, I've become a dinosaur. It's bittersweet watching her grow up so fast.
So it has been quite some time since I've posted; 8 months or so in fact. Sadly, life has just gotten so very busy for us. We are enjoying life together, but I haven't had the time to write about it!
Celeste turned 6 this past February. My little girl is growing up so very fast and I feel a little bit of sorrow that she's no longer the length of my forearm, and she wants to do everything herself (yes, I know exactly where she gets that from!).
Here's a short little video of Celeste reading a book about Rapunzel to me all by herself on February 16, 2012. She was just over halfway through kindergarten; I absolutely love the education that she's been getting at her private school!
On the day of her birthday, I surprised her by bringing little cupcakes up to the school for her entire class during lunch. She was really stoked about it, so full of excited giggles and her eyes were dancing when she saw me walk in. I love these moments!
We had her birthday party at Fun City Sk8 in Webster, and so many of her friends from church and school came. She was so looking forward to having her party at the skating rink. We picked up rock-and-roll themed cupcakes from Rise Cupcakes in Friendswood (oh em gee, they were amazing), and she was extremely proud of the little fondant rock star guitars on them.
We have Pergo floors at home so they have been perfect for Celeste and her energy. She's been wearing these roller skates that we got her at Christmas almost every day and roller skating all over the house in them; so by the time her party came in February, she was a pro at skating!
Everyone singing Happy Birthday to Celeste at her party...
Aunt Ta bought her this cute little bag to carry her things in, and she was not going to church without it the day after her party!
Miss Personality... I just can't seem to figure out where she gets it all from??
A few more photos of springtime fun...
And here's my princess... rollerblading around the house as I mentioned earlier. :)
GASP!!! WHERE HAS MY BABY GONE?? :'( All grown-up; wow, how time flies.
And then it came; the day of her kindergarten graduation. Miniature pomp and circumstance with tiny robes and caps and tassels. It was so cute watching every kid walk down the aisle to the platform to graduate; but of course the star of the show was our little Celeste.
I still cannot believe my baby is about to go into the first grade this year. She tells me that I'm old, and I'm starting to believe her! Nothing I say is cool, she knows everything and of course, since I'm old, I lived in "the olden days" so I just do not understand how things work in today's society. Haha it's a little ironic when you get to experience what your own parents experienced from you 25 years ago. God has certainly got a sense of humor. :)
So I've been slacking lately on posting things and this is my attempt to catch up! Sorry.
As you can see in my last post, a big part of our Christmas this year had to do with Walt Disney World in Florida. However, here are some photos of other things we did in December.
Celeste's class took a field trip to watch the Bay Area Houston Ballet & Theatre group perform The Nutcracker at the University of Houston Clear Lake. It was a little chilly, so Celeste put on my UHCL sweatshirt to keep warm. I don't know what it is about wearing my sweatshirts, but she loves doing it. Here are some photos of her with some of the cast members before the performance:
As part of her treat from her teacher, Ms. Minchew, Celeste and the rest of her class were given little toy nutcracker ornaments.
The next day, I bought Celeste this cute little Fraser Fir from Lowe's and she decorated it all by herself!
Then I began decorating some of the rest of the house... with Aunt Cyndi's help!
This just cracks me up. It looked too blah without anything on top... but it provided tons of laughs for me and Aunt Cyndi after I did this to it. Probably not appropriate for blog posting...
This tiny poinsetta from Lowe's is so cute!
Some garland, ribbon and ornaments on the antique vanity. My favorite part of this was actually the 2 lotus votive holders that Eric bought for me from the Nutcracker Market!
We kept the outdoor decor simple this year...
And finally...'twas the night before Christmas...
...and all through the house...
...not a creature was stirring...
Finally, it was Christmas morning. I got the bike down from the attic, set it up, and went to wake my two sleepyheads.
After a few hard blinks, Celeste was wide awake and present time was ON!!!
All bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, Celeste loves her new bike.
Celeste tied her new robot dog (gift from Nana and PaPaw) to her new bike and they strolled through the house together like this.
She loves playing with Barbies, so we bought her a cute little Barbie house and she got some more Barbie dolls... and a Barbie car! So they're all set to live in my living room now, ha.
We had a great Christmas. I love this time of year, it's so beautiful and a bit romantic. The best part of it is watching Celeste's reactions to everything. It was awesome.
