I’ll get to actual Christmas posts in a bit, but I just wanted to share something that’s been a huge project of mine over the past couple of years: the kids’ stockings. It all started innocently enough. On visits to North Carolina during Christmastime, I saw some beautiful stockings at Colin and Jill’s house. I’m not sure who made them–Jill’s grandmother maybe?–but the detail and sparkles and cuteness stuck with me. In my pre-stocking-making naivete, I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t that be fun if I could make some for my kids?” And, so, I went online and ordered two stocking kits from Bucilla. The kit comes with detailed instructions and all the materials you need to make a stocking.

And then I opened the first one. It was clear within minutes that, especially for someone with absolutely no embroidery or hand-stitching experience, these were going to be a lot of work. And they have been (hundreds of hours maybe?), but I am thrilled with the final products and I hope that my children will love them for years to come. Maybe they can even pass them onto their own children some day. I’ve certainly learned a lot and have even have a favorite embroidery stitch now–the chain stitch.

Here are some pictures for those of you (a.k.a. my mom) that don’t live nearby:

I made Calder's stocking last year. As it turns out, his stocking was actually simpler than Amelie's, so it's a good thing I started with his.

Lots of trial and error (and love) went into these stockings.

This year he was in love with this train.

More of the detail work. Everything on these stockings is stitched, embroidered, sequined, and appliqued by hand.

This year, I tackled Amelie's stocking and got it done on Christmas Eve.

So many little details! I was grateful for everything I'd learned while making Calder's stocking.

The darling Sugar Plum Fairy. Her face was the part I was most nervous about stitching, but I think it turned out all right.

More details.

These little buggers took me forever--each red stripe is embroidered.

I’m really happy with how they turned out and am glad I made them, even if they have taken me a really long time to make. Maybe I’ll get faster as I go–I’m sure a more experienced seamstress would go much faster. I should probably get started on one for baby number 3 a.s.a.p. Anyway, just wanted to share!

The best part about having more than one child is watching your children play together (and, I guess, the worst part is watching them squabble together). Calder looks up to Amelie in pretty much everything and Amelie seems to really enjoy playing with her little brother and taking care of him. This past term, we’ve all been at preschool together and it’s been fun to have them together in that environment. I won’t be teaching there after Christmas, so Calder and I won’t be at the school with Amelie anymore, but I’m glad we had these past several months there together. I wonder if she’ll miss us when she goes back to school in January? Anyway, here are some pictures of these two in action.

On our class field trip to the fire station. This was inside the ambulance. Both kids were totally captivated by it all.

All ready to go play in the snow at Grandma and Grandpa Haymond's house.

Snow! I was so proud of how Amelie helped Calder survive the outing. They both loved it.

"Uh, Amelie? This snow is a little deeper than I thought! Help!"

"Don't worry, Calder. I'm here for you."

Yay for siblings!

Calder adores Bryce. As soon as he can hear Bryce opening the door when he comes home from work, Calder runs over to him yelling, “Daddy! Daddy!” and telling him some bit of news. Lately it’s been all about informing Bryce that the Christmas tree lights have been turned on. He loves to play blocks with his daddy, read books with his daddy, and get tickled by his daddy.

See?

Getting a ride on Bryce's foot. "Hello, up there!"

Thrilled to have his daddy home to play with.

Here’s what Amelie’s been up to recently:

Making things. She told us this was the Leaning Tower of Pisa--doesn't it look like it? And the other day she was drawing and told me she was drawing "an abstract." And she was! It was very abstract. I wish I could say she learned these things from me, but she actually learned both things from some cute t.v. shows.

Snoozing. Later in the day when I was talking to her about her little cat nap, she told me that she wasn't actually sleeping. "Just resting." Right...

Dancing. Here she is learning their Christmas dance. I love that she loves dance class.

I think their teacher was telling them to pull their tummies in. The little girl two ahead of Amelie in line (hair in a bun, no sleeves on her leotard) is actually one of Amelie's best friends from church. It's been fun to have them in class together.

From their little Christmas dance to "Sleigh Ride." Sorry about all the boxes in the background--I couldn't get my computer to crop the picture right this morning for some reason. This dance was cute and hilarious--nothing more entertaining than watching a bunch of 3 and 4 year-old girls try to remember a routine! It was just precious.

As you can see, this little girl has been pretty busy. Another big milestone that she’s been working on is learning to read. We bring home readers from school, work on them together, and then she trades them in once she’s shown her teacher what she’s learned. She’s reading things like, “Mag is a dog,” “Dot has a hat,” “Jig is a pig,” etc. She’s done so well that I took her to the bookstore and let her pick out her very own brand new book (she picked a cute one about cupcake girls) to bring home.

And she just gets sweeter every day. Amelie loves to give hugs and kisses and has a very tender way about her. What a joy she is!