It's Beginning to Look a lot like...

Today, I am thankful for so much in my life. Waking up to a fresh dusting of snow has REALLY put me in the Christmas spirit.

I love how snow balances on top of trees & bushes.



I love how my girl marvels at our beautiful Christmas tree.



I love how she saw me preparing a roast and said, "Mama, I cook too!"


I love carrying on Christmas traditions & passing on simple things from one generation to the next--like my dear grandmother's ceramic Christmas tree.



Last night we went downtown with friends to the German Christkindl Market in Daley Plaza. It is hands-down one of my favorite events of the whole year. Spiced wine, German cookies and ornaments galore. This year we bought the traditional German pickle to hide in the tree!


The roast is in the crockpot, baby girl is waking up from her nap, and I've got raspberry-almond thumbprint cookies on the agenda for tonight. The Christmas Season is upon us!

The Annual Search

Every year, we head down to Essex, Illinois to search for the perfect Christmas tree. We always go the day after Thanksgiving (the first day they're open) because we want to have as much time as possible with our tree at home. This year the weather was a balmy 55*...almost tropical compared to last year's 20* temps!












I look forward to this day practically all year long. The thrill of the hunt for a tree is so much fun. The hot cocoa & time spent with family is a sure plus, as well! And now for the decorating...

Post-Christmas-ness

I see a pattern here...I skip a few months and I start out every blog post about how I haven't written in so long, because it only seems apropos, but this time, I'm going to skip the monotony & just jump right in...

Hayden is 10.5 months old & she is livin' high on life...so because of that, so is her mama. She's cruisin' on the furniture, pulling open drawers, & loves to have you chase her through the house, squealing as she crawls at her fastest pace. My gal is amazing-- and every day with her is more enjoyable than the next. I know that might be so cliché & cheesy, but for me, it's pure truth.

Christmas was so different this year, for many reasons, but mostly because I had so much I hoped for Hayden's very first Christmas & it all came true. You can't repeat the first Christmas...I mean, there are no do-overs for that type of thing. You just have to do it right, and we sure did. We had the Christmas songs bellowing through the house for the entire month of December, the shopping trips to the mall, the ceremonial unwrapping (read: tearing paper) of the presents, we had the Christmas morning caserole with mimosas (none for Buggie, of course), & the numerous family gatherings all packed into two days. Oh yes, we had it all.







Grandpa sniffing his fresh-baked Gingersnaps, courtesy of Aunt Barbara.





Mission accomplished. Now onto a glorious Winter Break from teaching to be at home with my babe!