Holiday Tradition - Baking Cookies

My favorite holiday tradition growing up was baking cookies with my mom. We have continued that tradition even now that I am an adult. Some years we were able to make a ton of cookies in one weekend. But now with the kids, we made two batches.  It was still a lot of fun and I love that we are continuing the tradition with my kids.  Both Edith and Eddie had so much fun decorating the sugar cookies.  The thing to remember right now is to have a sense of humor and lots of patience (and a broom on hand!). I can't wait to do this again next year!

Hey - who is this sneaking in to help out?

Hello, Beautiful!

Last week I said good-bye to this old friend.

It served me well for the past 4 1/2 years, despite it's age. The left front burner never worked and neither did the clock or timer on it. But I made the most of it. My dream was one day to have a double oven. Last week that dream became reality. I welcomed this beautiful thing into our house. I am in love!

Round and Round

This video accurately shows what our life is like these days.  They go around and around this loop every day.  Sometimes Edith rides the car (or stands and pushes the car) while Eddie uses the stroller. They love it. Usually it's not so bad, except for when I am trying to make dinner.

First Big Snow!

This weekend we had our first big snowfall of the season!  It's Edith first time really playing in it.  Eddie didn't have much experience since last year was pretty mild and lacking with snow (not that I am complaining about that one!!!)  Anyhow - it snowed all day long on Sunday.  We promised the kids after naptime they could play outside.  Edith woke up first and she really wanted to go out. Uncas went out to shovel and she kept saying "out, out!" So I bundled her up and out she went.

 She wasn't too sure at first, but she stayed outside for at least 30 minutes.  We got the kids new sleds, so Uncas pulled her around for a little bit.

Eddie woke up shortly after Edith went outside, so I went in and got him all bundled up! He has been super excited to play in the snow.  In October he told me he was ready for it to snow. Inside while he was getting ready, he saw that Edith was playing with his blue shovel.  That upset him, but I assured him that she would let him have it when he got outside. Sure enough - she had long discarded it when we got out there.  He got a little ride from Daddy in his new sled, but he was much more interested in shoveling and moving snow around.  Uncas and Eddie built a snowman (unfortunately I went inside before it was finished, so no pictures). Eddie called himself Snowplow Eddie.  He loved playing in the snow!

While Uncas and Eddie were busy building, I pulled Edith around the yard and street in her sled. Finally she was ready to go in and have a snack!

The guys stayed out for awhile longer. I can see us spending lots of time playing outside in the snow this winter!

Being Silly

Edith and Eddie have been really silly lately.  These pictures are from Sunday morning:

Wearing Mama's hat

Eddie's new favorite place - resting under the Christmas tree (he saw Sammy do it and thought it was funny)

Came into the kitchen and found Edith laying on her blankie

Eddie thought it would be fun to join her - silly!

Winter Festival

On Saturday evening we went to a new winter festival in our town. They had vendors, face painting, a food truck, hot chocolate, musicians, bonfires, s'mores and Santa.  We decided to check it out. The weather was pretty mild, which made it enjoyable. Eddie had his face painted, got a balloon and was able to chat with Santa - all before he ate a s'more.  Edith also got close with Santa (see below) and she enjoyed a s'more too. It was a fun festival and hopefully they'll do it again next year!

Monkey on his face!

Hanging with Santa

Edith is NOT happy about this!

Enjoying a s'more

Over Santa - on to better things!

The Perfect Tree

On Saturday we had a very busy day. It was a lot of fun since we are in the midst of preparing for the holidays. After eating breakfast out, we went to pick out our Christmas tree.  Every year since we have lived in this house, we go to a nearby park that sells trees from a local tree farm. We have had great luck with our trees. They also do a wagon ride around the park.  This year we had the challenge of finding a tall and narrow tree due to the space in our living room.  It took a little longer searching, but fortunately the weather was pretty nice for December.

Searching with Daddy

How does this one look?

Waiting for Daddy to tie the tree on the car

Wagon ride!

 Edith fell asleep on the wagon ride.  She was out!  She didn't wake up getting into the car, going home and then we stuck her in her crib. I guess the tree searching really wore her out! Eddie loved helping Daddy put up the lights. After naptime the kids helped decorate the tree with ornaments. We still don't have a tree topper, so Uncas stuck a little Santa hat on top!

Pretty tree!