december is upon us. we had the most wonderful holiday weekend with our family- filled with so many fun kansas city & family traditions!
lucy trimmed her own christmas tree in preparation for the festivities :)
my butterball turkeys the day before thanksgiving :)
on wednesday, my mom, sister & i had our traditional holiday cookie bake. here's a small sample :)
we also did snowball cookies, peppermint bark & walnut cookies. we have plenty to freeze & pull out for christmas cookie exchanges throughout the month of december :)
wednesday night at meme's, lucy got to taste her first hot cocoa with tasman [meme's special recipe]! she's been talking about hot chocolate for a couple of weeks, since it's mentioned in several of her holiday books. her thoughts: "it's sooo good!!!" my thoughts: she didn't fall asleep until after 10 that night. cocoa caffeine buzz or simply cousin excitement? perhaps both??
cousins playing in my childhood dollhouse at meme's :)
my sweet owls on thanksgiving morning
future broadway star, belting into her pink dora microphone along with the show performances at the macy's thanksgiving day parade :)
sitting up sweetie :)
grandkids with their meme :)
very important stuff- wishbone instructions...
they were told to "pull" the wishbone, so of course, tasman "pulled" lucy while she clung tight to the wishbone :)
...throughout the house :)
uncle jon taking over for lu
tasman's spin on the microphone :)
we went to the plaza lighting ceremony thanksgiving evening, after a truly amazing meal [props to jon on the turkey, and meme on just about everything else!]
it was a cold one, but eloise was snug as a bug peeking out from the cozy moby & lucy proudly donned her new snowsuit :)
tasman is not a fan of fireworks- eloise snoozed right through them, and lucy was confused, since fireworks are for the 4h of july, you know :)
on friday, our happy angel eloise turned HALF a year! she's saying "baba" & "mama", and is tucking her knees underneath her tummy when she's on the floor. she's so content & happy- especially when i'm wearing her- that i'm often asked if i forget she's in there :) really, i kinda do. it's feels a lot like being pregnant when she's tucked in, so quiet & peaceful!
we did one of our favorite christmas traditions on eloise's half-birthday- union station!
tasman is so so sweet with his baby cousin :)
sweet sisters :)
yep...
lucy is big enough to ride the santa train this year! big news for our fam! she was so proud to join tasman :)
lucy loved looking at the thomas train track most of all
we dug out our last christmas box, much to lucy's delight. she loved playing with her nativity set last christmas, and is even more into it this year. her favorite is baby jesus, who we've now put away until christmas morning :)
& much to mama's delight, the cookie platter jon & lucy made for me last year!
our street lit up at night, snapped on friday :)
yesterday was a BIG day! eloise got to meet santa, and lucy got to share her christmas wish with him! in the past, we've gone to a "professional santa photography" studio, but wanted the more traditional/"a christmas story"-esque experience this year, knowing that lucy likely wouldn't have any of it anyway, and opted for shannon [our family photographer] to do family christmas pictures this year, instead.
santa pics from years past:
christmas 2012- my 2 month old lucille! [you may or may not see that smocked santa dress in our family christmas pictures this year, along with a matching one for lu:)]
christmas 2013 :) [they do a peek-a-boo santa for toddlers who are likely to be frightened, which was great last year, but my 2 year old would absolutely know if a large man in a velvet suit was standing behind her]
SO off to the bass pro shop we went! and seriously- we had the best time! they have a winter wonderland set-up, complete with a carousel & "letters to santa" table
while we waited in line, we continued to prep lucy for what she was going to say to santa, that she was going to sit on his lap & take a picture, etc. i was certain that as soon as it was our turn, we'd have a major christmas meltdown.
but, to my utter shock, she was SO brave! with jon still holding her, she looked right at santa & said "jump house!", then walked up the stairs, sat on his lap & looked at the camera. let's be honest, i am still in shock... although i think she may have done if for the candy cane ["tandy tane"], which she is still talking about :)
i mean, does it get more classic than a light-up picture frame from bass pro?
we followed up with fritz's for lunch :)
so excited for her food to arrive on the chute :)
to end our weekend, we went on the luminary walk at the arboretum last night. we had completely gorgeous weather, and the smell of wood burning & the beautiful scenery could not have been better.
happy holidays :)
-ivy
