Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Brrrr!!!!! It was a lot warmer outside the last time we blogged! Our first snowfall hit the ground over the weekend and it just keeps getting colder!

We've been away for a bit and during this brief hiatus, we started working on our holiday decor around the house. Santa still visits us - though the littlest member of the household (aside from the cats) is asking a lot of hard questions and she seems highly skeptical of the whole ordeal. This may be one of the last couple of years for the fun of old St. Nick, so preparing our home for our very first Christmas here, and his visit, has been a lot of fun.


Step 1 : Assembling the tree. We almost opted for a real one this year after fearing that we'd never find this one, but when it was finally located and thoroughly inspected, we were really excited that everything was in good-enough repair and up she went!



This tree has a ridiculously huge amount of pieces!


Step Two: Digging out the outdoor lights!



Step Three: Find a man that knows how to sew (and make just about anything else!) and put him to work! We loved the furry fabric we scored earlier in the fall for Alex's panda Halloween costume, so when it was time to hang our stockings, we opted to DIY them this year with some of the leftover swag. 


I love the way they tie into the rest of the living room. 
Christmas-y; yet not too over-the-top with holiday gaudiness.



After sending this pic to my mom, following a long day of tree and mantle decorating she called us freaking out with equal parts excitement, hysteria and shock (insert head shake).

In other words, save your phone calls folks, that 4th stocking belongs to the felines and not some yet unannounced family addition. :)


Moving on...


Alex received a letter in the mail from Santa (who curiously had the same return address as Evan's Grandpa in Michigan) and this incredibly thoughtful gesture was very well received. We especially enjoy the fact that Alex could read a good portion of the letter on her own --- though not well enough to know we improvised with a few very specific "reminders" for good behavior at the end. :)

It's amazing what a few "suggestions" from Santa can do this time of year. :) I'm just saying it comes in handy. A few years back I potty trained Alex in a single weekend after a certain letter from Santa persuaded her to give it a shot. With the big guy, there is a small window of opportunity that only lasts about 6-8 years. I recommend taking full advantage of it while you can. :)

Next up: Cookies!

Only Alex knows the true joy of watching cookies bake in sub-zero temperatures while dressed in full Hawaiian gear (see grass skirt!), a robe and apron.



We had grand plans of distributing these to the neighbors for a little holiday cheer, though in the last two days our inventory has become rather thin. We on the other hand, are not getting any skinnier... Sugar cookies are hard to resist!


Back to the tree for a few finishing touches and below, no tree would be complete without a little surprise Evan dug up...
                                            

Finally, tonight is Alex's holiday program at school and we imagine it will be super difficult to record at any close up range, so we got a little preview last night of what we can expect. Name that tune anyone?


Believe it or not, this one tends to be more of a solo artist.  She's really not one to sing in groups, so chances are she'll just stand there smiling tonight.  :) Thank goodness for the dress rehearsal.
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