Maggie's Visitors...

Dewey...

Nanie...

Ya-Ya...

Papa Terry, Kate, Neal and Pablo...

Gg...

Jen Jen...

Drea...

Jeddi...

Jeddi, Oma, Me and Maggs...

What a whirlwind week it has been...
We have been blessed with visitors since the
day after Maggie's birth! My Ya-Ya and Papa Terry
flew in the night Maggie was born, followed by
my Aunt Jen Jen, Uncle E, cousins Kate and Neal,
Aunt Gg, Nanie, Jeddi and Oma. Mommy,
daddy, Maggie and I would like to say merci beaucoup
for all the love and support we have received this past week
and a half. We are so grateful to our family for all the
meals, laundry, cleaning, etc. But most importantly
for all the hugs, kisses, and play time!
We miss you all and look forward to the
next time y'all are in Austin!

Mommy's Thought For Thursday: Holiday Traditions...

Flashback...
Christmas 2007

I adore this time of year.
The chilly weather.
The decorating.
The shopping.
The eating and drinking.
The holiday gatherings.
The time with family and friends.
The giving...

This week I have been thinking
about Christmas traditions.
Traditions I want to continue and nurture as well as
new traditions I want to begin with Paisley.
(as she is now old enough to enjoy some of them!)
There are certain rituals during Christmas
that I continue to cherish.
What traditions and rituals do you hold dear
this time of year? I would love to hear...

In our home it must be Christmastime if:
1. We have made hot apple cider at least once.
2. I have obsessed over which
family photo(s) to use for our holiday card(s).
3. We have decorated the house (bedrooms and bathrooms included)
with all our little trees, special ornaments, ribbons, stockings,
and even added white lights (and sometimes ornaments)
to the Eiffel tower in the dining room.
4. We have started to anxiously await the mail
and all the wonderful holiday cards
sent to us by family and friends near and far.
5. We have put out the Carolers that my grandmother
has so lovingly given to me over the years.
6. We have hung the holiday wreath on the front door.
7. I have decided what color combination
I am using for my holiday wrapping.
8. We have planned our annual holiday trip to California.
9. I have cried at least once to my favorite Christmas song-
It got me this year while driving with my grandma in California.
I began to think of my grandpa and how I would love to wish
him a Merry Little Christmas just one more time.
10. I have attempted to plan a holiday date night with Alan
(We typically plan dates for each other instead of giving gifts.
Last year he took me to see Michael Buble. )
11. I have made Rachel Ray's 5 minute fudge for a holiday party.
12. We have decided who we are going to help this Christmas.
13. I have played my Christmas Cd's over and over.
14. I have started drinking my morning coffee out of
my special Christmas mugs my sister
surprised me with a few years ago.
15. We have walked the Trail of Lights.
16. We have read and re-read all our favorite holiday stories
every night before Paisley goes to sleep or any other
time of day because P is obsessed with books.
This is her current holiday fave. She is
so curious about this animals antlers and jingle bells!
17. I have shopped, created, and wrapped
each package with loving care...
(I love doing thematic gifts, working with holiday paper
goods, etc. I could blog on this alone)
18. When Paisley and I have new
Christmas pajamas to sport on Christmas morn.
19. We have watched It's A Wonderful Life with the fam and
I have watched Love Actually. I love that movie!
20. We have gone to see The Nutcracker or
at least listened to the music and danced
around the family room to it a dozen times.
21. We have driven around Redlands
looking at all the decked out homes.
I love the old Craftsman and Victorian homes!
22. I have done last minute
shopping at JD Myers in Redlands
(I adore Jane and she has amazing taste.
Plus, I worked there during college!)
23. We have eaten our families traditional
chicken enchilada dinner at my sister's house on Christmas Eve
and my mom's special Christmas rolls on Christmas morning.
24. We are filled with peace, joy, love, laughter and
because of this we try really hard to manage our stress...
(Which typically arises when we travel all over Southern California).
25. We think about Christmas and what it really means to us.

This year we are going to begin
these new traditions as our family of 3
counts down to Christmas:
1. Blessing Box-we will write and put written blessings
in a vintage boxand discuss with each other
on Sunday nights for the month
of December and re-read them on Christmas Eve morning.
(thanks Chauch, I love this idea!)
2. Homemade ornaments/holiday art~
anyone have a fun craft they want to share with us???
3. Holiday Cookie Baking~
any fantastic recipes you would like to share with us???
4. Pick out and decorate a
Christmas Tree as a family for the very first time!
5. We are staying in Austin until Dec. 24th so our little family
of 3 can create Christmas memories in our own home!

What are your favorite traditions?
We would love to hear what you do~
You may just give us a wonderful idea that
we would like to incorporate into our growing list!

My Mommy Said They'll Be Days Like This...

Today was a very long day.

Good news is...

I am home!

We got off to a rocky start 

with a 2 hour drive in So Cal 

traffic to the Long Beach Airport.

 We arrived hoping we had enough 

time to make our flight but soon 

found out our flight was delayed 4 hours!

Mommy and daddy stayed cool, calm, and collected.

They thought about our options, they made phone calls,

and they discussed amongst themselves...

Mommy came up with the winning plan~

Stay in the LBC, find a Starbucks to give us all

a little fuel (I am obsessed with the warm apple cider and coffee cake),

and then head to the Aquarium of the Pacific.  

We even called Aunt Jen to see if she could join us 

(once upon a time she worked there) but she pulled a few strings 

and got us in free!  Thanks Aunt Jen!  

While driving there, I fell asleep. 

 Mommy wanted me to get in a little nap 

and allow daddy time to make a few work phone calls... 

So, she sat in the car with me while I snoozed!

We then found out our flight was delayed another 45 minutes!

Oh, well!  What can you do but make the best out of a crummy

situation?  After an hour nap, mommy and daddy

and I headed for the aquarium.  It truly brightened our day!

I saw sea otters, seals, sea lions, rays, jelly fish, an array 

of sharks, and sea life.  I even enjoyed their Lorikeet Forest.

After spending time there we headed back to the airport, got on

our flight and headed home.  When we landed at the airport 

daddy had to scramble to catch a flight to 

Dallas for work (poor daddy)

and mommy and I scurried into a cab. 

(The first cab we tried to get in wouldn't take us because

 we were waiting for daddy to bring us our bags!)

AHHHHHHHHHHH!

Just like this song, 

my mommy said they'll be days like this!

We just wanted to get home...

and we did.  Now we are off

to have bubble baths and bed.

Wishing y'all sweet dreams!