Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I hope you had a wonderful holiday. We enjoyed a relaxing day at home. Grandma and Granddaddy A came to visit us for Christmas, so our house was cozy and full.

Merry Christmas from our family!

Little Guy woke up to find that Santa had left him a slide! He had fun going down the slide numerous time before checking out his stocking. For me, the joy this year was in watching Little Guy's joy and excitement. He had many gifts to open over the course of the morning. He received several Little People sets, wooden blocks, a puzzle, and clothes (of course). He spent the day playing with all these different things.

I received a new set of pots and pans! I was very glad to have received that gift! So, in order to put away my new pans, I emptied the cupboard of my old pans and set them on the floor. Little Guy came in, saw the pans, and started asking for "pata," his newest word which is pasta. I put some dried pasta in a few of the pans and he went to town! He played with those pans and pasta for a long time! I guess I'll be keeping a couple of the old ones for him to play with!

Love the "pata!"

I hope your day was also filled with the joy and wonder of Christmas!

Felt Ornaments

This holiday season I have tried to do several projects.  Fist, I made Little Guy pajamas.  Next on my list was felt ornaments.  I saw this on Pinterest, linked from Red Ted Art.  I thought these were really cute, so I decided to give them a try.

I made Christmas trees, bells, and stars.  This was my first attempt at a blanket stitch, too.  My goal for these was to use them as gift tags.  I have 7 nieces and nephews, so it was a manageable number to make.  Once they were done, I used some silver glitter puff paint to write their name on their ornament, then attached it to their Christmas present.  I hope they like the ornaments!

Sugar cookies

When I was growing up, making sugar cookies was part of our holiday traditions. My mom would make the dough, we would help cut out lots of shapes with all our fancy cookie cutters, then the decorating would begin. We would have sprinkles, icing, and candy and would make lovely cookies.  I look back on this as an importation part of the holidays and a way to stay connected with my family.

This is a tradition I definitely want to keep up with my family.  So I made some dough, and Little Guy and I set to work.  This year, Little Guy and I only made cookies, no decorating.  Next year I hope to give frosting a try!

I am a good dough-roller!

This is so fun!

I can use the cookie cutters, too!

Santa!

We recently went to see Santa! This was Little Guy's first time to see Santa, as we did not take him last year.
A local greenhouse was holding a holiday open house, complete with Santa, so that's where we went. It was based on a recommendation from a friend, who had been several years in a row.  It was a beautiful setting, with lots and lots of poinsettias. 

Mommy, Daddy, and Little Guy in a sea of poinsettias!

Little Guy did really well with Santa. When we went up, I sat on Santa's lap with Little Guy so he could see it was okay. After a moment, I got up and left Little Guy. While he never really smiled, he also did not cry. 

Have you gone to see Santa yet?