and then it was December...

I picked the kids up from the last day of "school." It was terribly cold but not snowy.

Isabella got a cookie from her teacher and by the time we got home, it was a ziploc bag of powder, literally. She completely pulverized it in all her excitement to eat it. She does the same sort of thing to m&m's. Tries to "save" them until they are a melty mess.

Jack is looking forward to winter break and staying warm!

A passenger seat full of teacher gifts. I thought about buying them all apple vests with pencil buttons...but alas, I decided on something a little less "teacherly."

We stopped on the way home to mail our cards...one of my favorite parts of the holiday!front

inside


We went to Tommy's parents to see Santa come on the firetruck. Both of my kids were scared of him. My mom says I was, too.

Jack is saying "Get away guy! I don't care what you have in your sack! Unless it's breastmilk, I don't want it!"

Isabella and Chase, all bathed and in pajamas sharing some cookies and milk and a kiss.

We enjoyed some downtime and some playing...

And some special treats such as breakfast out with daddy!

Anything she can dip in cream cheese is fine by her!

Isabella tries out her new pink baby "stro-der" on baby Jack.

He fits, but he is not a fan....

And we put up our tree and admired it often. The kids were both enthralled by the lights but careful not to pull on it. What happens to every mother happened to me this year....they both brought home the ol' paste and paper ornaments with a poem that made me cry and I displayed them right smack dab in the front of the tree...they were, in fact, my favorite ornaments this year.
I'm beginning to realize how our tree growing up became a big mess of paper, pictures, popsicle sticks, and yellowed glue. To a mom, they are priceless. Far more valuable than anything else on the tree.