Christmas Prep

Merry Christmas! But, bear with me, pretend it's not Christmas yet on this blog because I've gotten woefully behind recording the lead up to today!

We got to continue our tradition of chopping down our Christmas tree up with Grandmom and Grandpa at their friend's property, followed by an outdoor picnic. It was a gorgeous day, the weather and kids cooperated, and we were all delighted to be together.















That night, we also made it to the zoo lights:





and the next morning, we got to work decorating the trees:









We also made it ice skating at the little rink in our downtown, and while we offered to pull Aspen in a sled, she was having none of it. She may not fit into ice skates yet, but she was determined to skate on the ice all by herself, thank you very much. No help, no sleds, just a big girl, willing her feet larger so that she can get into skates ASAP.



Mommy and daddy also made it to the company holiday party:



and we hosted our annual fondue dinner with friends!



This year, there were enough kids that we couldn't do a kids' table. It was one table, and the kids got round one, and then it was cleared and round two came on for the adults.





And everyone decided to just snuggle on in together for dessert.





We also made it up to Aunt Diane and Uncle Nat's house to have a "little" pre-Christmas celebration. The cousins must have all been very good this year, because they were as spoiled rotten with gifts, as ever!













We also squeezed in some four-wheeling, since there wasn't quite enough snow to sled.





Most of all, we were incredibly happy and grateful to get to be together...even if we're not all enthusiastic about posing for another picture, mom.

December!

We are in the full holiday spirit! December arrived, ushered in by Snowflake, our Elf on the Shelf! Everyone was very excited to see her reappear this year.



Followed closely by our hometown's Parade of Lights! We met up with some good friends for a pre-parade dinner this year, and dessert at the candy shop





to make sure everyone was properly fueled for the chilly parade.

We also checked out the live nativity scene





and Aspen, as Aspen is want to be, was happiest with the goats.



They flocked to her like the goat Pied Piper (Lollipop at exactly goat height was probably helpful) and took turns poking their heads out to get close to her.

Finally the parade started,



and it was really fun for almost all of us.



Aspen got a little overstimulated by all of the noise and lights, but she hung in there, and we all came home and slept well!

Gingerbread Tea Birthday

Aunt Dani's birthday present to Sabine this year was a trip to a fancy hotel in Boulder for their Gingerbread High Tea.



Aunt Dani invited Nana and mom to join her and Sabine,





and we all had a really fun time!

The high tea service was excellent (and beautiful),



with lots of good pastries, and even edible flowers, which I think might have been Sabine's favorite part!



The other highlight was a gingerbread man decorating station:











We lingered over our tea for a while, enjoyed the live music, and felt like we had officially ushered in the Christmas season! We came home in time to start getting out the Christmas decorations. Everyone was excited. More to come....

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving celebration over at Aunt Dani and Nana's house this year. Aunt Dani prepared an incredible feast, and we all enjoyed a relaxing day together. The kids alternated between watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the Purina Dog Show (mostly Sabine, who recognized a lot of the dogs from the Dog Breeds book that she likes to read) and playing together, giving the adults more time to relax, graze on yummy appetizers, and catch up.





Daddy got to carve the turkey this year,



and we all managed to fit together at the table! It was a delicious dinner.









We all missed Grandmom and Grandpa very much, but we are all looking forward to being together for next year's feast! We are so thankful to have so much of our family close to us.

33 Months

33 months old today! And growing so quickly. Aspen is longer and stronger and more articulate. She's figured out Santa (it helps that he's already started hanging out at the mall and is available to wave to) and is eagerly anticipating Christmas. Thanksgiving doesn't quite register, yet.

In big girl news, in October



Aspen got some help from daddy



and is now the proud owner of a big girl bed!



Sabine helped her break it in,





and Aspen has been sleeping happily there ever since.

Aspen has also started a mommy & me preschool class at the local Friends school, and is quite excited about "HER" new school!









(If you didn't notice, she already has a favorite dress-up dress that she beelines for when we arrive, and then we check out the rest of the room.)

It's been nice to have a weekly activity that's just for her, and it's a great space, with fun toys, lots of arts and crafts, nice teachers, and a HUGE playground!





Sabine, meanwhile, has been trying out a taekwondo class, and loves it, although three days a week is probably more than we are going to be able to squeeze into our schedule regularly, for now.





We've had another round of illnesses go through the family, but Sabine managed to rally and put on a brave face despite feeling crummy for our Christmas pictures this year (here's a sneak preview:)



and Aspen gamely smiled along, so the girls earned themselves a reward. Both mommy and daddy felt very nostalgic after they picked out Cabbage Patch Kids!



All in all, it's been a very busy month. Both girls are growing by leaps and bounds, but continue to be as close as ever. Coincidentally, today was also our first snow of the season!



Aspen has been asking when it's going to snow for a while now, I think she's eager to build a snowman, since she's been watching the movie Frozen a lot, recently. The snow coming down today blew her mind, we were in the car when it started and, forever mindful of her politeness routines, she squealed, "GOOD JOB, CLOUDS!"



Not quite enough to build a snowman today,



but still an excellent time.

I think we've got another winter-lover!