Addie on Wheels

My baby girl got her first set of wheels this past weekend! Her Grandpa, Kathy, and Tyler came over to celebrate Christmas early with some homemade spaghetti with meatballs. They brought an adorable red, bright, noisy, music playing, car that she can ride and push when she starts to walk. For now we are pushing her on it and supporting her so she can push the buttons. She loves the car but it makes me a bit sappy thinking about her being big enough to scoot herself around the house on it. Yickes! It's all going so fast.

Christmas boo

All the simple things about the holidays are so much more beautiful when you get a glimps of what they must look like through the eyes of your child. I am so in love with my little girl.

Christmas Spirit

In the last two weeks our family has been getting in the Christmas spirit. We recovered from the horrible cold (picture of Addie sick-she's still adorable) and the computer hard drive failure (the reason for my lack of posts). Now we are really getting excited for Christmas! Justin picked out a Christmas tree this year for us on December 2. Addie and I were too sick to move so we put our faith in him to bring us back a tree worthy of all our beautiful ornaments and my daughter's first Christmas. He delivered! What a beautiful tree. It smells fresh and wonderful, the shape is perfect and the branches are strong. We decorated the tree that evening with classic Christmas carols on in the background. When Addie woke from her nap she had the tree to discover. She loves the glass ornaments that shimmer and allow the colorful lights to shine through. She's also discovered the bright colored wrapping paper and bows on the packages under the tree. With the decorations up around the house it was hard not to start to get excited. December 5 was the first snow of the year. I snapped this picture of the house in the evening before the snow really picked up. By the next morning there was at least 3-4 inches on the ground. It was a nice surprise. Apparently, it's snowed on December 5 in DC for the last decade or so. This year we weren't let down. We bundled up our baby girl when we went out the next day. Her bunny hat and mittens, courtesy of her Grandpa and Kathy, get many gooey looks and compliments from grandmas where ever we go!

In the area of firsts for Addie, she grabbed her bottle and held it herself for roughly the first time the other day. I say roughly because I know she does it often at daycare. At home she normally lets me hold it but that night she grabbed for it so I let her hold it. She sometimes misses her mouth and squirts milk on her face but she's getting the hang of it. She also cut her first tooth on Tuesday, December 11. Justin was on travel in Amsterdam and Copenhagen this past week when I felt the sharp edge on her gums. I was so excited I had to call my Mom and Mother-in-law to share the good news. Addie and I managed OK without Daddy home. We had fun playing in the evenings and I loved seeing her off in the mornings, but I definitely missed my husband and Addie missed her Daddy. My evenings consisted of frozen pizza and season two of Sex and the City (I'm late to the game on this show but absolutely love it). When Justin returned home on Friday I snapped a few precious shots of Addie snuggling up to her Daddy. I think after the week away Justin's heart melted when she smiled at him, he was a goner when she wanted to rest her head on him. So was I after he presented me with a box of chocolates from Denmark and a big hug and a kiss. I hate it when my husband is gone!

It's all about the holidays in our house right now. We've been listening to Motown Christmas thanks to Brienne! I am addicted to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer by the Temptations. We DVRd It's a Wonderful Life which is officially now my favorite Christmas movie after watching it for the first time last Christmas night. I cried like a baby. I can't wait to snuggle up on the couch with some hot chocolate and watch the 3 hour classic again. The Christmas cards are in the mail (for the most part) and the shopping and wrapping is done! We even made it to church last week to give our good Lord thanks for all our blessings. Now we get to count down until we leave for our vacation in Washington.

My Great American Haircut

I had my second haircut since my daughter was born today. I used to be diligent about cutting my hair every six weeks before I became a mother. For the last few months I relied on the wet pony tail or messy knot and I couldn't take it any longer. I was planning on trimming it a few inches so a ponytail could be my fall-back on busy mornings. Last night I ended up watching Oprah's Great American Haircut Part Two I dvr'd from Thursday for inspiration. I love before and after makeover shows. I guess I was inspired because by the time I sat down with my lovely Ethiopian stylist Muron, I was ready to let her cut most of my

hair off. I love the results, it's very safe but flirty too. Then I was

recalling that one of Oprah's guest stylists told the audience and viewers to look beyond the typical "soccer mom bob". Hmmm? I wonder if he'd endorse my new cut. Oh well, I'm not really wondering too hard.