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.