37 Weeks Old

December 5 - December 11

What a fun week! There's nothing like spending time with people you really like to get you in the Christmas spirit. (Yummy food, wine, and adorable babies don't hurt the situation any, either!)  We were full of happiness and holiday cheer all week this week - it was so much fun!

On Monday, Sarah and I attended my book club's Christmas party.  We traditionally don't read a book for Nov/Dec because no one seems to have time during the holidays, but we get together each December to party as friends!  As usual, everyone brought delicious snacks, and we had a really fun ornament exchange this year. 

The best part about the get-together, though, was celebrating all of the wonderful things that have happened in our group in 2011.  We had two marriages and three babies - not a bad little run!  Everyone brought their kids to the party - don't they look like they were having a blast?

On Tuesday, I let Sarah try a candy cane.  This was VERY closely supervised, so please don't call Social Services on me!  She had fun with the plastic wrap, but she wasn't a fan of the candy cane itself. Maybe next year!

On Wednesday, Sarah's new cousin Gavin arrived!  (Gavin's mom, Lizzie, is MY cousin, but we're going to consider Gavin a cousin nevertheless!) He was born at 2:14 pm on Dec. 6, and he was a big boy! He weighed in at 9 pounds even and was 20.5 inches long. We're so happy that Lizzie and Gavin are happy and healthy, and we're full of love and excitement for Gavin's whole family!  

Friday night, I made fudge for my cousin Carrie's annual cookie exchange.  We had the Christmas lights on and a fire in the fireplace, so it felt like Christmas is really coming soon!  It made me start to panic about getting everything organized and wrapped...until I remembered that Sarah won't remember this Christmas at all!  I'm guessing that this year, the paper and the boxes will be far more interesting than the toys inside. Either way, I was feeling very Christmasy by the end of the night!  Sarah also clapped for the first time today, so we'll see if she claps with joy at all her new gifts!

On Saturday, Sarah and I went to Carrie's party.  Her house was - as usual - totally gorgeous, and her tree is just beautiful!  The food was great and the company even better.  It was fun to see Carrie's friend, Amy (who was pregnant at last year's party) and her adorable daughter, Lilly.  Carrie's son, Aiden, had fun showing the younger girls how to throw a ball and run around the house.  Sarah also got to spend some quality time with Aunt Marilyn and Marsha (who it's always good to see!).

Checking things out

Aiden showing Sarah the ball (under Carrie's supervision)

Playing nice!

The rule of Carrie's cookie exchange are simple - you double your favorite recipe and bring it to the party. You also have to bring a Christmas cookie platter for an exchange. Everyone draws a number and then the exchange begins! A platter can be stolen twice and then it's out of play. People usually stay pretty nice about it, but poor Aunt Marilyn had three platters stolen from her this year! Sarah didn't get much out of the platters, but she sure liked looking at all those presents!

As the platter exchange progressed, Sarah decided she needed to be held.  Carrie helped me out, and got some cuddle time with Sarah...

...until Aiden saw what his mom was up to!  It's so hard to share your mom!!!

  

Marsha to the rescue!  Sarah was much happier to play with Marsha than she appears in this picture.  I don't know why she looks so grouchy - everyone loves Marsha!

After the platter exchange, everyone goes through the cookies and takes a little of every kind home.  This year, the cookies looked amazing!  I've only tried a few, but the ones I've had were delicious!

I finally dragged my sugar-laden body out of Carrie's house and made the drive home without slipping into a sugar coma.  How that happened, I'm not quite sure! It was a lovely day, and I am already looking forward to next year's party...assuming Aiden doesn't teach my daughter any new tricks!

I don't know if it was watching Aiden run around all afternoon on Saturday or if it was just time to explore the stairs, but on Sunday, Sarah started trying to climb the stairs!  We finally put up the baby gates - which will be a challenge for the dog, me and Tom, and Sarah as well.  Because we have an oddly shaped banister at the bottom of our stairs, we ended up putting the gate between the family room and the front hall.  It may not be the best place for a gate, but it will keep her safe!  I just loved watching her try to figure out what we were up to...