The Push...

We now have 8 days until Christmas and I still have a lot to do.  Last night we finished Abby's Christmas shopping but we still have one more family member to finish and I will not say who it is!

I still have about 6 different types of Christmas cookies to bake and 3 more that need to be finished.  Where to find the time?  It helps that I have finished teaching for the semester and I must say I had one of the best groups of students yet!  Anyway, I plan to use this afternoon, if Abby decides to stay at G & P's for another evening to finish most of the cookies.  As much as we miss her, we both feel that it is good for her to have the time with them and for us.

This week is my last for 2008.  I will not be back to work until January 5, 2009; doesn't that sound great?  There is so much to do; Aunt Carrie and Uncle Thomas will be home and we have plenty of playdates planned with our friends that we have not see for some time.  Most importantly, I am looking forward to waking Abby every morning and hanging out with her.

All Aboard....

Friday evening was spent on the Polar Express. We had the opportunity to share a ride with my parents and our dear friends Peg Peg and Piper. Going into this I thought how exciting will the actually be for Abby? To my surprise, I was excited and overwhelmed at the same time.

It is difficult to put into words the emotions I felt watching her react to the excitement of the Polar Express. There was a point when I almost cried and I am not a crier! I could see the awe and joy on her face it is truly indescribable. 

As the story was read to the children Abby went along with it saying the words with elf Liz. The children were given hot chocolate and cookies after the story. Then there was the build up to arriving at the north pole where they were greeted by the elves and santa waved as he went by in his one horse open sleigh (hey!).

Just before the ride was finished, santa entered our car. He happily greeted each child and gave them a jingle bell! The children were delighted! Remembering the story, Abby reminded us that the bell was magical and jingled her bell all the way home.

Where have I been?

What is it with this time of year? I have fallen off the blogwagon, apologies. We have been having plenty of fun as of late as you can see. There is a facination with snow angels in our home. Unfortunately, as I write this, the snow is gone due to the rain. Cleveland has very interesting weather, one day rain the next 75oC and blue skies followed by a blizzard. I would not change this for anything! I hope that you are having a great Christmas season and that you make as much time as possible for your little ones.

A Little Late

I had the opportunity to go through the many pictures that we have had stored on our ill laptop.  What a surprise! Abby and I have spent the past few afternoons "watching" photos from her at two months to the present.  Our dear (old) laptop is on its last legs, and so, we recently welcomed a new iMac into our home.

Have I mentioned my love for Mac?  You see, it began in graduate school with a wonderful little program called Cricket Graph....

Anyway, it was necessary to move all of our photos from one computer to another which took about 3 days off and on.  It was wonderful to watch Abby react to all of the pictures and ask questions about where we were and who was there.  I had almost forgotten about these from this year's 4th of July , she is growing so fast.  

I hope you have the time to go through your "old" photos with your little one and let them live them all over again.  These will be so helpful in making the photo book that I have been planning on for the past 3 years.