‘Tis the Season

It is starting to look (but not quite feel as it is 70 degrees today) like Christmas! I typically dread Christmas every year because it is so stressful to plan trips and think of meaningful Christmas gifts for everyone that they will love and cherish forever. This year we have a few changes though which makes me much less stressed and makes me really want to get in to the Christmas spirit!

First, we now live much closer to parts of my family and my husband’s family, so traveling with a toddler and a dog is much easier. Also, if we get too overwhelmed, it’s easier to hop back in the car to head 3 hours back to Columbia! Last year, we were 9.5 hours away, so spontaneous trips were much more difficult.

Secondly, as my extended family continues to grow, the list for the perfect gift for everyone also grew. This year, we decided to do a “Secret Santa” and everyone submitted a list of items that they would like for Christmas; now I feel confident that I can focus on a single Christmas item that the recipient will LOVE! And maybe I will throw in a little something else too, as long as I don’t overwork myself trying to find it.

To help get in the Christmas spirit, we bought our first LIVE Christmas tree this year. Savannah loves “helping” me decorate (more photos coming soon) and the dog enjoys drinking the water from the tree basin. Sigh. Life is great! Here are some of the photos from Savannah’s Christmas mini session. We had lots of free time, so I mostly watched her run around and snapped a few photos when I could catch her looking my way. She hardly wanted to cooperate and smile, however. #toddlerlife, as my mom friends remind me regularly. I hope the Christmas spirit fills your home with plenty of festive lights, love, and happy memories this year!