Ole St. Nick

Last week was a week of major firsts, but I can't really start to go over those until I write her 5 month post.....which I am behind on, AGAIN! Oh well. Sometimes life happens and things get put on the back burner. I knew I wanted to get Emma in to see Santa before the mall got really crowded and we had to wait in a long line....which sounded like torture to mommy. So last week we decided to take her to visit our mall Santa.

First of all, we walked straight in to see him and as you can tell by the photo, he was an awesome Santa! No stuffed suit and fake beard here! They asked if we were buying a photo...of course! It's her first Santa visit. Now I fully expected her to not cooperate for the camera. She was looking every which way and when the photographer was shaking their noisemakers she looked up at them as if to say "that's really unnecessary." Finally Santa said, "mom why don't you try." I got down low and waved my arms and smiled big and made a fool out of myself but we got this shot! Totally worth it! Cannot wait to see next years photo!

We put up our Christmas decorations and of course Emma's first Christmas tree. I found a frame ornament in our stash and put one of the wallet size photo's that we got in our package from Santa in it and on the tree is went along with the sled ornament I made last year. My mom gave me some ornaments from when I was a baby to put on our tree so this years tree is very special to me.

My mom suggested that we get professional photo's done for Christmas of Emma, but honestly I don't like that JC Penny studio feel at all....so the other night after her bath when she was relaxed and happy, we plopped her on a blanket and plugged in some white lights and went to town with the camera. Under the tree she went and everything tried to go in her mouth. From the strand of lights, ornaments, to the tree branches themselves. I love that she's exploring new things and I love experiencing life and the holiday's through her eyes! While these aren't professional photos I still love them and they capture her personality at this time in her life!

We have some new traditions to start and old ones to pass on, but I cannot wait to experience everything with our little one!

Day Eight - Tree

This cool gadget came from my boss last year. We have the 12 Days of Christmas at our office and she brought in this LED Christmas trees that plug into the computer and change colors. They are very cheery and techie!

Day Seven - Snow

Since I live in Los Angeles, it's kinda hard to get a random snow photo. So here is a photo that I took 2 years ago at my parents house in Tehachapi. It had snowed all night long and D and I were able to build a snowman in it before it melted by the afternoon this shot was taken. I still love the freshly packed look and all the barren branches coated with snow, with the sun peeking through the clouds. One of my favorite photos! <3

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A Peek at my Tree

I figured that I would give you a little glimpse into my favorite Christmas decoration, our tree. Now everyone has a special ornament that they put up every year. My mom has one that has been on her tree since she was born....some of mine are old, but not that old. So I thought I would share with you the ornaments that make it every year, because they are special. Here we go...

1. I told you about the time I worked at Disneyland right? Well if I haven't you can read about it here and here. Every year Disney has a holiday party for it's employees and that year they handed out collectible ornaments! I didn't want to put it up on my tree, to keep it safe, but D didn't know and put it up. Now it goes up every year!

2. This is the first ornament that D and I got. It says Our 1st Christmas Together 2002 and it has our names on it. I love it and even thought the hanger fell off, we still set it on a sturdy branch so we can enjoy it!

3. This ornament was a gift from my grandmother and it states an Irish blessing "May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back." I love that blessing and its sentimental coming from my grandmother!

4. This ornament has been on our tree since I was a kid. It's a little wooden train on a yarn loop. The hangar has seen better days, and will probably need to be replaced soon, but the rest of the ornament looks pretty good for being almost 30 years old! D likes this one (he has a thing for trains) and always puts it at the top!

There you have it. A glimpse into our Christmas tree! Maybe we will get a special ornament this year to add to our collection!