list of 12

Christmas is only 12 days away!  In the spirit of the "12 days of Christmas", I thought I'd compile a list of 12 reasons why I love each of my boys.  Of course there are more than 12 reasons, but the song isn't called "432 days of Christmas"...

12 reasons I love my son
one - the way he throws his hands up in the air when he gets startled
two - the way he snuggles up on my chest and falls asleep
three - how animated he is when he eats - it's so funny
four - the way he "smiles" at me
five - the way he sticks out his bottom lip before he lets out a good scream
six - the adorable noise he makes after he sneezes
seven - the way he smells
eight - how kissable he is
nine - how he wrinkles his forehead and extends his neck making him look like a little turtle - the cutest, lovable turtle, ever
ten - the way he looks at me when he's sleepy
eleven - the fact that he's mine
twelve - he's proof that God exists; a true miracle and blessing

12 reasons I love my husband

one - he's an amazing father
two - he loves me, even on my grouchy days
three - he's willing to step up when I can't step at all
four - the way he provides for our little family
five - he lets me sleep in when he knows I need it
six - he took a chance on me
seven - his dedication
eight - the way he loves me
nine - how connected we are
ten - how family oriented he is
eleven - his smile
twelve - for making me a mom

making the cut

Over the weekend, we finally got around to snapping a few pictures (ok, fine, over 300 pictures) in hopes of getting a handful of photos to choose from for Callan's birth announcement/this year's Christmas card.  I'm happy to say that out of the 300+ pictures, there were about a dozen, or so, that had Christmas card potential.  After narrowing down a final photo and sending our order off to tinyprints.com, we (I) now wait impatiently to receive them in the mail.  They should be here by the end of the week, and sent out to family and friends soon after that.  I can't wait to see how they turned out!

Callan had many faces during our little "photo shoot".  He screamed, he was sleepy, he was content, he was gassy...  Here are a few pictures that didn't make the cut; a few of my favorites.

Christmas cookies

Friday night I decided to start baking this year's Christmas cookies.  Since we're not having a party this year, I'm not going all out.  I had 5 kinds of cookies on my list to make; I'll be mailing some, Travis will be taking some to work, and we'll be enjoying some here at home.  I know that getting any kind of baking done during the week would be a ridiculous expectation, so I took full advantage of this weekend to get everything done. It was wonderful to hand Callan over to Travis for some "daddy time" while I got my bake on in the kitchen.

Over the course of the weekend I made cocoa tassies with peppermint frosting, chocolaty caramel thumbprints, sugar cookies, peppermint meltaways, and chocolate pretzel cookies.  (You can click on each cookie name to get the recipe.)

cocoa tassies with peppermint frosting

sugar cookies before the frosting

 sugar cookies before the frosting

sugar cookies after frosting

This was the first time I've ever attempted to make frosted sugar cookies - they have always intimidated me.  After a little practice, I eventually got the hang of it, and they didn't turn out half bad.  Maybe only 40% bad...but it was my first time.  At least they're tasty!

 

chocolaty caramel thumbprints

peppermint meltaways

chocolate pretzel cookies

I have to admit that my favorite(s), out of the five different cookies, are the tassies and the meltaways.  I love anything peppermint flavored - these cookies really do it for me.

I love baking during this time of year; I love sampling each cookie (even though I make many of the same ones year after year) and then sharing them with friends and family.  It just doesn't feel like Christmas unless I spend long hours mixing, rolling, and shaping cookies in the kitchen.  It's a tradition that I embrace.  My son will grow up knowing family traditions - even the simple ones, like making Christmas cookies. 

Christmas cut-out

Last night I finally got around to starting (and finishing!) my cut-out for the Christmas season while Travis snuggled with our little man on the sofa.  (Thanks, babe, for giving me a little free time to catch up on a few things <3.)

Choosing a phrase for this seasonal project is always the hardest part.  For the Christmas season, I decided on "Joy to the World" and then got to work X-acto knifing away...  Here's the final product.

What phrase/words would you have picked for this project?  Hope you're getting creative this holiday season!

appropriate

Christmas countdown

My Advent calendar is finally ready for its countdown to Christmas Day.  A few weeks ago I introduced the idea of this project and some of my inspiration in this blog post.  My intention was to finish this project before December arrived, yet I've learned that projects take the back seat when you have a newborn.  But, it's done, and I love it.  It's actually more of a simple countdown as opposed to an Advent calendar, but that's okay.  Perhaps it will evolve as I use it year after year.  You never know.

Anyways, here is where my inspirational Advent calendars took me...

Here's what it cost me to make this countdown calendar:

cardstock: free (already had)
22x28 artist canvas: $6.99
1 yard of burlap: $3.99
24 buttons: $2.68
ribbon: $2.00
_______________
total: $15.66 - Not too bad!

I'm really happy with the way this project turned out.  The contrast between the raw texture of the burlap and the satin finish of the ribbon totally makes it for me.  I'm a sucker for contrast such as this. 

So what do you think?  Are you feeling inspired?  There's so much inspiration out there, especially at this time of year - get creative!

locker room bench

Last weekend, the three of us, along with friend Josh, paid a visit to a local antique mall here in Enid.  The store has over 60 vendors, so there was LOTS to look at.  With limited space here in our condo, I had to shop carefully.  I told myself that I could get one thing (within reason) - as long as I loved it.  After walking around for over an hour, I hadn't found anything that stole a piece of my heart just yet.  And, honestly, I was a little upset about that.  I love finding treasures in stores like this.  Then, as we were wrapping up our wanderings, tucked away in what seemed to be a forgotten corner of the store, were two benches - each a different sizes.  They caught my eye, Travis approved, and the larger of the two made it's way home with us in the back of the Jeep.

Right now, the bench sits just inside the front door.  We purchased it with intentions of putting it in Callan's room when he's a bit older.  In the meantime, I'm sure it will float around the house finding temporary homes until it's ready to land in it's in intended space.  But who knows, maybe it will find a permanent home elsewhere in the meantime.  You know me...

The story of the bench is that it came from a school locker room.  (I plan on giving it a good wipe down with some sanitizing wipes [and probably a coat of spray on sealant].)  It came complete with a wadded up piece of chewed gum under the seat.  Yea, that'll get scraped off.  I love the fact that this is such a unique addition to our home. 

see the gum?

Have you added any random treasures to your home lately?  Do share!

first (documented) bath

Callan got a bath this morning.  This was his second "real" bath since his umbilical cord fell off, but the first time I got to snap a few pictures.  He's such a cute little 'necked' boy.  He actually enjoys baths, so the whole bent-over-the-bathtub experience is pleasant for the both of us.  I don't mind the minor back ache because a sweet smelling, happy, clean baby is one of the best things.  Ever.