How Many Christmas Cookies Can One LIttle Girl Make?

Christkindlmarket and the Christmas El

Don has been so excited to show the kids the Christmas El. Essentially it the regular El train that is decked out in Christmas decorations. So we timed a trip downtown so we could take the El. Don was so nervous that we were going to miss it since the Christmas El only stops in Oak Park 4 days out of the season. But we made it, although I think it was more fun for us then the kids. After the Christmas El we went to the Christkindlmarket downtown at the Daley Center. We picked out the girls' yearly ornaments and had some glug and pretzels. It was fun to see all the German hand crafted items and to pose for pictures by the Daley Center Christmas tree. Lila pretty much slept the whole time all bundled up in the Bjorn. She did open her eyes a little bit to check out the Christmas El!

When the Christmas El arrived we were so excited to see it all lite up. There was even a Santa on it, which is how we discovered that Lucy is still terrified of Santa. Here we were trying to plan a fun family memory and Lucy is screaming her head off, "santa it too scary to me!"

Baking with Toddlers

So last weekend we made cookies with the Runyans. Baking with toddlers sure is an adventure. Eric pretty much did all the work because he was the only one who could focus on the task at hand with all the activity going on. Lucy enjoyed frosting the cookies, or I should say eating the frosting. Eleanor was scared of the loud mixer and only wanted to decorate the cookies if she could sit in the booster seat far away from all the noise. It was a fun memory!

Lucy's nest

Lucy is at such a fun age for Christmas this year. She has really gotten into decorating, cookie making, and singing Jingle Bells and Silent Night. One funny thing is that she is very focused on dismantling my sugarplum centerpiece. I couldn't figure out where all the sugarplums went that are supposed to be arranged around a candle centerpiece. Then I looked in the tree and saw her nest (see picture below). She methodically and meticulously placed each sugar plum so it wouldn't fall off the branches. When I asked her what she was doing she said, "I am putting ornaments in my Christmas tree." I think we will leave her little nest up!

Decorating the Christmas Trees!!

I always LOVE when it is time to put up the Christmas tree! This year we had decorating parties at both my house and Kristin's house. Lucy really got into it this year. In fact she has been totally fascinated by the Christmas tree and keeps singing songs to the Christmas tree all day long! For example, "A, B, C, D, Christmas Tree, E, F, G, Christmas tree..." She calls it "her Christmas tree!" It is so fun that she can actually get into the whole Christmas experience this year! We are so glad to be near family so that we can experience these simple moments together, like tree decorating.

Lila was so tuckered out after all the decorating, so she took a little snooze on Grammy and Uncle Eric.

We also had a little decorating party at Kristin and Eric's new house. Lucy really got into the decorating and loved hanging ornaments on the tree. Poor little Lila, she pooped through her outfit and Uncle Eric dressed her in this crazy get up of Milo's. Doesn't she look traumatized? Thanks for the shorts in the middle of winter Eric!

Our first Thanksgiving in Oak Park

Don and I hosted Thanksgiving again this year. I always enjoy hosting, particularly when people bring things! We had a nice dinner with my family and Don's parents. We did miss having Thanksgiving dinner with Doug (Don's brother) and Susie who are in Italy. But hopefully we can do it with them next year. And hopefully Mom and Dad VG will make it an annual tradition to travel out to the Midwest for Thanksgiving!

Can you say "chunker?"

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa VG

Last week Don's parents came to visit us from the Pacific Northwest. They were able to meet Lila for the first time and joined us for our Thanksgiving celebration. We had a wonderful visit with Don's parents! We made many special memories and had great bonding experiences. One of the highlights of the trip for me was that Mom Vander Griend surprised us with a quilt she made for Lucy. I had no idea she was even making one. It is truly a work of art and Lucy has already taken to tucking in her baby doll and bear with it. What a thoughtful and lovely gift that is sure to become a family heirloom!

We took a trip down to the Navy Pier Children's Museum. It was a long, fun filled day. The museum was awesome and Lucy had a blast running around, sitting in the fire truck, playing with the dolls and dish sets. Afterwards we had to get a little Garrett's carmel popcorn since it is a Chicago tradition after all. We stopped to look at the Macy's window displays. In my opinion, Marshall Fields did a much better job of the seasonal window displays, but it was still fun to look.

In the above picture, Lucy and Grandpa were bonding on the train ride downtown. Lucy was pointing out everything she saw out of the window to Grandpa. She has been talking about her train ride with Grandpa since they left. It is amazing how little kids can get a thrill from something as simple as looking out the window of a train! The pictures below are at the Walnut Room at Macy's. We enjoyed a nice lunch there and took pictures by the big tree in the center of the restaurant. I had never been there before and didn't realize that part of the tradition was to dress your kids up in their Christmas outfits. So next year I am going to come prepared!!