Cozy Weekend

It was a very cozy weekend with lots of time at home. Ashley and Lincoln moved in for a couple of days so that they could avoid paint fumes while Travis worked hard to prime and paint the entire basement . Jill spent a night on her way to meet to shuttle kids back home for Christmas. Dale was here too so it was a houseful of fun and coziness. I love being at home with the house is filled with loved ones.

It was especially fun to have Lincoln around for several days. Ashley gave me the motivation to finish up some of the Christmas baking. She did the cut out cookies and made frosting while I boiled caramel and popped corn. Lincoln got his first beater as a perfect distraction to keep him at a distance from my boiling caramel. He liked it, lots!

While we were cooking I could see his eyes light up when he got a great idea. He ran to the family room and grabbed the little wooden stool and brought it out to the kitchen, set it in place and climbed up to get to the frosting. I love watching his mind work. He is constantly learning, saying new words and expressing his thoughts and opinions. When I got my step stool out I realized that he had never seen it but he was quick to climb to the top and obviously enjoyed being so tall.

We did cook meals and I did my daily walks but much of the weekend was spent like this, just lounging together. Lincoln loves playing with Dale whether it's blocks, books, balls or electronic games. It was a wonderful and restful weekend, even with a two year old in the house!

Wine Cozy

It's a simple holiday knitting project which has occupied quiet evenings with mindless knitting. That's a good thing. My friend, Linda showed me a catalog with a product that looked something like this and I decided to try. I think that they are a little funny, but still fun to knit. It's fun to be knitting with red and green yarn this time of year.

Christmas Season

I have done lots of shopping, wrapping, baking and planning but now that Lincoln's birthday is past it's time to focus on Christmas preparations. I have more shopping that I would like to do which means more wrapping. I have several more Christmas cards to write and a few more things to bake. These days will go quickly but I intend to enjoy every bit of it! It's time for the Christmas season.

December Twelfth

 We may have been celebrating all week but today was the day, Lincoln's second birthday. It was a Thursday night so we gathered at Godfather's Pizza to celebrate when everyone got off work. I love sharing this time with Lincoln and our family. Of course when Uncle Jay is around he is the one that Lincoln chooses and I just love that too! Happy Birthday to Lincoln! So much to celebrate; I look forward to the next year too!

Birthday Tradition

Lincoln and I made plans today for our birthday book tradition. I hope to take each of my grandchildren out to buy a book for part of their birthday celebration each year. Since this is the second year I am calling it a tradition. Lincoln is very interested in identifying letters so he chose an alphabet book this year.

 The photo below is from a year ago when Lincoln and I visited the book store to pick out his first birthday book. Its incredible to see all that he has learned in the last year.

Our book shopping was nearly derailed by the trains at the book store this year. Lincoln was much more interested in playing trains but eventually he was willing to browse through several books to chose his favorite. He really is so agreeable!

A birthday treat seemed to be a good combination with the birthday book. I gave Lincoln several choices and he was thoughtful but very clear about his answer. He wanted to go to Cup of Joe for a cookie. I think it was a great choice and we had a wonderfufl time. I love his coffee shop manners.

 Lincoln is very content with his cookie and water. He smells the coffee and helps me stir, very carefully. He is a wonderful coffee date any time of the year.

 

 

 

Nativity Time

 I wanted for Lincoln to help me unpack the nativity set this year. Monday afternoon when mommy was busy Lincoln came over to help me shovel snow, make dinner and get out the nativity. He liked the figures, the shepherds, the drummer boy and the mommy and daddy, but he really loved the baby Jesus. It was so sweet to see his unprompted affection.

 After shoveling the patio with me Lincoln was happy to help make some bread to go with the beef stew for dinner. He loved the flour on his fingers and the taste of the dough. He loved the finish product too. It was a wonderful Monday afternoon for me!

Love My Fridays

  I have been fortunate enough to have a three day work week since I started my job a year and a half ago. I have loved my four day weekends and working just Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday seems about perfect for me and my social life. In the next month or two my work week will most likely change to include Fridays. It's not a bad thing since I was actually looking for a full time job when I found this one but I find myself savoring these Fridays until that change happens. One of my favorite things is to have coffee dates at Cup of Joe. I love the feel of that place and love time to chat with friends.

 Last Friday I also got to help Ashley get ready for Lincoln's big birthday party. She did a great job of planning, cooking and decorating. I just added extra help and got some fun time to play with Lincoln too. Mommy made a "cow cake" while we played cows! For now I will savor my free Fridays and then when it changes I will just need to pack more fun into my Mondays.