Sometimes, I don't pick up my camera very much. And while I'm sure my hard drive is thankful and I do have more spare time, I miss taking photos (truth: I have 4679 photos represeting 2012, and 3278 representing 2011 so I take lots of photos!). The other day, I brought my camera to the park just to try to immortalize my sweet daughters the way they are. Wearing what they wear everyday and doing what they do. Themselves. 

I know, I know. Little late on the posting here. But, I just had to! This was a really fun little outing the girls and I did one morning, and, I did Holly's hair and she wore a dress I had just given her. Triumph! Christmas in the Park is done each year in downtown San Jose (about 10 minutes from where we live). This is the first time we went. There's lots of performances and Santa Claus, but because we went there on a quiet morning mid-week there was nothing happening. There's a ton of different Christmas displays and who knows how many hundreds of trees decorated by all sorts of local groups (scouts, schools, we even saw one done by a Relief Society). There's false snow on the ground and a station that periodically blows fake snow. Hilarious, but the kids were crazy about it! We're a touch snow obsessed at our house. I'm sure Christmas in the park is gorgeous lit up at night. There was also a winter carnival on a cross street, so we walked up and down that. I let Holly have one ride (for $3.50 - ouch!), and she chose the tea cups. And then, at the end we bought a bag of popcorn. It was a really lovely morning spent with my girls! I'm always grateful when we have a day where I feel like we've done something special and solidified some memories. 

Every now and then I get to see my friend, Julie, who I know from Denver. We've been friends for over 5 years and we had babies 6 weeks apart. Julie and her family have since lived in 2 different states, but fortunately, we now live very close to where Julie's parents live and even more fortunate for us, Julie's family was gracious enough to share her and Leila with us for a day this month! Leila and Holly got along so great and I love adding to the collection of photos I have of those two. We had such a great day and I'm so grateful for friends who last.

Greta has been ready to use the potty for a couple of months now at least (or so I think). Now that the holidays are over and life is back to it's regular pace, I decided to take the dive and work with her to learn to use the potty. I was nervous. The parents have to be mentally and emotionally prepared to potty train. It's tough work! But, good news. Greta is a rockstar and has taken to it like a champ. She even woke up with a completely dry diaper this morning! She's been so good at already letting us know when she has to go. We still have a lot of work to do, but I'm so proud of Greta! She's such a clever little girl. And I'm super excited to have no more diapers to change (and buy!). Today is day three, and I'm hoping she keeps progressing at her current pace. I don't feel totally comfortable leaving the house yet!

I made very little this year for Christmas, in part because I was busy making a truckload of quilts for my etsy shop, Lucky No.7 and also because my girls don't really appreciate the handmade and I wasn't prepared to go there. They both had Christmas dresses that fit, so they didn't get new dresses. I didn't make them anything at all for Christmas. It was a smart decision. What I did make, I wanted to share. I crocheted my sister-in-law some mittens (no pictures) and I made cross stitch families for each of Conor's siblings (the how-to is from Martha Stewart). I need to make one for us! And I made some doll carriers for some little friends, and a couple for my girls, but they weren't wrapped and under the tree.  My big project was making a collared shirt for Conor which is totally too big - I didn't think it would fit right, so it came with the promise of a shirt that does fit right. Overall, it was such a relaxed, stressl-free Christmas in the making department. I had time to make some little things for around our home and I don't feel burned out. However, I do like to make more for Christmas. Just had to experience making less!