Christmas Vacation.

Somehow Christmas already feels a million miles away, but I still wanted to post some pictures because we enjoyed a wonderful two weeks in Texas. I was like a sponge soaking up moments baking, laughing, shopping, walking, watching TV and sharing meals with my family. I took naps. I read. I watched The Price is Right and The Help. We decorated cookies. We chased a toddler. We opened presents. We ate. It was perfect. We are happy to be back home, but those two weeks were just what we needed. Here are a few snippets of our trip.

Family.

"All because two people fell in love"

Do you know this saying? Since being in Abilene I have been feeling so grateful for my parents and the family they've created. I love their cozy home. I love my siblings and the easy banter. I love my parents and the comfort that just their presence provides. I am so glad they fell in love and have stayed in love for so long.

We're here.

Being home feels so good. As soon as we were here a weight was lifted from me and I felt at peace. One of the first things we did was light up a fire outside to enjoy the brisk winter night under my parents' pergola. It was a perfect night spent drinking hot chocolate, making s'mores and chatting with my grandfather, parents and siblings.
 
  
  

Siblings (?)

So, lately, it seems like between the blogging world and my real life friends & acquaintances, there are loads of baby #2's on the way. For a long, long time I've said I want my babies about two and a half years apart. These pregnancy announcements have been sending me into freak out mode. Is Meredith going to be too old for her sibling?? Will they even, ever be friends?? We've already missed the 18 month separation mark (since she'll be 18 months in under two weeks!) so I suppose there's no point in fretting about it. On the one hand it feels so soon to be thinking about getting pregnant again, but on the other I feel the time atickin'.

I guess I'm just wondering: if you have children, what age separation do you like? If you don't, how long do you imagine you'll wait between babies?

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A Perfect Day.

Today I lived a perfect day. As we drove home after dinner and meeting with Santa Claus, Chris described today as a perfect Claire chill day and that's exactly what it was. It was like a dream day for me.

We lounged in our pajamas until after noon. Chris and I enjoyed a classic Saturday breakfast of eggs and bacon while Meredith napped. And as her nap continued I snuggled into the couch to read. Once Meredith woke up we very slowly got ourselves ready and walked over the park. We woke to a house that was icy cold which deceived us into thinking it was a chilly day outside. In reality, it was one of those perfectly blue sky, warm days. We shed our layers as we pushed our sweet girl on the swings and chased her around leaf covered fields.

 

Eventually we headed home so our sandy baby could bathe and nap again. I read some more and napped myself. Once we all were awake we got ready for an outing to meet Santa and have dinner. When we arrived to the mall, we were told Santa was just leaving to "go feed the reindeer" and wouldn't be back for several hours. I shook off my disappointment as we headed to dinner. We enjoyed an unusually peaceful dinner and afterwards got hot chocolate.


 
As we waited to for it be made I spied Santa Claus! I followed him to his little village. He was miraculously back much earlier than anticipated. Chris was such a good sport and let us wait in line to meet the jolly fellow. And he really was a great Santa. He was so sweet to us and took plenty of time to let Meredith warm up to him. Our picture isn't  exactly the best picture you ever did see, but it was a wonderful experience.
 

Once home, we put our babe to bed and had our own little Christmas together. We decided not to try to bring our gifts for each other back and forth so we exchanged gifts tonight. I'm a happy wife tonight as I'm now the proud owner of my very own Kitchenaid Mixer. I've been wanting one for years, but have never really asked for one because they are pricey. I'm so thrilled to finally have one!
 
So that was our day. It may not read as anything special to you, but it was the exact day I needed. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

A perfect Sunday.

All too often I (inwardly) bemoan my inability to do whatever I want on the weekends, thanks to a certain toddler. Obviously this is selfish and obviously my life is more full in ways it wasn't pre-baby. BUT. Sometimes I just want to take a nap. Sometimes I just want to watch a movie. Sometimes I just want to eat a peaceful lunch.

And you know what? Today I got to. Meredith took an unexpected long morning nap so I got to hang some instagram pictures and (finally) put up an album on Facebook. Once she woke, we strolled the farmer's market with a very happy toddler. Then we came home and made some deeelicious sandwiches which I enjoyed while Meredith played.

AND THEN we turned on The Great Muppet Caper. Meredith happily watched some of the movie and then happily played around the living room for the rest.

It was a simple day. It was so nice. It was family time and individual time and time to just do whatever. We've been so busy getting settled and getting out to explore that today felt like a much needed chill day.

Rancho San Antonio

This weekend we were feeling the need to get out and explore but also get some exercise. We had heard about Rancho San Antonio Open Space Reserve, so we decided to check it out. We will certainly go back. It was a gorgeous spot with endless opportunity for exploring. There are loads of trails for pedestrians, bikers and even horses. About a mile into the trail there is also a little farm with chickens, ducks, sheep, a cow, a goat, a rabbit and a kitten. It was the perfect chance to let Meredith stretch her legs in the middle of our hike.