Finally, in the Christmas spirit!

What has taken me so long to get into the Christmas spirit? A combination of factors really, but I am finally there, ready for the holiday, ok not ready for the holiday at all. I still have Christmas cards to write, cookies to make/decorate, groceries to buy for Christmas day and presents to wrap and send! Ok, so maybe some of the presents won't get sent until after Christmas, but I am determined to get all the Christmas cards out! Yesterday the official Christmas spirit came upon me and I decided to get cooking, literally. I spent some time yesterday wondering why I wasn't so into the holiday. I figured it is 2 factors, maybe 3; this is the 1st year we will be staying home for Christmas, so I don't have some deadline looming over me, and in years past, so what if I didn't decorate for the holiday, we weren't going to be here anyway! I am also a lazy pregnant person, when Gwen goes down for her nap that gives me 2 hours, to do everything I need to do that doesn't mean keeping an eye out for her, which often means playing on the computer and vegging, along with a shower. The 3rd reason, is probably the one that factors in the most, the one I realized yesterday...my Dad. My Dad loved Christmas, I really think my Dad loved anything that involved decorating or made acting like a kid not seem so weird. I think Halloween was also a favorite for him, but that is for another day. So, was it the realization that at this time of the year more than ever you realize loved ones aren't here to celebrate with you, but that aside knowing that if I were to talk to my Father I would hear the disappointment that I hadn't gotten into the holiday spirit at least for Gwen or that I made a cookie yesterday that required making a peppermint candy first. The house never smelled so Christmas-y. So what did I do yesterday, that I continued on today...I made our favorite cookie. They are refrigerator cookies and today I cut them out, and then the godfather +1, maybe, will be coming over this weekend to help ice them. Today I realized that I have entirely too many Christmas cookie cutters, I have 20, seriously I am not kidding, I just counted! I also am terrible at rolling out the cookies, this is the first year I didn't have a mental breakdown because I actually used enough flour, but my cookies and cookie cutters are not the same size. The width thing is a problem I hope to work on over say the next 5 years. So, I have a lot of very brown cookies!
Here are some pictures of Gwen, one is at our Christmas party, wearing her Christmas dress that my girlfriend sent after I had Gwen's picture made...too bad, she would have been so cute in this dress for pictures!

We have been without a car for 2 days. This is a picture of Gwen playing in her carseat. She was so cute, she would sit in her carseat and bring over some books to read and sit in front of the tree and "read" her books! This is why she is getting a Gwen-sized chair from Grandmom and Grandpop!
I don't know why she has her mouth open like that, but she seems to be making more funny faces when I pull out the camera.

One more batch of pictures to post, not now though, time to wrap...I am on borrowed time here so I must get moving. But all my cookies are ready to be iced and my kitchen is a wreck! One thing at a time!