Christmassy Stuff.

Nevermind the fact that it's 80 degrees around these parts, Christmas activties are in full swing!

Ben is loving all the Christmas books I pulled down from the attic.  He was multi-tasking at this point, also watching "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street," a family favorite for the last 25 years.

Decking our halls (notice the open window behind us)...

Ben helping Gramma put the ornaments on the porcelain tree in her foyer (notice the short sleeves).  When Anthony and I were little we used to fight over who got to put the star on top.   Ah, Christmas memories...

We broke out the snuggly Christmas jammies, though I still can't bring myself to put the flannel sheets on the  bed.

Ben has been so great about only gently touching the ornaments on the tree.  There are a few that are just too tempting, but (fingers crossed) nothing has been broken yet!

We went to see the Parade of Lights in Fort Worth.  It was literally packed with 100,000 people and oddly cold, but "festive."

Last weekend we ventured down to Chesepeake Plaza to check out the all beautiful trees there.  Ben loved the lights.

The fuchsia trees are my favorite

We made hot cocoa and headed out to look at lights, and Tim and I laughed as we reminisced about this evolving tradition. Two years ago I was pregnant with Ben.  Tim and I went out in Tim's truck (which has since been traded for a more "family friendly" crossover vehicle), stopped at Starbucks for warm drinks, and drove all over town "oohing" and "aaahing" over the beautifully lit neighborhoods. We listened to Christmas music and enjoyed easy conversation.  I remember that my Nana called in the middle of our drive and excitedly described the cute little outfits she had just put in the mail for Ben.  I hung up the phone with her and felt so thankful- for Tim, for the baby on the way, for our family, for the warmth of the season... for our blessings.   Truly too many to count.

Last year we attempted to recreate the memory, but having an eight-month-old along for the ride made things a bit more interesting.  Tim was hungry by the time we got across town and asked if we could swing by In-N-Out Burger, which had just opened in our area.  I was slightly annoyed (because In-N-Out isn't very "Christmassy," after all, and Ben only had so long before his next feeding) but we stopped.  While we sat in the (long) drive-thru line, Ben got fussy and hungry.  I unstrapped him and nursed him while we waited in line and Tim freaked out because I was in plain view (though covered, mind you) of the crowd of people in the parking lot and the kid at the drive-thru window.  We sat in the parking lot so Tim could eat his burger and Ben could finish nursing and I couldn't help but consider how much life had changed in just a year.  I don't think we saw too many lights that night.

This year was a little more like the first.  The trip was abbreviated because Ben doesn't love being in the car, but the hot cocoa bought us a little extra time.  We rolled down the windows and turned up the Christmas tunes and named the colors of all the lights.  We were home in time for Ben to be in bed by 7:30.

Things sure aren't as simple as they were a few years ago, but they're definitely better.