We had a fantastic past weekend.. It was filled with impromptu and unplanned fun which was a delightful way to start the holiday season this year. Hunt had a lot of work to get ready for finals, but we were all able to meet up in downtown Zionsville for the annual Christmas parade. It is absolutely the definition of what a small town parade should look like, totally random and often runs late, but is still charming as it winds through. We went last year and I don't particularly remember Harper noticing much at all.. This year, completely different story- she was totally into it! She kept blowing kisses to the horses and dogs, and would wave on command at the people going past. Hunt caught some adorable pictures. I wanted to see the tree lighting, but there was going to be a long delay until it happened and it was starting to get really cold so we went and grabbed dinner instead. Being able to do these things with Harper always remind me of how incredibly thankful that I am to have a little one to experience all this with.
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| Waving to all the parade goers |
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| "Mmmwwhhaa" blowing kisses |
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| Trying to get someone to smile on command.. not always an easy task |
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| This was from a snow blowing machine.. It was cold, but not actually snowing here yet.. |
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| "Happy Birthday George" made the walk as well |
On Sunday, Hunt had to spend the day studying again, but I was ancy to try and get some Christmas decorating going so I spent much of nap time (both days actually) moving stuff around and pulling out what we have for decor. This resulted in the need for some quality time at Michaels drowning in chintz and glitter while quasi aimlessly trying to decide what I needed which always seems to take way longer than it should and usually involves several subsequent trips to return extras and get more of something else and always seems to end up costing way more than I expect it to. Somehow it is these seemingly easy and basic things that tend to just feel like a whole lot on top of our regular life right now, but I still remain committed to trying to make them happen even though it does make me feel like a crazy person at times. Anyway, when the offer came up to go over to Laura and Catherine's house for cookie decorating that evening I actually couldn't have been happier for the invitation. Hunt still had a ton of work to do and Harper needed some entertaining that didn't involve Daddy, so it was the perfect way to wrap up the weekend. As I had thought she would, Harper definitely enjoyed doing the cookies (mostly eating the icing, but I can't blame her for that), but also loved the access to all of Audrey's toys. Laura and Catherine had their house already decorated and Christmas music playing, and the atmosphere was just so warm and casual and perfect. We had wine and pizza, and the kids that were there all played so well together and it was just a great great evening.
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| It's hilarious how often we force these kids to hug, but it's just so cute every time.. Harper, Audrey, James and CeCe |
