On Monday we had our annual Gingerbread House Decorating Party for the cousin crew! The December sunshine was absolutely beautiful. We had time to wait on the front porch for all of our guests to arrive as the kids danced around like little ballerinas. There was no shortage of sugar or laughter! Magnolia said her favorite part of the party was chasing her cousin Ollie around because he is sooooo fast. I snapped a bunch of photos to share with you. You may notice one thing missing & that is the actual houses. We ran into some construction issues & lets just say we took some quality improvement notes for 2021. The experience was the important part & I think they all had a festive afternoon laughing the day away. 

A few weeks ago we drove about 45 minutes away to a Christmas tree farm called Cedar Valley Forest. It was golden hour when we pulled into 40 acres of towering oak & cedar trees with a pond right at the entrance that had white ducks floating on it. It was so beautiful & special. Just a pinch of magic to start our December. In 15 minutes our photographer, Hallie Fry, managed to snap over 40 amazing photos. This year I finally did Christmas cards again. 

Deck the Halls...that's what we've been doing since Halloween came down!!! As soon as the first lights started twinkling it was time to start watching Christmas movies on repeat, Alexa has been playing all the jolliest songs throughout our home, hot chocolate is a daily beverage for Maggie Mermaid, & lounge clothes + fuzzy blankets + a cozy fire are a daily habit! I cannot believe Christmas morning is only 11 days away. I truly need a pause bottom for this month. 

Her little hand in mine. Oh my heart! The ornament we bought for her first Christmas used to be the one that made me the most sentimental, but this one trumps it now. We made extras for the grandparents, a keepsake gift they'll cherish forever. This is December magic!!!

Maggie Mermaid, age 3, only a few months shy of her 4th birthday.