A White December 18th!

Hoping the title will catch your attention. So, yes we saw snow last night...okay no, not the real kind. Not like our friends in Washington are getting.

My dad is in town and we decided to take Cole to go see it snow. Every night at 7pm one of the outdoor malls makes it snow for 15 minutes. They have a beautiful tree set up, they play Christmas music and the flakes fall.

Cole was a hit with the crowd running around trying to catch the snow in his hand. It was at that point we realized, wait...this isn't even fake snow. In fact, why are we coughing so much? The snow was some sort of foamy snow, making us cough, made of a cancer causing chemical I am sure. All the same, it was beautiful, festive and we had a great time!

Amazing Chandler Toddler Potty Trains at 1 Year Old!

Not really, this was just the fun tonight before the bath. I know the day will come when I am not allowed (or it's just inappropriate) for me to photograph these buns. Until then, I'll capture them every chance I get!

How DO you hang Christmas lights with a 1 year old?

We survived Thanksgiving weekend. How wonderful to have 4 days home together, how not wonderful to be sick the entire time. I got the not wonderful part of that deal, by the way. Regardless, we pressed on with the bird, stuffing and holiday decor that truly make it Thanksgiving weekend!

Thursday we enjoyed a quiet dinner with just the 3 of us. During the day our friend Kent came over to visit. Kent was a groomsman in our wedding and a favorite in the Blubaum house. He lives in Idaho, so we don't get to see him that often. Here are Shawn and Cole enjoying Kent's company!

We were determined to get the house decorated this weekend. While we didn't get it all done, we made a good effort. It is our first Christmas in this house, so it's always a learning experience of where the outlets are, what looks good where, etc. Luckily a speedy trip to the Dollar Store saved the day to purchase a few must have items. Who knew $1 bows could look so good? Sure, they might not last until December 25th, but hey...

The big dilema is how do you hang Christmas lights with your 1 year old son, who can't sit still for 2 minutes, around? First you would think...nap time, right? Well, of course all the good football games are on during nap time...so what do we do? That's right, set up a pack & play in the driveway, throw some toys in there and voila...we can hang the lights. I can only imagine what the neighbors think about us...who puts their kid in a portable crib, in his jammies, in the driveway? Oh well, the lights got hung and look fabulous! You might wonder why it takes 2 of us to hang the lights. 30 foot palm trees, lights wrapped around the trunk from top to bottom. This required a staple gun, a very tall ladder, a very brave husband and a wife on hand to wrap lights and be there "just in case."