Festivities

We've had a lot of fun getting ready for Christmas this week. Last Sunday we went to the Halls for dinner. They're our good friends here and have a darling little girl Tate's age. We attempted to make gingerbread houses together. It wasn't super successful but it was really fun.

Glenn found out that a deal his division has been working on fell through so he's been able to take some time off this week. He was told a couple months ago that he wouldn't be able to use the rest of his vacation days this year and would be super busy over Christmas because of this deal so, while it's disappointing that it didn't work out the way they hoped, I'm really glad that we're able have him around this week after all! AND we worked it out so he'll be able to come out to Utah next week with Tate and I. YEA!

I tried some new treats this year. Candied popcorn in cinnamon bun and peppermint bark. Recipes courtesy of Our Best Bites. I love finding and using other people's delicious recipes. I can cook okay but I cannot come up with the ideas. We'll definitely be making these again!

Our good friends from Austin, the Cluffs, are in town this weekend and we were able to play with them at the zoo. It was so fun for Tate to be able to play at the zoo with some of his favorite people. We looked at the fish of course,

saw the daddy elephant taking a bath.

Glenn narrated for him.

And had a little snuggle/wrestle time with Tori.

It was great to see them and spend a little time with them, especially in such a fun place! Tate was a good sport especially considering he's been feeling generally like this all week. He has a cough for the past couple weeks that has gotten worse the last three days. We had some ideas of fun things to do outside but since he was feeling icky we just got in the car last night and we went to Prestonwoods Forest to see the lights. It's a neighborhood we heard about where each street is really decked out with beautiful Christmas lights and has a different theme. One street was "A Christmas Carousel" with bright carousel horses and music. One street was "Frosty the Snowman" and they had pictures and signs with the story of Frosty along the street. It was amazing. We'll definitely go back next year if we're still here. There is something about tons of Christmas lights that just makes me feel like a little kid. I'm so excited for Christmas.

Tate woke up a couple times last night and has a fever this morning so...this is how he's spending this Christmas Eve day.

He wants to watch a show but he just can't or won't sit up very long so he keeps crawling around the room and then lying down with his blanket facing the TV. It's sad to hear him coughing so long and so hard that he gags and then whimpers afterward. We took him to a clinic and he didn't seem to have an infection but he gave us some meds because his cough has lasted so long so hopefully he'll start feeling better soon.

All in all, it's been a wonderful and busy week. I love Christmas time and it really is so much better now that I have a little one. He may not exactly understand Santa yet but will certainly get excited about opening presents and discovering all the new delights that have been carefully selected for him. He loves reading Christmas books. We've been to the library and read a new Christmas book every night for the past three weeks. He loves them and also loves to listen to Christmas music in the car. I'm so excited to watch him tomorrow! Hopefully he's feeling well enough to enjoy it. I cannot wait.