A Cookie Tradition and the Craziness of the Season

My family has a tradition. Each year my mom and my sister and I bake cookies for work and gifts. My grandmother usually joins us, but this year she was in South America, on a cruise. Last year, Nick joined us but slept through the whole thing. This year, he played and tasted cookies. Our cookie adventure ended up taking us two Sundays, so these pictures are from last week and this week.

Above you can see Nick hugging a puppy book, and below he is having fun with his Auntie Mandy.

Nick read stories with his Grandpa Ray. This one is called "Gallop," and it has moving pictures, which Nick was fascinated with. He loves turning the pages in books. It seems like he's listening carefully to every word. Tonight I read him three books in a row, and he sat quietly listening to all of the stories, helping to turn the page and pointing to things in the books.

Doing "So big!" with Grandma Linda.

Christmas, this year, has been a little more overwhelming than in past years. Last year was my first year of being a parent during Christmas, but I was on maternity leave and had plenty of time to shop and get things ready. This year I'm working full time plus teaching an after-school program, we had three parties to go to last weekend, and the stress of buying all of those gifts is getting to me a bit. Thank goodness Nick is a happy shopper.

My next week or so is going to be pretty crazy. Next Monday through Wednesday, Greg is taking me downtown for two nights at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. It's his Christmas present to me, and I'm really looking forward to it. Nick's Grandma Toni will come and watch him. Then come the four Christmases. Other people might have two sides of the family to have Christmas with--Greg and I have four places to go. This Saturday we will spend with my dad and stepmom, then off to Chicago Monday-Wednesday, then Christmas Eve with my mom and stepdad and grandma. We go directly from there to my mother-in-law's house, and spend the night and all of Christmas Day with Greg's mom and sister. Finally, on the 26th, we'll go up to Wisconsin to visit Greg's Dad and Stepmom. Wow, I didn't realize how busy I am until I wrote that. I'm totally going to need the whole next week off for vacation.

He just wanted to join us for dinner. . .

Nick was super-excited when he saw his daddy tonight. He got home from work earlier than usual, around 5 p.m., and when the garage door opened, Nick got very still. Then, when he heard the door open, he started squealing happily. Then, later, when Greg and I sat down to eat our dinner, Nick decided to start crying. We eat on the couch, largely because the rest of the living/dining room has been taken over by all things baby. Anyhow, Nick grabs the bars of his baby cage and gives us the most pitiful look. "What does he want?," asked Greg. "I think he just wants to sit by us," I replied.

Greg grabbed him a baby cookie, and put the baby between us on the couch. Nick smiled and was perfectly satisfied as soon as he was seated between us. However, he managed to smear cookie all over the couch, my pajamas, and Greg's shorts, but he sure had a good time doing it. He even ate some of my 15 bean soup. Nick just wanted to join us for dinner. :)

The more Nick has been teething, the more he needs baby cookies. Yesterday I bought him something called a biter biscuit, and it seemed to hold together better than some of the other baby cookies. It didn't break into tiny pieces, which is always a plus.

In this picture you can see Nick dipping his baby cookie into Greg's soup. I'm not sure why he decided to do this, but he thought it was hilarious. He ate the cookie anyway, so it must've been a taste sensation. It's kind of funny how when I take a posed picture, Nick will wait until I'm done, and then do something unplanned and cute, like dipping his cookie into the soup.

Last week I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver. It's an excellent book, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in gardening, local eating, or cooking. The author set her family up for a challenge: one year of living locally. But she doesn't propose that everyone try to do this. Rather, she gives ways that we can do something to promote local farmers. I liked how she wasn't preachy about the whole subject.