give your people smiles.

Today we're celebrating our first Christmas with a baby, only he's 11 months old and baby hardly seems to describe Rowan anymore. He feeds himself food, climbs, flirts, elates in the ladies' smiles, problem solves, kicks and screams during diaper changes, throws himself on the floor in elaborate dramatic schemes, reaches high things on his tippy toes, reminds me of the pristine thrill of childhood joy.

I sound a little soupy, it's true. But you know that feeling when something is so cute you just  want to eat it all up? I do believe that's the sign of a full heart. It's an exciting time right now. I'm pretty sure this excitement will evolve into something a little more mature. And I sure could do without those tantrums. But for now I'm trying to make the most of being so lovestruck and giddy. (Doing so helps me keep perspective through the nighttime parenting journey and sleeping roadblocks.)

This year I decided against buying packaging materials. I taped together magazine pages to make wrapping paper, purged my ribbon scraps to embellish the gifts, and cut the unwritten fronts off of cards given to me in past years to use as gift tags. Wrapping presents took a whole lot longer, but I also enjoyed it a whole lot more than I normally would. We also celebrated Festivus with cheesecake cupcakes, good friends, wine, and lots of cheese food.

A few minutes ago, S said Merry Christmas and we kissed. Oops that we hadn't exchanged Christmas morning greetings yet. He also reminded me that the anniversary of our meeting was about a week ago; we'd both forgotten. We are true romantics.

Rowan is likely toward the end of a super nap, which will help him cope with the rambunctious family gathering we're heading to this afternoon. It helped me finish the last of the gift wrapping, too. We still have laundry to do, wine to buy, and suitcases to pack in their entirety for our early morning plane ride tomorrow. Wish us luck on our first long journey with a baby! Eeps.

Wishing you a beautiful holiday!