enjoying the ride

our holiday preparations are in full swing right now. hot chocolate in hand-painted mugs featuring baby boy footprints...

and a delightfully tacky mantle with cheap lighted garland, stockings and all of our Christmas cards that we've received. i love this time of year so much if only for the Christmas cards that we get from friends and family (and often times featuring pictures that i've taken--always makes it even more special to see them in print!) 

our card is in production...so thank you for being patient with us! i spent an hour creating it yesterday afternoon online, only to have it tell me none of the local places could print it. so instead we used a coupon code for free overnight shipping and are hoping to get them out by mid-week. (i'll share the digital version on here, too, once they go out.)

cards aren't the only thing i've been slacking on this year. last year, with the blessings of maternity leave time, i spent hours at the accidental artist handpainting ornaments and mugs for all of our Christmas gifts...

and that is definitely not happening this year. but we are trying another gift that i will share if it's successful!

pepper is getting into the holiday spirit, too. i know she hasn't been featured much on the blog lately, but she is hanging in there. we have had to put her on diet food after her last trip to the vet because they are concerned about her gaining weight. when i explained that we have a one year old at home that loves nothing more than to share his snack with her, the vet nodded and smiled knowingly and suggested diet food since she knew the other factors would likely not be changing anytime soon.

no, now that pepper isn't getting to clean our plates regularly, it seems like her scavenger dog instincts have clicked into high gear. she was found several times this weekend with her snout down in davis's snack cup, going after any cheerios or goldfish she could find. and we're regularly having to lock her out of the kitchen while he eats because he either leans way over the high chair to feed her or she paws at his legs from under the tray trying to get some food he dropped in his seat. 

but other than that, we're just hanging in there. doing the holiday stuff while doing the every day stuff. finding the joy in little things, like helping gran fold the laundry...

or turning an empty hamper into a tunnel for playing!

he's getting a tunnel/tent combo for Christmas, and i have a feeling it will be one of his favorites.

we're making cookies, wrapping gifts, planning for the nice long break we get in a few days and looking forward to seeing family. what are you doing to *truly* enjoy the holidays this year?