December

We crammed almost two months of activities into December this year, and I still feel like we left some out. It's been a satisfying, if exhausting, Christmas season, and Madeline was right in the middle of it. From family visits to holiday activities, we've been busy every day. And, unfortunately, Madeline was beset by several infections throughout the month. It was nothing too serious, but by the end of the month we were just ready for everyone to be healthy and to fall back into our normal routines.

Here are some pictures from this month:

The setup: Mom gets Madeline ready for her annual Christmas portrait. (See 2009 and 2008). Usually these sessions end up being about 20 minutes of frustration and sadness . . .

and about 10 seconds of "That's it!"

Madeline is growing to appreciate the byproducts of spending so much time cooking with Mommy.

We spent a fun weekend at Madeline's grandparents' house doing Christmasy things, like making gingerbread houses and decorating the tree.

Not too long after the Christmas decorations were out, we got our first snow of the season.

Madeline and I spent a fun weekday morning enjoying the Christmas sights at the Jefferson Hotel. We pulled up a bench near the huge tree and watched a performance by a girls choir singing holiday tunes.

We also spent a weekend visiting family in Roanoke, where Madeline found her cousins (and their toys) to be fascinating.

Mommy and Madeline read a book before bedtime at DeeDee's house.

After talking about Noah almost every day since his family's visit to our house this summer, Madeline finally got to spend some quality time with him during our stay at their house in Roanoke.

Madeline helps Mommy bake some Christmas bread.

Christmas morning was fun for everyone. Madeline got the yoga mat she had been asking for. . .

and some things she didn't expect, like this tricycle and helmet.

Later that day, the Christmas fun continued at Grandma Vera's house.

We wrapped up the month with another blanket of snow. Madeline's new snow hobby is making snowballs and throwing them at Daddy.

As a post-Christmas treat, the three of us went to the Children's Museum of Richmond. Madeline was blown away by the variety of fun diversions there, and by the other kids that swarmed the displays. I have a feeling we'll be going there more often in the coming year.