We usually wait until after Thanksgiving to bust out the holiday decorations and shift into Christmas mode, but this year we decided to start a little earlier – I had the time, Juliette had the will, and Shane had the…ambivalence? This landed us at our beloved Mountain Creek Tree Farm the Sunday before Thanksgiving, on the hunt for a perfect 7-foot grand fir. Get ready, Isaac!
Isaac patiently endured my hemming and hawing as I wandered back and forth between the top two contenders – he understands that certain holiday decisions shall not be rushed.
(Oh, Jules…)
Still hemming…
Still hawing…
Found it!
And she’s a beaut.
I snapped a few photos of the kids while Shane tied the tree to the top of the car.
Isaac was clearly thrilled by the whole spectacle.
THRILLED.
That last request for a photo is often a mistake. Case in point:
We spent the afternoon decking the halls – Juliette and I strung lights and hung ornaments and blew the dust off our trusty Santa hat.
We followed up tree trimming with a quick jaunt down to the water to catch a stunner of a sunset. So merry and bright…
Festivities continued with a trip to the Woodland Park Zoo the evening before Thanksgiving to check out the lanterns. Shane stayed home with Isaac and Juliette and I enjoyed the vibe of a ladies night out.
It was a little strange, going to the zoo and not seeing any live animals, but Juliette dug it and I appreciated being off the hook for baby bedtime.
I was bound and determined to keep Thanksgiving Day as sweet and stress-free as possible. Juliette and I did some prep the day before and checked cranberry sauce, apple pie, and a lime-cranberry tart off our list.
This freed us up to lounge late in our pajamas on Thursday morning.
No need to rush these moments…
I rallied around noon and got to work on the potatoes.
Shane brought out the Magna-Tiles, which Juliette hasn’t touched in months (years?) and she played with them all afternoon. Much as I love seeing this girl with her nose in a book, there’s nothing like seeing her get lost in building and imagining.
Dinner was served late afternoon – brisket from our favorite bbq joint, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts with bacon, cranberry sauce, and double dessert. Easy peasy!
This pie was so good and so pretty.
Cheers, little lady.
This sweet boy didn’t get to eat anything on the table, but was so content to watch us stuff our faces!
After-dinner lounging…
And then a family viewing of Little Women, which has become one of our favorite wintertime flicks. Isaac isn’t yet enthralled by the March sisters, but he will be.
Someday.
Let’s hear it for holidays in the slow lane!
We declared the day after Thanksgiving a Family Fun Day and headed over to the downtown waterfront to check out the Seattle Aquarium.
And then we moseyed over to the Great Wheel – Juliette and I had planned on checking this out before Isaac was born, but he made an early debut and foiled our plans, so Jules had a rain check to cash in.
It’s a slow-moving ferris wheel with what I thought would be a very low thrill-factor, but there was a legitimate rush of excitement as our little pod took off and dangled over the water.
Juliette was pumped!
Isaac, again, not so much.
And now Christmas is just around the bend; we’ve got a few more festive favorites up our sleeves. And of course, all the pajama time we could possibly hope for.
