….two years ago we thought it would be funny to buy the cats Christmas “hats”. Ummm…yeah. It would be an understatement to say how MUCH they HATE them. I thought I’d try again, but Siena had other plans….

I don’t know how this happened, but we (the Bischoff’s) seem to be really on the ball with Christmas this year. Not only are we ready for an early celebration with the Birchwood Bischoff’s later this week, but the Texas gifts have been shipped and the tree is up. The apartment smells like pine trees and hot cocoa, and the stockings are hung!!

Feels pretty great having it all done. Now comes the fun parts: relaxing with my little family, last-minute shopping for stocking stuffers, wrapping gifts for Daddy and Charlie (no, those aren’t the only gifts that will be under the tree!) and experiencing Christmas through the eyes of a 15 month old.

The look on her face this morning when she saw her glittering tree was really something…..a wonderful reminder to have a spirit of childlike joy during this very special season!!

Daddy spent the day with Charlie yesterday so Mommy could have some much needed girl time. This is apparently what happened….

Mommy was SO excited to find that Charlie is big enough to wear some of the gems she’s been storing away for months. This little number is a set found at a consignment sale in Wheaton. It’s a Catimini. Love it!!

We had our mom’s group Thanksgiving brunch this morning, and Charlie wore her new Baby Gap Fair Isle dress. Matches those shiny red shoes pretty perfectly, dontcha think??Next Tuesday the Bischoff’s are driving to Tennessee for turkey day. How fun!! Even more fun is the fact that Daddy and Mommy get to stay at a hotel for a little extra “rest”, while Charlie lives it up at the Bischoff homestead. I know Charlie will LOVE spending her mornings having breakfast with her Nana and JJ!!**Edited to add: I noticed that in one of these pics Charlie is standing all on her own! She’s been doing this more and more. I have a feeling walking is right around the corner….**

Just won this awesome Oilily “Sairy” dress with matching bloomers for $25! It has little teacups and fairies on it AND retailed for over $100. How frugal, Charlie!! See, we save Daddy sooo much money!!

**Edited to add: You’ll see many posts about eBay in the future…Daddy thinks Charlie and I have learned a lot about being entrepreneurs! There is a huge market out there for gently used children’s clothing. I’ve decided to keep my favorites and sell the rest. Makes for a great self-contained little business, and allows for some fun splurges, too, that I would never pay full retail for. Turns out, there is a way to shop AND be a good steward!**

Please tell me that some of you have days where you stay in your pj’s all day?? This would make me feel so much better about my very lazy Monday. We HAD to drop some packages off at the post office, and I was trying to figure out how to do this without getting OUT of my pj’s….so my solution was to throw a coat over Charlie and myself and drive to the post office…..yup, you guessed it….in my pj’s. I’m sure you all missed seeing that.

At any rate, as the weather gets colder (we had snow flurries last night!) I’m sure these days will be more common. C’mon….I’ve got my gingerbread-flavored coffee, Christmas music on (I know, I know), and my amazing new crochet Ugg-like slippers from the Gap warming my toes….

And this little girl, running amuck. Very busy today, demolishing everything in her path. ‘Scuse me while I refill my coffee….

…that Charlie didn’t want to nap today. At all. Instead she decided to stand in the pack n’ play and SCREAM the whole time. *Sigh* Despite her nap stubbornness, we had a fantastic time hanging out with Miss Emilyn, who was a total delight!

Here they are, entertaining themselves with a rousing game of “shoe on, shoe off”…..