We’ve been busy here. I’m trying to get through all our pictures. And I need to start somewhere so how about some from Christmas Eve.

Isabelle has been asking to “make a bear” and I just didn’t have the energy to make one by hand. Not with all the blizzards in snow globes and baking going on. So we bundled up and headed out to Build a Bear. Build a Bear in a shopping area the day before Christmas, what was I thinking?

No, actually it wasn’t too bad. We did have to circle several times for a parking space but it wasn’t hyperventilating inducing like the mall.

Of all the bears she could have chosen, Isabelle chose a blue bear. I think it’s her favorite color now. She quite frequently asks to wear her blue shirt or her blue pants so it shouldn’t have been a surprise when she INSISTED on a blue bear.

She chose the fireman outfit for him too but wouldn’t agree to some dressy girly shoes.

And then of course there was the naming. The fireman bear has been christened: Bear.

That night, after hours and hours of baking, we went to a party, me and Isabelle dressed in pajamas. It was a family party and after spending all day in the kitchen I really didn’t want to be in real clothes.

Isabelle and I made gingerbread cookies for all the kids. We also made two batches of cupcakes and three batches of frosting. Three because I didn’t read the part of the ganache frosting recipe where it said to refrigerate for an hour. So I went and made another vanilla buttercream frosting.

We made everything from scratch. That’s why it took so long. When I finally stepped out of the kitchen I thought I might have broke something, like my cooking joy. I was very sure I’d be cooking from a box from that point on. But nope, it’s not broken.

I don’t think anyone ate the cupcakes except for Isabelle. Well eating isn’t really accurate. She didn’t really eat them. More like touched them enough where no one else could eat them. She licked off the frosting and then left them laying around. That’s how I knew she “ate” four or five of them.

The sugar high coupled with Isabelle getting to play with her cousins all night meant Isabelle having a spectacular time. Not to mention presents. Isabelle is now old enough to enjoy present opening. She ripped off wrapping paper from clothing boxes then move onto the next one without even opening the box. I think she liked the ripping more than the finding out what was in the boxes.

We had so much fun. We played games and ate lots of food and stayed until almost eight in the morning. And Isabelle DID NOT sleep at all until we left.

The pajamas was a very good choice.