Where's the snow?

It is December 17th here in southern Minnesota and no sign of snow for Christmas. I keep singing "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" hoping it will work like a raindance. No luck yet. This is Erin's first Christmas and she deserves to have snow for it. I'll keep singing I guess.

I haven't put up our tree yet, no decorations either. Life with a baby is sure different. I love Christmas and making the house look festive. But first things first, showering comes before decorating.

I bought pre-made cookie dough from Festival Foods to lighten the load. Now all I need to do is bake them. Finding a spare moment to do that is the key.

However, things have gotten better here in our household. Erin's evening colic is over and we have mellowed out as well. She has become the sweetest most fun baby. I am really enjoying her a lot right now. She makes me laugh with all her noises. Her favorite at the moment is grabbing her feet with her hands and grunting. She is getting so big.

On the extended family front things aren't going so well. My mom is bipolar and she seems to hit her manic phase in the fall. She is back in the area after her escapade of living on the streets in Florida. However, she brought back a man she met there and won't come to my house because I told her that I'm not comfortable with her bringing him here. So it may be some time before I see her and she sees her only grandchild again. I keep telling myself that she is not well and that is why she is being like this. I need to be thinking of my family though and keeping them safe.

At least my husband's parents don't suffer from a mental illness. We will be celebrating Christmas with them. I am looking forward to it!

Here is our Christmas family picture. Hard to believe that Erin will be walking and talking by next Christmas.