It’s beginning to look, feel, and smell a lot like Christmas!

Although I decorated the house and put the tree up a week ago, today felt like the real start of the Christmas season around here.  It was the perfect Saturday to get into the festive spirit since it hasn’t gotten out of the 30s and low 40s all day—we even had some sleet/hail/frozen rain mix!

The day started with Chris getting up with Miles so that I could have a morning to sleep in. And what did Miles do? He slept 45 minutes more than he has been lately. And I couldn’t get back to sleep after he woke up anyway. I did, however, lay in bed while Chris got him changed and fed. After I came downstairs, Chris and I both commented that it would have been a great day to go for a jog except that it was so cold. It is highly possible that we said that only to make ourselves feel better but fully knowing that it wasn’t going to happen.

While Miles took his morning nap, I got ready for the day (instead of taking a nap, too) because Miles was invited to his first birthday party. We, of course, were fashionably late because I didn’t want to wake him too soon. But he made an appearance, giving ample time to give the birthday girl her gift—one of those Sing-a-ma-jigs. We got back in the car at about the time he needed his second nap for the day, leaving him about 30 minutes to sleep in the car seat before we got home. I tried to transfer him to his crib, but that only works if he has been asleep for about 10 minutes or so.

Instead, I fed him again, changed him into something fancy, and we headed out to his first symphony concert. The Charlotte Symphony and Orchestra does a concert every December called, “The Magic of Christmas,” in which they play a variety of Christmas music accompanied by various vocal groups (and sometimes the audience). Chris surprised me with tickets to the concert last year, and I was excited to take Miles this year. Chris wasn’t too sure about taking a 7-month-old to a concert, but I thought he did remarkably well. We made sure to get seats on the aisle in case we needed to get out, which we did. We met some of our friends there; and between the two babies in the group, there was always someone standing in the aisle with a baby. During the first half, Miles was enthralled with the loud music and lights. He was tired, which usually means he wants to snuggle against my chest, but he really wanted to be facing the music to see what all the noise was about. Also, we discovered he really likes applause. Chris stood with him until Intermission, but it wasn’t until the second half when there were two slower songs in a row, that I got him to fall asleep.

After a stop at Panera for dinner (because it was a soup kind of night), we headed home to finally trim our tree. Around here, we always wear Santa hats and listen to carols as we decorate, so of course, I had to get Miles his own hat this year. Unfortunately, the only one I found (that I was willing to spend money on) had silly ear straps.

You can really see that Miles has lost his blue eyes here. They’re still in between brown, green, hazel.

I attempted to wear antlers instead this year, but soon after this, Chris made me put on the hat because it was too hard to get the top of the antlers in the pictures.

This is what Miles wanted to be doing instead of looking at the camera.

This was after we turned off the flash in an attempt to get more ambiance in the photos, but it also made everything a little blurry—especially because Miles doesn’t like to hold still.

This is what happens anytime we are on the floor because Scout really likes attention. It makes for a VERY blurry picture.

And here’s the big moment—hanging the first ornament.

But the biggest reminder that it is the Christmas season is the cold I am in the middle of. Let’s hope this doesn’t turn into the sinus/ear infections of last year.