Oh, Cookie, Cookie, Cookie

I know it's not yet Halloween, and for most people it's way too early to even think about the holidays, but I'm a planner, so Christmas has been on my radar for a couple of weeks.  In fact, I'm about 25% done with my shopping.  Booyah.  I'm also a crafter, and I love to host parties, and those things take time, so even though my dad sticks his fingers in his ears and cries "LA LA LA" to avoid it, I've been talking about Christmas, too.  (My dad is of the sweet, old-school camp who thinks you shouldn't even talk about Christmas until after Thanksgiving.)

So, what am I thinking about and planning?  Well, first of course is our Christmas card.  We've gone with the Costco photo cards the last couple of years.  They're great and super reasonably priced, but since having access to my crafting supplies again for the first time in a couple of years, I'm itching to make ours this year.  I have no idea what I'll do yet, but I'm getting tres excited thinking about it.

But the thing I'm super excited about right now is the 2nd Annual Cookie Exchange my mom and I will be hosting (hence the title).  It's a little grandiose calling it the "2nd Annual", but I'm thrilled that my mom is onboard for doing this again, and I'm hoping it's a tradition that goes on for years to come. 

I love Christmas cookies.  And I love to have a bunch of different types, but who has the time (or caloric budget) to make lots of different cookies?  Not this girl.  Actually, Patrick's mom makes an amazing spread of cookies every year (they're delicious!!) but I lack the additional freezer space, and I have a cute little 17 month old getting in my way of massive cookie production.  That's where the cookie exchange comes in.  You bring one type of cookie to share, and come home with many types.  I love that you end up with cookies you've never had, or don't have the gear for (hello, krumkake!), and you have a reasonable amount of a variety of cookies.

This year my mom and I are inviting a few more people so we're thinking we'll have everyone exchange half-dozens.  But before that can happen, I've got lots to do.  First off, is designing an invitation.  I feel a trip to Pinterest in my future...  So I'm off.  Here's hoping there are many happy cookie dreams and party plans in your future, too!

Claire's First Haircut

Yesterday, I had to bite the bullet and cut Claire's hair.  I've been avoiding this, because I love the look of my baby's hair.  And baby hair is never the same once it has been cut.  But my child refuses to keep ponytails or clips in her hair, and she was beginning to look like a ragamuffin kid on a daily basis.  So something had to give.

I am not a trained professional, let's just make that clear.  But I successfully trim my own bangs from time to time, so I figured I could handle this.  And since she really only needed her bangs cut, I didn't see the point of going to a hair salon, even the ones just for kids.  So I just did it.  Here's a quick photo review of the occasion. (Note:  I did this on the spur of the moment while Patrick was at work.  So I was alone wrangling the kid, cutting the hair, and trying to take pictures.  So don't judge, lol.)

Before
This is why Claire needed a haircut.  Despite my best efforts, Claire was looking like this daily.  My daughter is too cute not to see her beautiful eyes.

The Bait
Let's be honest.  My kid does not sit still for anything, so coming at her with scissors meant she needed a distraction.  Yes, I realized after the fact that it looks like she's the newest member of the rat pack, cigar and all, but it's a pumpernickel pretzel stick, and it worked like a charm!

During
It gets better, I promise. Can't you just see how much she loved this?

The Evidence
Ends up I didn't need to take off much to see those pretty peepers again.

After
And here is what my beautiful little girl looks like now.  Aren't her eyes gorgeous?  Totally worth it!

The verdict
She seemed pretty happy with the results, too!