Life has been full of many good things these days. I just love the Christmas season and I especially LOVE the warm winter weather that we have been having. It usually stays around -3 to -6, not like our usual winter temperatures in Manitoba, which can go down to -30 or -40! Needless to say, the weather for walking has been perfect, it is just too bad we have so little snow and not enough for sledding yet.

We have been getting Serafina used to wearing her winter clothes by taking her outside in the yard every evening. She still doesn’t like to wear a hat, or mitts, but she does wear her boots and jacket now. Still, she cannot come on walks with us because she will want to take her boots off at some point, so we have to time it out when someone can watch her. I take turns going for walks with both Autumn and Kesa and sometimes Craig and I can get out together too. I need my fresh air and sunshine! I really wish Serafina would keep her stuff on so she can get her fresh air and sunshine too!

Whenever I sit at the computer to do a blog Serafina comes and sits on my lap to see what I am up to and take the opportunity to get some extra hugs and cuddles from me. Sometimes we put on some youtube videos of musicians. She loves to watch musicians perform live, especially Glen Hansard or Jason Mraz, who she has watched and listened to since she was a baby.

We spent Thursday last week baking and decorating cookies. We made shortbread and then Autumn and I had a cookie decorating competition in the evening for fun. We put a big book up on the table so we couldn’t see each others cookies and then Kesa was the judge. We came up with some pretty crazy cookies! Christmas time is a time I don’t mind the insanely colorful icing and sprinkles. They are a treat and our cookie baking and decorating make sweet memories.

We had my family Christmas at our house on Saturday. It was nice to get together and enjoy good food and company. The girls still have a countdown going on until Christmas eve and Christmas day.

The other night, Kesa was singing Christmas carols loud and clear on our evening walk. She was singing “Joy to The World”, “Mary’s Boy Child”, and “Jingle Bells”. It was so cute and really melted my heart. Sometimes I pull my phone out of my pocket to record her. I’m not a huge fan of media and technological gadgets, or spending a lot of time on them, but I do like to be able to take pictures and record special moments such as this one when they do occur.

Kesa is still learning her letters in a pictorial way. With each letter she learns once a week, we read a story to go along with the letter and then draw a picture with the letter in it, representing its sound. She then also practices writing the letter. Last week the letter was P for princess, so we read both Cinderella and Rapunzel from Grimm’s fairy tales. Her picture was of a princess, Penelope and her pet penguin, Piper. Lately Kesa is obsessed with her plush penguins and they come every where we go, so she had to add a penguin in her picture.

Kesa also really wanted her hair cut, so I cut it just below the shoulder. I think the style looks quite cute on her and she loves to have less tangles.

Autumn is still crazy on the Rainbow Loom and also got a crochet kit for Christmas. She made a giant Pikachu on the loom for her cousin who loves Pokemon as a part of his Christmas gift. She also loves Perler Beads and made daddy a Perler Bead guitar for his birthday present.

The last image is of my latest soup recipe, Cabbage Roll Soup. I love the flavors in cabbage rolls, but making a soup with those ingredients and flavors is so much easier than taking the time to actually make cabbage rolls. It is my new favorite soup. We made that this week with Whole Wheat Herb and Cheese Garlic Bread Knots. It was one delicious meal! 🙂 I plan on sharing that recipe soon as well.

I hope that you are enjoying your winter so far as well! I know it is not technically winter, but the season is upon us and it is lovely!