Baby's First Christmas and new family traditions

My sister and I absolutely love Christmas.

We listen to Christmas music as soon as it is on the radio. We watch Christmas movies whenever possible…thank you ABC Family. Our Christmas trees are up the week of Thanksgiving…typically not any earlier because our husbands won’t let us. Christmas has always been a special time in our family. My mom and dad always did their best to make sure we had a wonderful Christmas. (It really wasn’t all about the presents!

My parents were great about keeping Christmas special. We had our own traditions/things we would do that made the holidays particularly special.

Here are a few of my ideas:

Tradition #1: A tradition that my mom started when we were born--she would purchase a Christmas ornament for us each year. Many times we would pick out the one that we wanted. Then, we would write the year on them in permanent marker. It is funny to see the phases that I went through, teddy bears, angels, and then my most recent favorite—anything that was MSU (Michigan State University) related. It was nice to have those ornaments because when I went off to college and then got married, I had a nice box of ornaments for my own tree.

I did purchase a Christmas ornament for Kedzie this year. Even though she is only nine weeks old, I wanted to keep that tradition for her, too. It’s a cute little elephant with an umbrella that reads, “Baby’s First Christmas.”

Tradition #2: The city of Austin also has a fantastic light display (with millions of Christmas lights) called the Trail of Lights. It is at Zilker Park and it is worth tackling the crowds. I, my sister, my parents and Kedzie all attended this year. We started the evening eating dinner at Uncle Billy’s, parked our car in their parking garage, and then headed on to the Trail of Lights. We decided this is a tradition that must continue next year. It was so much fun!

Tradition #3: Another tradition that I just (seriously 10 minutes ago) decided I must start is Christmas pajamas. First thing tomorrow morning I am heading out to buy Kedzie a pair of Christmas pjs. Then, Christmas morning she will be able to open presents in her new jammies. Obviously, she is way too little this year, but it should make for some cute pictures.

I am looking forward to spending this Christmas with my new little family and keeping these traditions for years to come. Having a baby this year has changed everything. Truly, Kedzie is the best Christmas gift I could ever ask for. Whenever she smiles her huge gummy smile, my heart absolutely melts.

I am determined to get a picture of that beautiful smile over this holiday break.

Kedzie in her Christmas Dress. It's a little big. But, I sure love that precious face!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!