When I imagined being a parent the images that came to mind were beautiful moments with a perfect newborn and sharing family outings with a bubbling toddler.
I mourned the passing of the newborn phase but I'm so glad to have entered the stage of toddler fun.
Ellie is really starting to absorb her environment and remember events. She is still talking about the 'tree farm' outing when we ate candy canes and drank cider.
Yesterday, we decided we should experience some Christmas cheer and headed out to the Bellevue Botanical Gardens light display.
Millions of LED lights are molded into shapes just like the flowers in the garden. Ellie especially liked the frog and butterflies, though.
This season we have learned that there are a few key points to making a family outing successful.
They are as follows:
1) Leave the stroller in the car. The minute she is securely tucked into her cocoon of warmth she will insist on walking 'like a big girl'.
2) Expect your arms to get tired. As mentioned above, the stroller is a bulky inconvenience but the 'big girl' mentality only lasts about 10 minutes before a chirpy chorus of "Daddy hold" ensues.
3) BRING SNACKS!! Snacks are the savior to any toddler tantrum, especially when surrounded by crowds of people eager to get to their destination. Throw a granola bar in her general direction and she's happy as a clam!
4) Never compare a family outing to a date. They are not anywhere near the same experience. There will be no time to talk or casually admire your surroundings. Keeping track of the kiddo is the number one goal.
5) Enjoy it! It will probably only last about 30 minutes . . . until the snacks run out, your arms are burning, you can't find where you left the stroller and can't remember if you actually saw any Christmas lights.
6) Cherish it! Seeing Ellie look awed (however, briefly) at the lights and ask "Where'd Santa go?" for the hundredth time and then remember the experience enough to talk about it tomorrow, is
. . . pretty darn great!
A day spent in the Seattle. We ordered up beautiful weather in order to convince them to move west!
Beautiful sunset, beautiful sister-in-law
Ellie absolutely adored her Auntie Nata and Uncle D!
Ellie loved Christmas. She been asking "Where'd Santa go?" every day since.
She looked adorable in her fluffy dress
Ellie surrounded by one or two presents 
Hope you had a wonderful holiday as well!
