Things I've Been Getting a Kick Out Of

• Yesterday while I was feeding Lucy a bottle, Minnie wasn't content to sit in my lap, but she was determined to sit in Lucy's lap. Every time I nudged her off of Lucy she just crept right back. I finally decided it wouldn't hurt Lucy to have a small dog curled up in her lap. All this snuggling gave me one big warm fuzzy!

• Often I call Lucy a "Silly Goose" when she's in a giggly or playful mood. When she is in a not-so-pleasant mood, I call her "Grumpy Pants". The other day, I heard Darin talking to an unhappy Lucy and he called her a "Grumpy Goose". I think this one will be a permanent expression in the Stevenson Family from here on out.

• I NEVER knew how much fun it would be to Christmas shop for my own child. I'm LOVING being Lucy's Santa Claus this year, even though she'll most likely enjoy the wrapping paper more than the actual gifts...

• Darin, Lucy and I are going to go out to eat tonight and then heading to our good friends' house for a "Christmas Cookie-Making Party". Can't wait for the fun to begin!

And there are a few things I'm not getting a kick out of right now...

• I am dismally behind on my Christmas shopping. Not too much time left but I've got high hopes to wrap up my shopping this upcoming week. (I've got a sitter coming Wednesday afternoon, so I'm planning my mission carefully!)

• I haven't put together any type of Christmas greeting to mail out to friends and family yet. This is also a goal for the upcoming week, but we'll see how realistic that is. Hopefully some kind of cute picture of Lucy with our Christmas wishes will get out before New Years! Not making any promises, though...

• I've become something of a hermit since winter arrived here in Iowa '08. I'm just not too motivated to drag Miss Lucy out in the bitter cold. This week I left the house on Monday and on Friday and that was it. It sure felt good to finally get out yesterday, but even that outing was short-lived.

All of that being said, the pleasures that this Christmas season is affording outweigh the minor troubles! I sure am looking forward to my first Christmas as a mommy and I look forward to forming traditions with Lucy and Darin to enjoy each December from here on out.

Merry Christmas!