Almost December...

I can hardly believe it. Where did November go? Where did this year go? It all seems to whiz by when you have a little one you are trying to grow and mold. I'm not complaining, though. I love this time of year, so I am glad we are right in the thick of it. I also love the age that Finnley currently is, and the older she gets...the more fun I have with her. She is a bright, wild and shy, silly, and funky little sprite. She even provides entertainment when she isn't trying (seriously, if you are against swearing, please do not ask my child to say "truck" or "chocolate". just take my word for that. now, if you like unintentional and well-meant toddler swearing, then ask away.) My kid is simply an awesome kid, mild speech idiosyncrasies or not. I'll take that all day long.

Thanksgiving was a grand family time. Every holiday seems to provide moments that keep on giving for years to come, and in that department this holiday did not disappoint. The big winner? The turkey wasn't cooked this year. Seriously. It still bled when you cut into it. And, "someone" forgot to remove the giblet bag (although that someone claims that they looked for it "everywhere" but just couldn't find it. believe whatever you want.) So, there you have it. Blame the roaster oven for the undercooking part (not my sister, please). The roaster oven didn't do its job according to said directions and plans. Regardless, though, since you can't or shouldn't eat raw turkey...we (with gusto) moved on to plan B. The turkey was carved per the usual, and then, plate by plate, the entire turkey was microwaved. Ta-da! For some reason, that whole scenario just screams "holidays" to me. Where would we be without a comedy of errors and then the following levity to make it all better? Everything else went off without a hitch (well, except for the burnt biscuits...and we CAN blame my sister for that. they taste the same with the bottoms cut off anyway, right? so, no harm / no foul). In the end, the young cousins got to play and bond. We all got time together. All was happy, and all was good. Even the plane rides by myself to and fro with a 2 year old went exceedingly well. We are turning into travel pros, Finnley and I. So, there ya have it...Thanksgiving in a nut shell!

Now we are back home and preparing for the next season. Bit by bit we are turning our charming little home into an even more charming holiday display of peace, love, and joy. With each decoration that gets put upon a shelf or with every light that gets plugged in, my inner Christmas spirit grows. I need to enjoy this time in our cozy element, because soon enough we will be back on a plane and headed to Florida for a new holiday experience: Christmas, Tampa Ritter Style. I cannot wait to see what it entails, but I already know that more fun, naughtiness (shhh...don't tell Santa), bonding, laughter, and swanky-hoopla is to be unraveled. I certainly am all for traditions, but breaking them and embracing new ones can sometimes be just as fulfilling and just as much fun. Life would be pretty stale and dull if we didn't break from monotony and openly take on new experiences, right? I, for one, will excitedly take it all on. So bring it, Florida...bring it!

In between the all the merriment and family time, we have been our usual adventuresome selves. We have played with friends, gone new places, enjoyed an Indian summer (twice over), and just continued to take advantage of our surroundings. There has been walking, and tossing, and running, and painting, and giggling, and eating, and just an overall abundance of all around good times. Life as it should be...according to me, anyway.

So, before I go off to stuff Christmas cards into envelopes and then address them to be cheerily mailed away, I will leave you with a photo montage of our past few weeks. Take it all in, and breathe in a bit of our candy-sweet world. Try hard enough, and you might even believe that you were here in the moment with us. Or something like that...