Happy December!

Last night Jordan was watching a show called "Savage Kingdom" or something on NatGeo (he's super cool), and there was a mama leopard who left her two cubs behind in some crevice to hunt far away for a long period of time. "Wait, how is she going to keep them there? Aren't they going to leave?" I asked Jordan incredulously. I was imagining the other day when I left Sydney in the living room to get laundry, a mere 30-35 feet away, for maybe five minutes and came back to her completely missing and the living room completely destroyed. He deadpanned, "No, because they listen---unlike our child."

So that's how our week has been going, lol. (To be fair to Sydney, one of the cubs did wander off---and promptly got picked up by a lion. So, leopard cubs maybe don't have the best listening ears either.) Something about coming off a long and fun weekend with Dad home made Sydney bonkers---and when I say bonkers I mean defiant with going to the bathroom, which of course led to several accidents. Being that she's been potty trained for several months now was like giving Jordan and me a big F YOU. Fun.

Thankfully we're back on schedule--with life and bathroom breaks--and it's time to focus on the holiday season! As much as I love fall, December is truly my jam. December makes me think of coziness, snow, hot cocoa, Christmas trees, freshly baked cookies, holiday music and happiness. It's safe to say Christmas, as with every holiday, is made exponentially better with your kiddos. Seeing their eyes light up with every new tradition learned, every new twinkle of light, every new Christmas carol sung makes your heart feel like it's going to constantly burst. And the unwrapping of presents---of course!

This year, though, we're going to do things a little differently with Sydney. She'll still get presents of course, but Jordan and I made a promise to not overly do it like we had the last couple of years. The truth of the matter is Sydney already has everything she needs and wants for nothing (except snacks---she'll always and gladly take snacks), so I'm imagining what Christmas will look like when she's 10 if we keep it up; she'll probably bound down the stairs and expect a rocket ship under the tree. Besides, I don't want Sydney to think Christmas is all about presents because with as many toy commercials and ads and catalogs everywhere you look, it's hard for them not to think that way. (Plus with how cute and cool toys are these days?? I mean, half the time I have to ask myself if I'm buying this for Sydney---orrrrr for myself, ha.) So, we told Sydney we're going to go through her old toys and books and donate most of them to shelters, children's homes, pediatric wings of hospitals, doctors' offices, etc. In addition, for every toy she wants/we purchase for her, we are going to donate new toys and supplies to various local charities in need, such as the Denver Children's Advocacy Center, with Sydney helping picking things out and dropping donations off. My hope and prayer is Sydney will understand how truly lucky she is for the things she has in her life, material and immaterial, and we will instill in her a giving, thankful heart.

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And on a lighter note and in the spirit of giving, I am hosting a 12 Days of Giveaways this December! Through the years I've come to truly love so many shops and brands, and I've teamed up with 12 (yes, twelve!!) of the most amazing companies for 12 awesome giveaways (seriously---it's well over $1000 worth of giveaways, and there may or may not be a h u g e bonus giveaway at the end)! I'll be featuring a brand about every other day starting TOMORROW up until Christmas via Instagram and my blog, so stick around---I promise it'll be worth it! ;-)

xoxo!
Sarah