Ketchup, or is it Catsup...

However you spell it, I'm playing catchup. So much has wanted that I've wanted to note, but I just haven't. I think I'll try to do a few of these in the next couple days, so bear with me. December is a busy time. Here's what the beginning of ours was like.

At the very beginning of December, we made a pretty sweet gingerbread house and tree. It was SO fun. Sally was completely in love with the activity. The day we did it, she kept saying, "I can't wait, I can't wait!" A couple years ago, Bill and I decorated one. I have to say, that one was prettier, but this was more fun. Sally loved everything about doing this. We'll have to do it every year.

Here's a video of the project

The finished product

The next day, Sally Rose was talking about the gingerbread house first thing in the morning. Over the next few days, I caught her gnawing off little bits. Very funny.

I already did a birthday post for Bill, but it wasn't complete. I planned a little surprise party for him. I was originally going to do it the night of his birthday, but people had conflicts, so we did it the following Friday. On his actual birthday, he knew something was up. He told me he was coming home early and asked several times if that was okay. I confessed that I had tried to do a party, but no one could come, so it was nixed. He came home there was a treasure hunt set up. We ate pizza (his request) and had happy cake as pictured below.

He didn't say this till the next day, but he was a little bummed that I couldn't get people to come to a party for him. It all played into the surprise beautifully. On Friday, the Griggs were able to keep Bill occupied for a while after work. When he came home, we had friends, decorations, and food. We ate a beef tenderloin roast with a mushroom sauce, roasted vegetables (which made an awesome soup the next day), blue cheese mashed yams, and a salad. I also made peppermint ice cream for dessert. After dinner we just hung out and played a little Bill trivia, which was fun. He truly was surprised and I think he enjoyed it.

I failed miserably at taking pictures at the party. Not one. This picture, however, was taking while preparations were being made. The poor darling fell asleep in there. What a sweetie.

The next major event, and the last for this post, was our anniversary celebration. We have been married for FIVE years! I am so happy to be married to this wonderful man. Five years and two kids later, and we still love each other tons. We've had some great times and I look forward to years and years to come. To celebrate, we went to medieval times and saw some rad jousting. It was a great time. We decided to take Sally and Alice (it was the beginning of our family) and I'm glad we did because Sally LOVED it. They really put on a good show.

I'll now end this long post with a picture of sweet Alice from the beginning of the month. I know it's only been a few weeks, but she's changed so much it seems. She's such a sweet, good baby. If you made it this far, thanks, and Bye!