Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Since arriving home after Thanksgiving, we have been very BUSY!! The week started with late nights and early mornings and ended with a weekend full of activities. Wednesday night we went out in search of Payton's first Christmas tree. Of course, it had to be the perfect tree. We quickly settled on a tall, slender tree.

It fits just perfectly in our living room. With the perfect tree in place and an over abundance of lights glowing we only had ornaments left...should be a breeze...right?!?! Well, six days later I think I have given up....I just can't seem to find the time to get all of my special ornaments out on the tree. I'm not sure if the lack of time is caused by work, Christmas parties, chasing Payton, feeding Payton, bathing Payton, or a nice combination of all of the above! Either way, it is definitely Christmas in the Webb household....just 50 ornaments short this year!!

Starting December 1st, we started using Payton's advent calender. A tradition I loved as a child, this will definitely be a yearly tradition for Payton.

As the weekend approached, we had a full schedule. Friday morning Payton and I met Lindsey and Ella and Charlotte and Lila for a Christmas baby play date. It was great to have some time with the moms and the babies. We're planning to start Gymboree in January. We can't wait!

Friday night we had a babysitter for Payton so that Chad and I could attend our neighborhood Christmas party. It was great to see some of our neighbors again and meet a few who we did not know before.

The real fun started Saturday morning. The family Christmas card. We just thought it was hard to get a dog to look at the camera! How about a dog and an 8 month old looking and smiling at the same time! Nearly impossible! Thankfully, we had an excellent photographer attempting to capture the perfect shot. We met Lindsey, Matt, Ella and Gracie to attempt to get a good shot for both families. We had a beautiful setting at a park in Mount Pleasant. We can't share the "perfect shot" with you now....you'll have to check your mail...but here are a few samples to show how much fun we all had!

All dressed up for the first Webb family Christmas card....and this wasn't a winner!!

Payton and Ella are discussing why in the world they got so dressed up to sit around on the wet grass. At least they had something to talk about!

Okay....look at the camera!

Mommy's two favorite boys!

Saturday continued with an exciting night. Chad's company Christmas party proved to be a great evening. We all took a dinner cruise around the Charleston Harbor. Payton had a babysitter again...two nights in a row...a very rare treat for Mommy and Daddy!

Payton is learning to love all his cute Christmas outfits...including the reindeer on the butt!
Sunday brought a whole new set of Christmas joys. At Church we were present for a children's Christmas play. For the entire skit, I imagined what part Payton would take in a few years. I quickly pictured him as the little boy who was dressed as a sheep, right up front, smiling, and singing at the top of his lungs. Payton loved watching all the little kids sing and move around.

As we sat down at Church Sunday morning, we realized we left Payton pacifier in the car. I made the decision to leave it and attempt to make it for the entire hour without the soothing device. The sermon ran over a little and we still made it! Victory! Payton wore his Christmas sweater and all the older ladies commented how cute he looked. One lady went so far to say that she has 3 great-grandchildren and she still thought Payton was cuter than any of them!

After lunch and a quick trip to Target, we headed to our clubhouse for "Cookies with Santa." Payton had his first encounter with "Ho Ho." While all the other little children seemed frightened and tearful, Payton just sat right down in his lap, looked toward the photographer and smiled! Santa's beard was a little crooked so we may search for a different Santa around town.

After a little more decorating, we finally ended our weekend with a lovely dinner with Andrew and Laura. We had not seen them since before our trip to Hawaii. It was great to catch up. Unfortunately, the weekend was coming to a close and the new week was about the start. We are looking forward to the remainder of the month. It is such a joy to see Payton's reactions to all of the holiday sights and sounds. We hope you can all enjoy the season as if you are seeing it all for the first time!

Just one final attempt at a Christmas card picture....looks great doesn't it?!?!