I’m sitting in our chilly Shanghai apartment, but my heart is warm as I look through photos from the past few weeks and reflect on our wonderful Christmas holiday. We had a fabulous time at home in Oregon with our families and friends! We kept on our toes, as nearly every day was jam-packed with activities, but we relished every moment.
On the 22nd, I spent the afternoon at NW 23rd with my Aunt Joanie and cousin, Lizzie. We started off at Papa Haydn’s and enjoyed a scrumptious lunch and mouth-watering desserts (almond pear cake and salted caramel dark chocolate torte- yum, yum, yum!) before meandering through some shops. That evening we returned to my mom’s house, where we were joined by my mom, the rest of the McD clan, and our niece, Morgan, for a night of cookie baking and fun! We had gifted Isaac’s sister, Rachel, a night out last summer for her birthday, so we kept Morgan for the night, and she was the hit of the party! Morgan just turned 2 and is beginning to talk up a storm. She loves pointing at people and reciting their names, and she refers to herself as “Momos.” It is too darling for words!
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Momos is a very social little girl, and it didn’t take long for her to feel comfortable and take her place as the star of the evening!
As we baked, we sang Christmas carols and some of Morgan’s favorite songs…
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Nosies! Sharing an Eskimo kiss with Momos… she thought it was pretty funny!.jpg "mcdcookieblog15")
We enjoyed my Grandma Lois’ hamburger soup for dinner. Morgan was a big fan!.jpg "mcdcookieblog16")
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After dinner we put on Christmas music and had a little dance party in the hall…
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and in the kitchen…
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Bella got a haircut!
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My mom’s fire alarm is hyper-sensitive, so every time the oven opened and a little heat escaped, it started blaring. Here, Momos and Isaac are fanning the alarm..jpg "mcdcookieblog26")
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Time for a little more dancing….jpg "mcdcookieblog29")
Sampling some Trader Jo’s Peppermint Jojo’s ice cream… YUM!.jpg "mcdcookieblog30")
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Carrying a purse like a big girl…
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Playing peek-a-boo….jpg "mcdcookieblog33")
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The McD boys moving the extra refrigerator from the garage to the laundry room… it required removing the door from the refrigerator and from the house, but they were victorious!
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Momos is quite the little stylist….jpg "mcdcookieblog39")
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The next morning Bella joined Momos at the table for breakfast….jpg "mcdcookieblog42")
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Morgan pretending to take a picture of Bella, while Bella takes the opportunity to try and snag a few crackers….jpg "mcdcookieblog44")
