SO. MANY. SPRINKLES.

Peyton got her first taste of Christmas cookie decorating/baking over Thanksgiving weekend.  We met Grandma and Grandpa Richardson at the cabin on our way home from New Mexico, allowing Peyton a much needed respite from the treacherous car ride.  G&G Richardson made the pit stop worth our while...with a special Christmas cookie session.

Peyton usually tackles any task with gusto.  When someone explains how to do something to her, she listens intently, and immediately takes over, performing the task to perfection over and over again.  Some might say she is a little OCD in this way.  I say she is just dedicated.  Her determination and concentration were in full effect during cookie making.  Peyton took her duties very seriously, and was determined to cover every single inch of cookie dough with sprinkles.  She watched with great concern as the cookies went "bye bye" in the oven and waited patiently for them to bake.  And once her masterpieces were done, she mastered the art of dunking her cookies in milk.

Okay Grandma, enough with the arranging on the tray.  Let's get to decorating!

There is no such thing as too many sprinkles.

A few for the cookies, a few for Peyton.

Grandpa, you missed a spot.

CHEESE!

Candy cane striped PJ's, check. Crystal bracelet for the perfect accessory, check.  Millions of sprinkles, check!

Those sprinkles are baking perfectly!

Dunk dunk dunk!

Delish!

Okay, now someone wash my hands.  I don't like being dirty.

Peyton probably would have made about 20 dozen more cookies if given the chance.  And every time she sees a cookie or a cookie sheet she yells "SPRINKLES!!"  But even though this will likely go down as one of Peyton's favorite Christmas pastimes, I'm pretty sure Grandma and Grandpa had just as much, if not more, fun.

Albuquerque Turkey

Martin and I have been married for nearly 8 years, and have known each other for almost 14.  In all that time, I have never spent a Thanksgiving in Albuquerque.  While living in DC we made it a tradition to go to NYC for the long weekend.  But now that we are back in the southwest, the six hour drive to New Mexico is much more palatable.

We loaded up the car, downloaded a zillion hours of Mickey Mouse to the iPad, and headed northeast.  We broke up the drive with a quick overnight stay at Cabin Richardson in Show Low, and made the final stretch into the Land of Enchantment on Thanksgiving morning.

Peyton Bear did okay in the car - tolerating the long drive and enduring my horrible singing.  But she was definitely ready to PLAY when she arrived at Grandma and Grandpa Hellmer's house.  Grandma Hellmer was prepared with all of Martin's childhood toys laid out for her.  The 1975 version of "Little People," a play barn, and a mailbox provided her hours of entertainment, and proved toys don't have an expiration date.

Getting her first lesson in the term "vintage."

Snacks and coloring - what more could a girl want?

Crazy piggies and the most adorable smile...

G&G Hellmer also had an extra set of hands for all of the prep work for dinner.  Miss Peyton insisted on making the mashed potatoes and helped stir everything - even if it didn't require stirring.  Dinner was great, Peyton loved her "Albuquerque Turkey" and we enjoyed spending some quality time in the 505.

Move over Julia Child...

I do NOT like any lumps in my mashed potatoes!

Move over Grams, let me show you how it's done.

The best part of cooking - TASTING!

Yum Yum!

I repeat, yum yum! 

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Hellmer!!

Lots of Catching Up To Do...

I've been a horrible blogger lately.  That's because we've been so incredibly busy enjoying our time with Peyton, that I haven't had a spare second to write it all down.  And, our camera cord broke and I wasn't able to download pictures from the camera to the computer until I spent an hour at the Apple store only to find out a cord isn't necessary.  I digress.  The good news is I'm back in business.  And, I have plenty of monumental events to catch up on in the coming days.  Here's a preview of what's to come:

Thanksgiving in the 'Burque...

Cookie making fun with Grandma and Grandpa...

Christmas and all the joy that comes with being two that time of year...

The perks of living in the southwest in the winter...

 New Year's at the cabin...

 And of course, Peyton Bear's second birthday (complete with a visit from her bestie Amber)...