It's here.

Christmastime.

The season my heart does a little happy dance for. The one that we wait for all year with anticipation and plans and dreams of making this year the best Christmas of all. It is here and we are in the full fa-la-la-la-la swing of things.

Because I am a Christmas girl. And on top of that, I'm a tradition girl...and these two things go together quite nicely.
I'm not exactly sure when it happened, my intense love for everything about this time of year...but I feel certain it must be because my childhood memories are held so dear to me. It was always perfect. And not because life was always perfect, because it certainly wasn't. It was just perfect in a way that can only be explained by saying, "It's Christmas!" I don't know if my parents and relatives consciously knew they were creating for us these treasured traditions and memories, but whether they knew or not, they were created.

I love this quote from Anna Quindlen, author of "The Short Guide to A Happy Life" (if you haven't read this little gem, get your hands on it asap)

"Christmas is the mainstay of my year, because tradition is the mainstay of my life.
It keeps me whole."

I have an entirely new sense of excitement this year with it being Charlotte's first Christmas. Because although she may not realize it's her first...

We know it is.

Let the fun begin!