We are already halfway through January, which feels impossible. I always spend so much time in anticipation for the holidays – from seeing family, to getting the house ready and planning fun activities – and it always seems to fly by!

We had a really great December. As I mentioned, Chloe was very excited for all things Christmas this year. I gave her a Grinch-themed advent calendar this year and “do my calendar!” was a constant request all month. It was tough to break the news to her that advent calendars end on Christmas!

I was excited for Chloe to visit Santa this year. She did so awesome last year and, given her general enthusiasm around Christmas this year, we went to the mall with full confidence that we would get another great Santa visit for 2023…

Well, it started out OK. She got in line and was super eager to go up to Santa. Once it was her turn, I walked up with her and she stood next to him and started to tell him what she wanted for Christmas. Everything was going smoothly up until I tried to walk away so that she could take her photo. She insisted I stay with her, but momma was not photo-ready. We took a couple of photos and then I tried walking away again. She was NOT having it. Finally, the photographer told me to just walk away, let her freak out, and then we would have a funny photo to look back on. So…I did just that.

Honestly, it’s perfect.

We also made plans to check out the Christmas lights at the Bronx Zoo with our friends Alice & Sam, their little girl, Bryn, and Sam’s parents who were visiting from England. We learned that 2 is a tough age for this activity because the best time for the girls is around 4, and the animals are put up by then, but it’s not quite dark enough to enjoy the lights. However, they are 2 and didn’t care and were happy to run around for a bit. There were also randomly wild peacocks all over the place and Chloe got a kick out of trying to catch them.

We followed the zoo with a big Italian dinner in Little Italy, which was fun. Pasta is always a fairly safe bet for a toddler. And for backup, we had Ms. Rachel on our iPhones.

The restaurant also had some local carolers come in and since Christmas songs. Given Chloe’s affinity for live music AND Christmas songs, this was a big hit.

Our last holiday-themed outing was a little train show. There was another opportunity to see Santa here, but Chloe would only take a picture if I was with her. Once again, not camera ready, but we did the best we could!

We went into the train show with fairly low expectations, but it as actually pretty neat! Chloe definitely enjoyed it, and at the end of the day, if she is entertained, it’s a win!

Christmas day itself was really nice. Chloe got some great presents from Santa, as well as aunts and uncles who always properly spoil her. One of her favorite gifts was her ice cream shop toy from Aunt Karen. Much like her mommy and daddy, Chloe loves ice cream, so this was right up her alley!

After Christmas, Rob and I escaped for a little couple’s trip to Mexico – our last one before baby girl Cannata #2 comes in April. Granny and PopPop stayed at home with Chloe and took care of her while we were gone. Unfortunately, they weren’t feeling well, but Chloe loves them so much and is just happy to have them around. She was very excited for us to come home, but continued to ask for Granny and PopPop daily for a few days after they left. I do wish we lived closer, but I feel so lucky that we get to visit with them as much as we do and that the Portal allows Chloe to see them almost daily. It shortens the distance a bit, which I’m so grateful for.

The start to 2024 has been a slow one, mostly due to illness. I got sick at the end of our trip and then Rob got sick once we were back. Chloe has miraculously been healthy this entire time – thank God!

However, I think I prefer the slower start. It’s actually a bit crazy to think about coming out of the hectic holiday season only to start setting goals and hitting the ground running. I’ve never been one for resolutions, but still, there seems to be a pressure to kick things off when, the reality is, the world is still hibernating and we should be, too!

I think spring should be the time when things ramp up. Winter is the time to rest, recuperate and just generally take it easy. I feel this even more acutely with a baby coming in the spring!

So, we’ve been easing into the new year around here. We had our first snow and took Chloe sledding. She lasted about 20 minutes and then was over it, haha. But we did manage to snap a photo!