Christmas with Nick and Chrissie

     Saturday Chrissie and I made plans to have our second annual baking day.  We like to make some signature staples such as chocolate chip and sugar cookies, white trash party/Chex mix, chocolate covered pretzels and chocolate covered peanut butter Ritz crackers.  By no means am I a baker.  For those of you who know me I can barely function in the kitchen.  Thanks to a little guidance from my neighbor Amanda (SHE is a baker!), Chrissie and my mom's fabulous sugar cookie recipe I can at least feel helpful during this day. :)  
     As we began to discuss preparations for this day Chrissie said she was going to go ahead and give Cammie her present.  This put the pressure on!  I started racking my brain trying to think of something to get Baby Lawrence for Christmas not knowing the gender (they were finding out the following Monday).  Gifts are a big thing for me...not necessarily receiving them, but giving them.  In an IUS Master's Class, Coach South discussed love languages...I definitely think my love language towards others are gifts.  I really, really try to listen and/or put considerable thought into gifts that I give, ESPECIALLY to those people who are so near and dear to my heart.  I knew this would probably be the one and only chance I had to impress Chrissie with a gift for Baby L.  If you have spent any time with her you would know Baby L. already has a pretty sweet tricycle, talking horse to ride on, crib to sleep in...you name it they have or will have it.  The Lawrences' are so fortunate to have two sets of parents who have waited a very long time for a grandchild.  That sweet baby is so spoiled and loved already! :)  Anyways...I digress...I thought and thought, thought and thought and finally had an idea (It's REALLY hard to buy a baby gift when you don't know the gender btw!).   I decided to gather all of Cammie's favorite things (not specific to gender) during the first year of her life and pass those along to Baby L.  We searched and found things like Cammie's favorite Sandra Boynton bath books, touch-and-feel puppy book, Mickey Mouse CD for the car (we would have never survived without that :) and of course a brown blanket identical to the blanket she keeps so close to her nose. :)  I never would have known the power of those items when I originally received them, but know I couldn't have lived without them in this last year.  I wanted Chrissie to know how much she means to Cammie and I.  I feel like I am not always the best listener, am often self-centered, sometimes a big complainer, but ALWAYS appreciative of that girl!  I'm not sure I ever let her know how much I truly love her..... definitely would not be where I am today without her. (Not sure how I even got off on this....hello teacher/mom ADD kicking in I guess :)
     Chrissie and Nick made Camryn's Christmas as they presented her not only with Rock-Star Mickey, but also her first Nativity set and M & M's (which she cared THE MOST about :).  I can't tell you how many times Mickey has slid across our kitchen floor and done the splits since Saturday.  She is in LOVE with it and her Aunt C and Uncle Nick too....thank you for always being so wonderful to her! :)

Holdin' on tight to that Mickey...Aunt C has definitely had quite the influence on Cammie's love for Mick! :)