A Baketastic holiday

 Would you LOOK AT THESE BEAUTIES?

I took this picture because someday when I am making a tray of perfect snowflakes for Ben and me to eat by ourselves, I will remember these gorgeous cookies and miss them so much. This year? I am just grateful to not be tempted.

This is Dorothy's decorating area, just to give you a better idea of her process:

The store subbed my usual Wilton poison food coloring for organic., so red was mauve. Which was perfect for all the butterflies and tulips Dorothy made.

YUM. (But seriously, this dough is always perfect, and my frosting came out extra sweet and buttery because I couldn't get the proportions right and just kept adding more of each. Which was good because Harry is not the kind of decorator who likes to feel deprived of frosting.

Beatrix was a huge help with drips.

SO CAREFUL.

She also made the letter D a bunch.

Jack was like a Keebler factory-- he decorated SO MANY COOKIES.

This was the first year that everyone was basically competent and didn't need hands-on help.

Also! Third rack! Perfect for cookie cutters.

Minnie was also super helpful by taking a decorating nap and then another that allowed me to finish wrapping. I really thought I only had a few left.  I HAD 15.

Mog hair. 

Jack is an amazing big brother, BTW.

All sugared up:

They were so sweet and careful rolling their cookies.

And even though he is a total cookie elf, Jack was always happy to hold the baby

The traditional Christmas dinosaur

The baby was also happy to be basically anywhere.

Right before their first roll

I took this pic on my walk the other day after Dorothy used leftover gingerbread house candy to make a scary snowman face.

Harry and Jack's house! With a boarded-up front door. I LOVE IT.

Cooper, doing his part to keep a well-decorated roof from collapsing.

Harry and Jack, mid-build:

Dorothy and I also had roof problems. We ended up using a couple of strategically placed butter pretzel sticks

YOU CAN BARELY TELL

Minnie was sort of there?

Team orange!

Such concentration!

SHE ATE SO MUCH CANDY

Tiny little frosting malfunction

Before the madness:

Part of the construction probs were my fault. I should have doubled the dough, but instead, I just used every single last scrap to make 3 houses.

The finished products:

In addition to cookies and gingerbread houses, we also made a plain old ginger army. Toofy approved.

Again, Minnie came through with a clutch nap when we needed it most:

Ben's ugly sweater Hanukkah gift:

Seriously, these kids are becoming expert cookie makers. (Because I am constantly making cookies because I can't eat chocolate, and my sweet tooth is out of controoooool)

I have started waking up 45 minutes before the big kids to write or read or catch up on work again, and it is so wonderful. I need to remember how much I need this time even if I am exhausted. But! It's hard to remember that WHEN I AM EXHAUSTED.

Seriously, the no sleep thing! At age 42! Is not awesome. Minnie is in the throes of the 4-month sleep regression, but her day sleep is evening out and really improving, which, in terms of the day-to-day is so so so helpful. And she goes right to sleep at night-- she just wakes at the end of every sleep cycle and needs a little help falling back to sleep. So far, I am also able to go right back to sleep, so that's OK. The problem is, since I am a very old lady, I cannot sleep in at all. So, around 5 when she wakes up, I am pretty much ready to wake for the day. BUT THAT'S NOT ENOUGH SLEEP. So she embarks on her deepest sleep ever from like 5-7 am, and I sort of lay there fretting until about 6:15 when the coffee is ready. So that's my fault, not hers.

She's still the most wonderful thing about 2020-- and about all of the years since 2013, really, and I can't even believe how lucky we are.