The real reason for the season...

While I AM feeling much more rested and more like myself these days (thanks to Cooper's new sleep/eat routine), I am having trouble with all this holiday bruhaha. SO MUCH TO DO and everything is ten times more time consuming and difficult with a 9 week old in tow. I have been having trouble the last few years anyway with what I call the Christmas Crazies. Everybody just goes nuts this time of year. The gross display of materialism with the packed stores, the internet slow with all the online shopping, and the TRAFFIC! I want to do all the Christmas stuff for Cooper's sake, but really this is not the year. Next year he will know more what is going on and it will be FUN! I made a choice this year...I opted to spend time with my little baby over spending hours upon hours decorating, shopping, and baking. Yes, I decorated a tree (a borrowed artificial one), and yes, I will shop at some point (but NOT like I did last year). And most likely I won't be able to stand it and will throw together some cookies and a pie or two. It isn't Christmas to me if I don't at least bake something. I have cut major corners this year, so I could actually play and interact with Cooper...just meeting his basic needs (feeding, changing, putting to sleep) isn't enough for me or for him. Seeing him smile because I said or did something amusing to him is all the Christmas I need.