For those who haven’t already gathered, this will be my family’s first Christmas with our newest addition, my niece Paisley Bryn. Born on June 2, 2010, the now 6+ month old beauty has already participated in a longstanding family tradition: the creation (and almost imminent destruction) of the annual gingerbread house.
I realize this tradition is anything but unique, but, for kids who frequently relocated, establishing and continuing family traditions added an element of stability to our lives.
This year, while I wasn’t around for this photo shoot, my mom, sister and I were all able to collaboratively work on the construction and decoration of the lovely house you see below. Unfortunately, our brother didn’t get to participate, though the family agreed his participation would have yielded far more success in terms of soundness of construction (my poor mom struggled for hours to get the walls to stand). As we decorated the house, my sister and I laughed at just how little our personalities had changed over the years, me with my token “gunking” (what can I say, I have a heavy hand with decorating!), versus my sister with her obvious-artistic approach (she’s an artist, of course her work is more…refined. Ha!) For record keeping purposes, we decided my brother would have likely created some elaborate and painstaking masterpiece.
Halfway through the process, we realized that Paisley was napping, thereby missing the entire experience. We figured, though, that being it’s her first Christmas, chances of any recollection are slim to none. However, the pictures sure will last a lifetime.
My advice to any and all of you readers? Build and decorate a gingerbread house of your own, even if you never have in the past, or haven’t since childhood. It’s a nice reminder of memories that may have escaped you. Time plays tricks on us, but seeing the face of little ones like our Paisley should serve as a reminder not to forget moments that shaped us.
For good measure and to brag on our baby, I thought I’d include two more pictures of Little Miss, the first with her dog, Hayley, and the second with her favorite aunt Brittany.
Brittany In Public Relations 