Cocoa, cookies and candy

I hate to say it, but winter does have a few redeeming qualities. For one, hot cocoa tastes so much better on a cold wintery day than in 90 degree weather. A few days ago, Ava and I made hot cocoa and sat by the fireplace, sipping away. It was wonderful. Of course Luke had to get in on the action, and then took over my cup. But it was still a great time.

Another thing I enjoy about winter are the Christmas traditions we have started the past few years with the kids. Probably the favorite is making Christmas cookies (something I grew up doing) and then having an evening of cooking decorating. We also make caramels, toffee, and cookie dough truffles (Andy's pride and joy) and then we make plates of goodies and deliver them to our neighbors. Yesterday morning we started the cookie making. Luke was especially fascinated with the rolling pin. He actually did a decent job rolling, despite not having a lot of weight to put into it.

He also enjoyed licking flour off the table. Yuck! He was pretty much covered in flour by the end of the process and I actually had to change all of his clothes.

Ava loves cutting out the cookies. And of course Luke likes to help. Which she is not particularly fond of. Did I mention how much Luke loved the rolling pin?
Another reason for the flour covering his body. The annual cookie decorating night is tomorrow night. More pictures to follow...