Christmas in Columbus

I originally began writing this post the week after Christmas but didn't have time to finish it then.  I know Christmas was awhile ago, and it's kind of late to be posting this, but it was a fun memory that I want to remember!

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The past few weeks have been insane! I feel like I didn't have time to breathe until the 26th of December.  Although I was insanely busy with school stuff until a week before Christmas, and then busy with Christmas preparations until the actual holiday, it was still one of the best Christmases of my life.  I just can't even describe how amazing it's been to celebrate Christmas with a new baby.  Everything has been so much sweeter. My heart breaks for those who are waiting for a baby during this time of year, because I know it hurts more than other times of the year.  But I have to say, for me it was worth the wait.  Having a baby during Christmas was even more amazing than I'd imagined.

We had a lot of fun during the holiday season.  One of the most fun things we did was spend a weekend in Columbus with my sister and brother-in-law.  We drove down on a Friday night, just beating a snowstorm there. 

We spent the weekend catching up in their cozy new place.  On Saturday, Julie and Andy baby-sat while Luke and I had a fun date day. We went out to lunch and then shopping at all the fun stores that we don't have near our house.  I went to Cabellas, Sephora, LUSH, Williams Sonoma, etc, etc.  But my favorite store of the day, by far, was Pottery Barn Kids! I browse PBK's website all the time, but have never actually been to one of their stores.  I walked inside and just wanted to buy all the things!  Dolls, dollhouses, vintage kitchen sets, shiny Christmas ornaments, little furniture, Christmas dishes...it was a girl mom's dream!  (and a boy mom's too, but I obviously spent more time in the girls' section).  

Later that night, we all went out to dinner at a place called Graffiti Burger.  It was delicious, and I will have to remember it next time I'm pregnant if I have a giant craving for burgers again like I did with Scarlett!.

It was gloomy and raining that night, but Luke and I really wanted to go to the Columbus Zoo to see their Christmas lights display.  We decided to go anyway, and I'm so glad we did!  It stopped raining right after we got there. Everything was so beautiful!  They had a big light show, a bunch of animal exhibits open, and a few million lights to look at as you walked through everything.  It was beautiful!  Scarlett was completely mesmerized!  I thought  maybe she'd be too young to care, but she loved it!  She kept fighting sleep because she didn't want to miss anything. It was just one of those nights that felt completely perfect.  It made me think about all the Christmas seasons we have ahead of us and all the joy that is in store.  I think I actually cried a few tears of happiness as we walked through the zoo as a family of 3! (I'm such a sap!)

Hopefully we can continue this tradition in the years to come!  And I definitely want to go back to the Columbus Zoo again this summer.  I highly recommend their Christmas Wildlights display to anyone in the area!