Baking Cookies

Last night my husband had a bunch of his friends over to play poker so I headed over to my daughter's house to watch Charlotte so she and her husband could go out to dinner like two normal adults. Since Christmas is over and I've had more sugar in my diet in the last few weeks than I had previously thought possible (note to friends, family and self: DO NOT EVER GIVE ME CHOCOLATE BARK FROM WILLIAMS SONOMA AGAIN because it is so full of sugar that I feel forced to eat it all so as not to inflict its wicked properties on my loved ones), Lottie and I decided to bake SUGAR cookies and decorate them with more SUGAR. Because, hey, we love sugar and are not quite ready to say ciao to the festive season.

Lottie was dressed for slaving over a hot stove. She had on her leotard, tights, ballet slippers and a whisp of a tutu. I was wearing my "I can't believe it's January in Los Angeles" outfit which consists of sandals, cotton v-neck top, linen pants and fleece vest. The vest is for when the moon rises and I suddenly smack my head in wonderment, remembering it really IS January in the Northern Hemisphere and even it it was 80 degrees earlier on, it will soon be 50.



This child can show some restraint when decorating which impresses me mightily because stick a can of frosting and squirty icing and jimmies in my hands and I just go crazy throwing them over everything and lose patience immediately with the whole venture. She, on the other hand, created cookies with rainbows and happy faces and trees and stars and flowers. And she concentrated...hard...for a full 45 minutes while I washed cookie baking trays and counter tops and exclaimed over her artistic ability.

Lottie wants to grow her hair and it took me a full ten minutes of watching her hair flop over her eyes before I thought...aha... a barette! No brush, no comb, just pull back and clip. Miss L didn't lose a beat and continued her task of decorating the sugar and butter with more sugar.

It was a good evening and helped us take our minds off the impending birth of her little sister. We're all distracted and excited and well, did I mention excited! We can't wait to meet this little one!

Disclaimer: Jane is really quite beautiful but feels all swollen and splotchy and ready to have a baby. While she isn't a fan of this pic, I think it's fab.