you know what this means?

November 1st. 

Seriously, it might be my favorite day of the year. 

It is the day Starbucks introduces their red holiday cups to the world. 

We get to enjoy them and their meaning for exactly 60 days.

THUS...

...meaning it is now time for me to start decorating my home for Christmas. 

Really. The Christmas tree is coming out today. And I can't wait. 

It is so bad that I took the day off on Friday. From work. So I could spend the day with Emily completing Pinterest Christmas projects like maybe these:

{Via Pinterest}

This Christmas is especially important to me because it will be Cruz's first Christmas. 

Thinking about having a baby consumed my life about two years ago. It was all I could think about.

One of the things I obsessed about was traditions. 

As a mother and father of our own children, what would we establish as traditions that our kids would remember, cherish and tell their kids about?

I can't wait to:

 make holiday cookies  

Cut down our first fresh Christmas tree 

make Christmas cocoa

sing to Christmas music

go Christmas shopping

attend Christmas Eve service

bake a birthday cake for Jesus

Christmas morning

Stockings

ALL for the first time again because it is going to be with CRUZ!

Cheers to an amazing Holiday season. 

Starting today, November 1st.