Actress and writer Ellie Kemper is the Emmy-nominated star of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, but if anything could break someone, it's being the mother of a 3-year-old and an infant at the holidays.
Kemper, 39, acknowledges that adding baby Matthew, now 2 months, to her family with husband Michael Koman and son James Miller, 3, has not been easy.
"There is nothing you can do to prepare for going from one child to two," she told TODAY Parents. "I am so tired. We're adapting to a new mode of existence."
Still, she said, she realizes that this season of life is supposed to be hard. "It will pass. I will sleep again someday," she said. "Knowing that, it makes me want to scoop my boys up and treasure these days."
Kemper said she knows caring for two tiny people at the holidays will make for some challenging moments, but she is looking forward to spending time with her family, including her sister and her children.
"It sounds dorky, but my family has always played games together at the holidays," Kemper said. "I used to think it was so corny when I was younger, but now, it's just so much fun to be able to be together, actually looking each other in the eye. We love to play charades and Pictionary."
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Kemper said another nostalgic holiday tradition from her childhood is cutting out paper snowflakes and decorating the fireplace with them. She hopes to continue that with her boys as they grow up, and she even helped create snowflake templates for other families to do it too as part of a campaign by technology company hp to create activities for families to spend time together away from screens this holiday season.
"Anyone can do this!" she said. "And the best part is snowflakes don't have to be perfect. It's just about having fun."
Kemper said husband Koman will contribute to their holiday celebration is a very important way: pie.
"He is an amazing baker," she said, "and there is no holiday stress pies can't fix."
