Christmas 2014

Christmas was a whirlwind!  We spent a lot of time with family, some time with friends, and most of our time with our little family of 5. It was a holiday break that was both busy and fun.  Both sides of our family are in town, so we are on the go a lot Christmas Eve, Christmas, and the day (or two) after. This year we switched some things up, so we were able to be at home more which was so nice!

We spend Christmas Eve with Daniel’s family.  Early evening is spent with my father in-law’s family and then we head to Daniel’s parents’ house to have Christmas with his immediate family. 

My sister, brother in-law, and nephews came into town that evening, so we were able to see them as soon as we got home that night.  We put all 5 kids to bed and waited for Santa to do his magic J  The five of them must have been realllyyyy good this year!  My parents came over super early Christmas morning to see all the grand kids and so we could have our annual breakfast.  My nephews were up bright and early – I had to go wake my girls up!  It still took Hayden a little while to warm up, but they all loved what Santa got them for Christmas. 

The morning quickly flew by before it was time to leave for our next family gathering!  Christmas Day afternoon is spent at Daniel’s parents’ house with my mother in-laws side of the family.  We even managed to get a group photo!  On the way home Hayden had a bloody nose, which scared the crap outta Daniel and I.  So random and didn't last too long, so we think it was from a dry nose or she hit it on something before we left.  Needless to say, that evening was spent at home relaxing; the girls played with some of their new toys, and I did some laundry to make sure the stains didn't stick to Hayden’s clothes. 

The day after Christmas was low key for the most part.  All 5 cousins played all day while my mom, sister, and I got some things ready for my dad’s side of the family to come over.  We ate too much food, which was a pretty consistent theme!  That evening my mom offered to watch all of the kids, so my sister, brother in-law, Daniel, and I could go out for a little bit of adult time with our cousins Matt & Nikki.  We brought out all the sleeping bags so the older 4 could watch a movie before we left.  We had drinks and dessert at Shyndigz – it was so yummy and the company was great. We laughed a lot.

Saturday rolled through and we had one last family get –together to attend.  Brunch with my mom’s side of the family was fun and the kids had an even better time running around!

This Christmas season was one for the books – I can’t wait until next year to celebrate all over again!

Harper's Christmas Wish List {Infant}

Even though Harper can’t tell us exactly what she would like this year for Christmas, we have some cute gifts ready for her! 

MinnieMouse Touch N’ Crawl //  Daniel and I were out shopping and thought this would be cute. She seemed to like it when we were in the store too J  Harper so close to crawling, so maybe having a little friend with help her out!

Placemat//  Hadleigh & Hayden both have this placemat already, so I had to get Harper one!

LearningHouse //  Super cute wooden toy that she can enjoy now and when she gets a little older.

SleepSack //  Harper has almost outgrown the one she uses now, so we bought her one that she can use until she’s over 2.

Kids Learning Touch Smartphone //  She loves playing with our phones, so I snagged this one when I saw it for sale at $7.99.  It lights up and has a bunch of different settings.  I’m sure she will love it.

What are you buying for your infant?    

Hadleigh & Hayden's Christmas Wish List {Pre-school & Toddler Age}

I’ve asked Hadleigh & Hayden several times what they want Santa to bring them for Christmas and each time I get a different answer from Hadleigh.  Hayden is pretty consistent on her answers!

Here are a few I’ve heard from Hadleigh:

-          EVERYTHING!

-          A doctor kit so I can fix all the people and animals

-          iPad just like mommy’s

Here is what Hayden says every time:

-          LET IT GOOOOO! (this is what she calls ‘Frozen’ and she’s obsessed)

-          A baby doll

Both of them have circled everything in the toy catalog from Toys R Us & Target; even though they already have half of the things they circled.  Hopefully the girls are excited with the things Santa has planned.  Here are a few items we know Santa has in his little bag this year.

1-       iPad // Yes, this might be a crazy gift for a 4 year old. Her and Hayden fight over mine constantly.  They love watching Netflix and play educational games.  They've never taken to their LeapPads, so we’re selling those and just upgrading to the iPad. It’s truly a win-win.  There have been several moments since we bought it Daniel and I have said “we cannot wait for Christmas!”

2-      Lite Brite // I loved this growing up, so this is something I’m excited to see them open and play with!  This mama is excited to play with it too ;)

3-      Elsa dress // They will both be very excited for this.  They love Frozen, but they love dressing up. I’m expecting this is what they will want to wear Christmas Day.

4-      Shoes // We picked up these cute Nike tennis shoes the other night.  Hayden grew out of her New Balances, so she needed them.

5-      Books // Definitely needed some reading material for these girls! You can never go wrong with books.  We got both of them a mixture of fun and educational type books.

What does Santa have planned for your kids?
Linking up with September Farm today too!

ChristmasTown

A few weeks ago my parents, Daniel, and I took the girls to Busch Gardens ChristmasTown. It’s an amusement park that is about an hour away, but during Christmas they have tons of lights and Christmas themed activities. It’s the first year we have gone, and I’ll definitely be going back! 

There’s an outlet shopping center pretty close to the park and I had seen where Anna & Elsa were going to make an appearance at The Yankee Candle store on the same day we planned on going.  My girls still love Frozen, so I figured it would be a cool thing to stop in and do before heading to ChristmasTown. In theory, it was great.  But everyone else in the state of Virginia thought so too. 4 hour long lines to see Anna & Elsa (who by the way didn't even really look like them) wasn't working, so we told the girls to look at them from the sidelines. See what I’m talking about? Doesn't really look like Elsa…

After the Anna & Elsa bust, we made our way to the park.  We got there when they opened to enjoy some rides and shows.  We knew we had time to kill since it was daylight.  Hadleigh really enjoyed the show, which was ballet dancing and singing. She was so cute (and funny) trying to copy the ballet moves the girls and guys were doing.  We even played a fish game where the girls won polar bear stuffed animals.

It was a great day, but if I’m being honest it didn't come easy!! There was about 45 minutes where the older two were crying and whining.  It’s so hard as a parent when you’re there to make great memories for your kids and they could care less. All three wanted to be held by me and only me, so when they didn't get their way the crying started.  I should have known it was from exhaustion because shortly after, we put both in the stroller, and within minutes Hadleigh was asleep. In the grand scheme of the day it was just a minor hiccup, but it certainly didn't feel minor in the middle of it!

This was during the meltdowns - priceless face!

Nighttime fell and all the lights were beautiful.  I would have enjoyed it with kids or no kids.  

 

There’s just something about Christmas Time! It's definitely magical :)

Christmas Cards

I’m in love with our Christmas cards this year!  I wanted to buy them through Shutterfly, since that’s where I store all of my pictures and make the girls birthday books every year.  They were pretty expensive when I first started looking, but then I snagged them at a really good deal I couldn't resist!

I had a $20 off coupon, an additional $5 off coupon, and the cards were all 50% off when I bought these = I was THRILLED!

Front

Back

·        Did you send out Christmas cards this year?

·        Did you go for the photo cards, or traditional holiday cards with no picture?

Holiday Pictures

We took some Holiday pictures a few weeks ago with the talented Nikki at NikkiSanterre Photography.  It was a very chilly Saturday morning and the girls weren't really feeling it after about 15 minutes, but she managed to get some great shots of us.  Daniel and I even got some pictures just the two of us J  I had given both girls baths that morning so their hair would be nice and clean, but of course they didn't want me to style it at all. I picked my battles, so that is why their hair is all in their faces!  I just ordered our Christmas cards with some of these shots, so I’m really excited to send those out soon.

Go.Check.Nikki.Out.  Also – BOOK HER! I leave you with proof…

Christmas Wish List

My Wish list is pretty simple.  I only included items specifically for me.  Daniel and I usually take each other shopping closer to Christmas while we are out getting last minute things for the girls, so I'll definitely be looking for one of these items.  Also, we usually ask our parents for things we could use around the house or projects we want to get done around the house.  There are only 4 things that I really want these days if I was go to splurge on something for myself.  Everyone has a wish list right?! 

1.        TOMS Wedge Bootie – I’ve been eyeing these for a while and I’m in love with them!  I think I’ll actually need a new pair of skinny jeans that are just the right length for them as well ;)

2.      TheVintage Pearl mixed metal charm necklace – This is another thing that I’ve always seen and wanted.  I just have never clicked the “buy” button! 

3.      NikonD3300 – I NEED a new camera! Enough said.

4.      Cowboy Boots – There’s a local boot store I would probably go to buy these.  I just found this image since it was a picture of what style and color I would get.  Every girl needs a pair (or two) of cowboy boots!

What’s on your wish list this year?