Our Christmas Photos!

I know you're probably being inundated with holiday photos from all over right now, but I wanted to share some photos from our christmas eve and christmas day if you'd care to take a peek! This was probably the best christmas we'll have with the kids. All three still believe in Santa and Ever was finally old enough to kind of get what's going on. I think this will be the last year believing for Wes, so this year was extra special for me. 

We are always all over the place on both christmas eve and christmas day and I always have the best intentions for taking photos everywhere we go. But, as usual, I started out strong taking pics at christmas eve morning brunch and then fizzled out immediately afterward. Some photos from that morning...

Christmas eve night we did the normal ritual of sprinkling reindeer dust (oats mixed with glitter) in the front yard to attract the reindeer ;) and putting out cookies for Santa followed by a reading of "The Night Before Christmas". This year the kids thought Santa would like hot chocolate better than milk but I'm pretty sure Ever enjoyed it more than anyone.

(And yeah, Oren is indeed dabbing here.)

 note the marshmallow still clutched in her tiny fist.

For the last few weeks whenever we'd ask Ever what Santa was going to bring her she'd exclaim, "BABIES!" (we're going through a major baby doll phase right now). So when she opened this gift and saw the twin babies inside she literally clapped, squealed and started kissing the box. Heart. Melted.

She also got a tiny kid sized ergo to carry them around in. Dead.

Oren got his Nerf brain saw (because that's a thing) and Wes got his coveted PS4 video game but the biggest surprise came last...

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas! This is one I will never forget.

December so far

I can't believe christmas is just three days away and this is the first chance I've had to share any photos from this month. (And by "chance" I mean I gave the children chocolate chip cookies, put them in front of the tv and snuck to the spare bedroom with my laptop for as many minutes as that will buy me). Let's do this.

First things first, tree selection with my dad, stepmom and sister. They pick out their tree, we pick out ours, the children chase around the farm animals for a bit and then we head back to my dad and Patty's house to help them decorate their tree.

the bunnies were a big hit with Ev

We also made paper snowflakes to string up around the house again this year and Wes was VERY in to it. He's the cutest.

Victor was deemed the snowflake champ of the night. Honorable mention goes to his new pocket knife which gave him a pretty solid advantage over the rest of us this year.

And last weekend we snuck down to Granville for a night to squeeze in some time with Adam, Julie and their girls before all the holiday craziness takes over our lives. The bigger kids decorated a gingerbread house, played pinball and had a sleepover in Jordyn's room. The babies started playing together a bit more on this visit. They were born only nine months apart and I remember how the age gap seemed drastic in their first year of life. But now it's beginning to be less and less noticeable and it's SO fun as we watch them start to interact more and more. I hope these girls can become the best of friends as they grow. 

it's a GD masterpiece.

that hug!

The next morning we headed into downtown Columbus and met up with my friend Lauren for brunch at SuperChefs and then we took the kids to see the Christmas show at the Columbus Children's Theater. It's such a cute little theater and right by the North Market which is never a bad thing. We made sure to pop in for a donut while we killed some time before the show began. Once the show was underway Ever had a little trouble staying in her seat for the full hour. Luckily, its a children's theater and the whole audience and cast is made up of kids so you don't have to be overly concerned about making some noise or shuffling around. I will say the boys seemed very enchanted by the whole thing. I kept peeking over and looking at their faces during the show to watch them react to the different funny or sad moments as they played out on stage. Their attention was completely devoted to the show and they told us afterward how much fun it was to be there. I'll definitely keep it on my list for a return visit next time were in town. It was a pretty perfect way to spend a cold December day 

that smile, ha!

So this weekend...Christmas! What?! I can't believe it's almost here. I hope you all enjoy your holiday with the ones you love. Relax, reflect, fill your bellies with good food and lots of laughter and soak up that family time. That's my plan at least ;)

Happy Holidays, friends!

xoxo