Best of 2012

Ah, another year gone by.  Here's what we did this year!

January:  This cute boy starting eating solid food.  First up was peas.  Quickly followed by, um, everything.

February:  I broke my toe when a rogue picture frame flew off the wall and onto my foot.

March:  My mom, the kids, and I headed to Florida to visit grandparents.  And we bought a minivan!  And the Sunbean started preschool! Busy month!

April:  Well, I'm not really sure what we did in April, but I did take this pic of my sweet girl.  And Little Dude learned to climb up the stairs {a big deal since we were in a 3-story townhome at the time}.

May:  Happy Birthday to the baby boy!

June:  We had a wonderful summer month in the Cap City with some of our best friends.  Also, my mom turned 50 {!!!}, the Sunbean started reading, and Little Dude started walking.

July:  We hit up Dublin's July 4th parade, and then move back to our old city in our old house.  Mixed feelings, but we've loved being back.  Also, I got a new lens for the camera and celebrated 7 years of wedded bliss!

August:  Happy 4th Birthday to my little lady!  Also, we went to a hot air balloon festival, traveled north for a nephew's baptism, and took plenty of boat rides.

September:  {2nd} First Day of Preschool.  Dang Indiana and their cut-off date for kindergarten.  Also, we visited our friends for their triplets' 1st birthday, attended our first of many Halloween parties, and I began the craziness that is photography season.

October:  Our first no-kids weekend!  It was easier than I thought leaving the kids {first time in 4 years...cut the cord already, woman!}, and so so so much fun remembering life in a fun city with best friends and no kids!  I sure did love those welcome-home hugs, though!

November:  I turned 29, and baby boy turned 18 months.  Ah, bittersweet.  Babyhood is over.

December:  MacGyver has 3 glorious paid weeks off of work, and SNOW!!

Christmas 2012

We had a great Christmas.  The best.  It was different this year because of my mom's work schedule, but just as lovely.

We spent the weekend with MacGyver's family, and that was so fun.  I sure did marry into a great family!  Christmas Eve was a relaxed day.  Husband spent the afternoon helping some new people in our ward move, and I spent the afternoon cooking.  MacGyver's parents + brother came over to help us devour the feast and we played games + Santa.

Christmas morning, we peeked in our stockings:

 And found lots of treats:

The Sunbean found the soft doll she's been wanting:

We spent the rest of the morning playing + opening presents.  Husband's family came over to watch the show.

My cuties in the matching pjs - a tradition.

After naps we headed over to my parents, where these kids continued to be spoiled rotten {and I forgot my camera}.

We had a great weekend with the people we love the most, and are enjoying another week with MacGyver home!

Wrapped and Done

My motto for the holidays is 'wrapped and done by December 1'.  I start planning in October, thanks in part to the lovely app I have for my phone, and finish up shopping the day after Thanksgiving.  Then I wrap it up that weekend, and we're all set to go.

There is, of course, always the few straggler gifts, especially the handmade ones.  Tonight I finished up the pjs that are a tradition in our home, and put a few finishing touches on Little Dude's big gift.

This year, the Sunbean requested 'lots' of matching outfits for her and her favorite, 'grey kitty'.  Luckily, 'grey kitty' is basically the same shape as her Bitty Baby, 'bitty', so the clothes were easy to make.  Because I'm way too cheap to buy the matching outfits.  Also, don't you love the creativity we have going on here with the names?

I didn't take pics of the outfits, but I decided that every busy momma needs a bag to hold all of her gear.

I love it!  Kinda wish I had one my size.  I used fusible fleece, which was a first, and loved how sturdy it made the bag.

 I filled it with a bunch of her doll stuff, because the last thing we need is more of that stuff.

Gotta love easy access outside pockets.  Even though the Sunbean asks me why some babies drink from bottles.  She totally doesn't get the bottle thing.

Ah, and to top it all off, a lovely coordinating front pack baby carrier.  I mean, grey kitty carrier.

I got all of those fabrics at Joann's....can you believe it?!?

Here's hoping your Christmas shopping/crafting/sewing/creating is nearing an end!

Bah, Humbug!

If you know me, you know I love, love, LOVE the Christmas season.  Like, boil-it-down-and-inject-it-in-my-veins love it.  I love everything about it.

Of course, I love celebrating the birth of the Savior.  I love teaching my children about the miracles that happened on that sweet night and what it means for us.  My four-year-old can tell the Christmas story with the best of 'em.

But guess what?  I also love the 'other' stuff.  I love giving gifts.  I love the increased sense of generosity.  I love the sense of brotherhood.

But guess what else?  I love seeing Christmas stuff in stores in October.  I love Santa.  I love Elf on the Shelf.  I love how it takes me nearly 3 hours to get a gallon of milk.  I love taking far too long to choose my yearly wrapping paper.  I love obsessing over food/treats/gifts/everything.  I love buying way too much stuff for my kids.  I love making my house look beautiful and festive and most likely a tad bit tacky.

And, dang it, that is okay.

Something has been making me mad lately.  Like, lay-awake-at-night-and-stew-about-it angry.  And drive-my-husband-crazy-because-I-talk-of-little-else angry.

It's this little comment {or something like it}:  "We don't do the 'other' Christmas stuff so we can focus on the Savior."  Of course, this isn't bad.  Not at all.  But it is *almost* always paired with some sort of attitude.

It's great that you pare down the holiday season to make it simple and focused.  But it's also great that I don't.

We're totally the Santa family.  And I will go to great lengths to keep my kids believing for as long as I can.  Time passes so quickly, and before I know it, I'll have a house full of smelly teenagers {Santa will still visit, though!}.  I want to look back and remember how they bounced out of bed every morning in December to find our elf, Nutcracker.  I want to remember how they shyly approached Santa, and looked at him with awe.

I want to cherish their innocence as long as possible.  Soon, they will learn what the world is really all about.  This time of year is magical, and I feel that it's my job to perpetuate that magic.  Childhood is such a fleeting moment, and I want to relish in each and every innocent moment.

It's also my job to teach them about the birth of Christ, but I'm one of those who believes I can do both.  You're not?  Fine.  Just lose the 'tude.

I Heart December

and also, these two.