I think I've finally gotten all of our Christmas cards addressed and stamped...

there may be some that end up arriving the day after Christmas this year.  

Which is kind of fitting for our year.  ;)

From Henry's hot little hands carrying these to the mailbox to your virtual inbox...

a very merry Christmas to you!!

And can we just talk about these gorgeous photos my dear friend Bethany made for us this year?!  I look forward to our photo shoot swap for months and waiting for the very end of November to photograph each others' families in the same night at the same location had me more than a little nervous but it was lovely and some of these moments are just so us and so perfect right now.

It's already a tradition for us to get our family photos done at least once a year.  Then I can be in at least one photo with my family.  Ha!  But, I may have to make an early New Years' resolution to make a family album out of these (and the last two years' of photos she's given us) because I just feel like they deserve to be featured in more than just a few prints on our walls.

I think Bethany and I share a passion for capturing emotion and the little details of each family in a classic way that you just can't get from a quick 15-minute mini session.  (Also, she has two boys similar in ages to my monkeys so she gets it.  Like really gets that a shoot with two littles like ours is hard work.  You can see her session I did for her here and do click through because they are some of my all-time faves!)  The end result is an intimate glimpse into our life right now.  It's a genuine part of our story as a family. 

We're off to make more of our story when our Christmas celebration starts this afternoon with church, 

Christmas jammies and the reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

We took the kids to see Santa last night, and I'm not sure what I expected.  

Henry was beyond terrified last year, and Nelle was less than a week old so girlfriend was happy to be held and snooze/poop away. 

(Yes, her first blowout was at our Santa visit, albeit not on Santa.  That probably automatically lands you on the naughty list for a while I'd think.)

We went straight to the Santa line in case it held a wait for us, but thankfully it was just a couple of minutes.  

Enough time for me to pep talk Henry up sitting on Santa's lap and telling him what he wanted for Christmas this year.

"Trucks and toys."

Duh.

Well, no one cried, but no one was particuarly excited either.

Until, we walked around the rest of Botanica for Illuminations.  

Oh my gosh, watching all the lights coordinated with the music through Henry's lit up face was just what I needed this holiday season.  

Not that we don't have soooo much to be thankful for and we are so graciously excited about celebrating the reason for the season, even if our advent calendar only lasted three days until Henry started pulling all the little pieces out, trying to steal the baby Jesus and maybe we lost a wise man for a bit.  

It's just been a particularly busy, exhausting, trying work/parenting season, and we. are. pooped.

So, we haven't crafted anything with my kids' feet or handprints on it.  Nor do we plan to.

And I think we'll make one kind of Christmas cookie, instead of a platter full of choices.

And tonight, I'll sit by the fire, watch Home Alone and wrap presents 

and hope Henry doesn't unwrap them like he did the one lone gift I had actually placed under the tree earlier this year.

As we walked through a twinkling winter wonderland last night, 

Henry's face was the perfect reminder that the beauty and magic of this season are simple. 

 

He would have watched the trains for an hour.  Which is kind of great because I think some choo choo and train tracks might be in our future. 

And a $1 hot cocoa can go a long way in making a little boy happy.

And sticky.  Of course the sticky.

Savoring this view and the rest of the simple Christmas season.

The night before Thanksgiving Andrew and I had just gotten the kids to bed and started making pies together to take with us to the farm the next morning.  We had just finished packing Henry and Nelle's bags where each day's outfit was packed individually in a labeled plastic bag 

in hopes of keeping things a bit more organized for our four days away.  

(I forgot all of Henry's socks and absentmindedly wrapped Nelle's photo shoot headband in my seven-year-old niece's birthday gift.)  

Henry's tot cot was already in the back of the car, and we had started to pile up packed bags full of clean diapers and folded clothes, 

and road trip snacks and toys, which always makes Franklin's blood pressure go up a bit. 

As I rolled, rolled, rolled out my pie crust, 

even though part of me really wanted to be done with holiday trip prep instead of standing in the kitchen baking, 

I was thankful for the task that made me stop.

I always over-schedule, over-commit, and I realized why the holidays have come to mean so much to me these past three years.  

They are the perfect pause to force me to stop and just be.

To enjoy my family, and homemade desserts, and matching stockings, and Christmas cards that arrive every day, and the traditions both young and old, and my littles seemingly growing in the blink of an eye when compared to last year's holiday season.

 

I don't relax easily.  If I'm watching TV, I feel like I should be doing something else too.  Every night.  I can't call it a night until the kitchen is cleaned and the toys are put away.  Every night.  It always takes me at least twice as long as Andrew to fall asleep.  Every night. 

For someone like me, these special days, even with all of their extra prep and to-do's, are a break.

A gift with no-guilt for not being productive and doing laundry and sweeping the floor under the high chair.

 

I'm learning that their is value in time for ourselves and time to do nothing. 

And so, on Wednesday, Andrew took off work to celebrate our girl's special day, and we only celebrated.

With her first donut breakfast, lunch with just daddy and mommy, naps, a long winter's walk, and an extra treat before bed.

 

Wishing for more days like this one that one little candle stick.

I'm not sure how it happened, but our sweet baby girl Nelle turns ONE tomorrow.  

I'm convinced the poem "sugar and spice and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of" was written specifically for her 

because she is the sweetest, smiliest, little lady we could have ever dreamed of.

 

We celebrated her birthday with family and friends on Saturday post afternoon naps, and I caught myself saying multiple times, 

"I think this is my favorite party yet!".  

Mainly because I think I've finally found somewhat of a formula that lets me DIY most of the party ourselves, but still enjoy it.

 (Which is why there are literally zero partying photos to share because I was having too much fun!) 

We picked a time that worked with our kids' nap schedules AND doesn't fall during a meal time.  

It is exhausting putting a meal together for 30+ adults and kids.  

Since we've already hosted two of Ham's birthday parties, 

we're starting to accumulate some super basic decor that can be interchanged between theme after theme.

And...I scaled back.  

I just came out of my busiest fall photo season ever (hence the weeks and weeks of silence on this blog), 

and do not have the energy to go above and beyond.  

We had cake for adults and cupcakes for kids.  

A serve-yourself hot cocoa bar.

 

A combo favor/activity to keep little toddlers entertained.

And a birthday girl who maybe looked like she had already done this cake thing a time or two.

 

Oops.  

#therewasthaticecreamconeonce

#andpumpkinpieatthanksgiving

#andmaybeafewothertreatsbutwhoscounting

 

And that's it.

 

Well, that, and a gorgeous rocking horse that Andrew made in a satellite North Pole workshop called our freezing garage. 

 

Just the perfect simple setup to celebrate our sweet Nelle.

 

 Tomorrow's your day, girl!  Love you so.