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Christmas

Christmas 2015

May 19, 2016

So this past Christmas was Colette’s first. And I have yet to write anything about it. Like everyone else, it is such a crazy time of year for us, and the day after Christmas, I jumped right into party planning mode for Cullen’s third birthday. Mom fail and second child problems. So here goes. Its May and I’m going to share at least some pictures from our Christmas.

Cullen was a huge help in decorating the tree this year. He put most of the ornaments on and only moved one or two afterwards; he had near perfect ornament placement!

Cullen was so excite to wake Colette up for her first Christmas! But we made him wait until she woke up on her own. Then we let him go in to say “Good Morning” before we went downstairs to open gifts.

Their big joint gift from Santa was a play kitchen complete with pots, pans, and lots of food. It was the first thing they both went to and we had to pull them away long enough to open stockings and the other presents.

They did finally open their other gifts. We didn’t go crazy with packages this year. In addition to their play kitchen, they each got something they needed (sippy cup for Colette and tennis shoes for Cullen), books to read, clothes to wear, and a couple of smaller toys. It was nice to take our time with each gift and they didn’t feel overwhelmed with new toys.

After celebrating with just us, we had family over for lunch. It was a nice and easy Christmas day highlighted by good food, great time with family, and all the joy that comes with watching little ones celebrate and play.

Maybe next year I won’t be so late with this post, but who knows. As I’ll share more in a post in the next week or so, we are taking time this year to slow down and enjoy the present, so I’m not going to stress over a late post or two. Merry (very late) Christmas!

Our Christmas

December 29, 2014

This year, the days leading up to Christmas were a little crazy. I had basically all of my shopping left to do at the last minute and I got the tree and decorations up just a few days ago. But Christmas Eve and Christmas day were great! Cullen had them best time and as a result, so did Corey and I.

Christmas Eve, Cullen got to meet Santa. I wish I had captured the look on his face when Santa walked through the door; it was priceless! He kept blinking his eyes in disbelief, frozen in wonder at how such a thing was really happening! He wouldn’t sit in Santa’s lap, but he did give him a big hug before leaving.

Christmas morning was absolutely wonderful! Cullen ran downstairs and immediately started playing with his toys. He wanted to open everyone’s gifts and wanted to play with each present immediately after it was opened. There is almost nothing more joyful than a child on Christmas morning!

We saw the rest of our family for lunch and dinner gatherings. It was great getting to spend time with everyone, and Cullen had a wonderful time playing with his cousins. I can’t wait to enjoy this holiday with two little ones next year!

Christmas Holidays

Christmas: What Cullen Got

January 5, 2014

Now that Cullen has had a chance to play with all of his gifts from Santa, Corey, and I, I thought I should share what he got and how he likes everything.

We knew that Cullen would be getting plenty of battery operated ~~sound~~ ~~noise~~ music making toys from other family members, so we stuck with quiet, mostly wooden toys.

1. B. Zany Zoo Wooden Activity Cube This was definitely a hit! It was the first thing Cullen went to when we got downstairs. (It was also the only one that was not wrapped, but I’m going to ignore that fact.) He practically pushed the other packages out of the way and started playing. Why did I get him anything else? He loves playing with every part of this thing and sometimes the animals on it make him laugh out loud. He loves anything with animals.

2. Hape Shake and Match Shape Sorter Cullen loves to play with the shapes by themselves and help put them in the sorter. As hard as he tries, he can’t quite get the shapes in the holes yet. But, after letting him attempt on his own, if I hold the shape over the hole, he pushes it down with one finger. And you can tell he is so proud of himself!

3. Hape First Pounder Honestly, he is not quite sure what do with this one yet, but he loves carrying the little hammer around. He will get it one day.

4. Herschel Supply Co. Settlement Kids Backpack Now that Cullen doesn’t really need a lot with him when we leave the house, I thought it was time to trade in his diaper bag for a backpack. This one is super cute for a little boy, and I hope he will be able to use it for preschool in a few years.

5. Teepee. Cullen loves hiding under tables and in the dog crate, so we thought it would be perfect for him to play in for years to come. I love this one, but decided to attempt one on my own. He hasn’t gotten much play time with it yet because I just finished it. I’m sure he is going to have lots of fun hiding and playing in there though.

His stocking was filled with a few other goodies: some snacks, a Boon snack ball, a Kid O Go Car to push around, and a t-shirt with a Boston Terrier on it (in honor of Macey) that I snagged on clearance from Target.

I’m actually a little late in posting this, since right after Christmas we had to start getting ready for Cullen’s first birthday (more on that later.) Hopefully now that all of the festivities are over, I can focus on more consistent and timely blogging (one of my goals for this year.)

Christmas Photography

Christmas Pictures

December 28, 2013

The past couple of weeks have been absolutely crazy! So bear with me as I catch up on some things I wanted to share with you. Over the next few days I’m hoping to share some of our Christmas Pictures, what Cullen got for Christmas, Cullen’s 11 month update (only a couple weeks late), and some plans for 2014. Let’s get started…

You have already seen the pictures we used on our Christmas card. But, I wanted to share a few of the other pictures we took that day. Last year, we used maternity pictures taken by an actual photographer for our Christmas card. This year, I decided we would attempt this on our own. So, armed with a tripod, wireless shutter release, and a few props, Corey, Cullen and I headed to a little field in our neighborhood to capture a few festive photos.

I think we did pretty well. I took about 200 pictures and only a few had everyone in focus with happy faces, but we had fun and I love any chance to practice my amateur photography skills.

While these are far from perfect, I am pretty happy with the results and can’t wait to frame a few!

Christmas

Merry Christmas

December 25, 2013

We have a full day today starting with seeing what Santa brought Cullen, opening presents, visiting my family for lunch and Corey’s family after that. But I wanted to take a quick minute to wish you a Merry Christmas.

I hope you are spending time surrounded by loved ones and enjoying all the JOY that this day brings. And while presents are fun to give and get, remember the best gift anyone could ever get: the love God showed us by sending his Son to become out Savior.

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!