Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was similar to last year. We enjoyed the Carol and Candlelight service at church. Of course Caleb cheered after an "amen" just like he does at the dinner table. He was also very interested in blowing out our candles. We added money to his Samaritan pouch stocking and opened new Christmas pajamas and a Jan Brett Christmas book. Because of the attention span length, we read it in segments. Baron also had to join our bedtime reading and then it was off to be in our Christmas PJ's.

Christmas Came a Little Early

We had some early Christmas festivities with Grandma, Aunt Kat and Uncle Matt. We started with dinner at Ella's. Despite knocking a water glass across the table and running around the table to decide with whom he wanted to sit, he did pretty well. Thank you for seating us next to the classical guitar player. In the end, nothing entrances him like a movie on his iphone. Yes, my two year old now has his own. Dinner was good and then it was time for presents. They filled the living room and Caleb could not wait to get into the cozy coupe box. He didn't wait for Dad and Uncle Matt to complete the assembly. He got in it even with no wheels. Of course Caleb was really excited when they did come. The real Christmas surprise came later when cupcakes showed up at our front door with icing in the middle. Pink or blue? You'll have to ask Aunt Kat! How fun it will be next Christmas with two more little ones!

More holiday fun

We received an early Christmas present and decided to practice our unwrapping skills.
He smiled more here than for Christmas morning or eve.

I thought a casual meeting of Santa at the Botanical Gardens would be more successful, however, Caleb was not interested in a picture here either. As always he enjoyed all of the water despite being quite chilly.

Cowboy Christmas

On the first weekend in December we joined friends from church for a cowboy Christmas party complete with square dancing. We got quite a workout and had a lot of fun. Yes, that is Matt square dancing. I didn't rent a date for the night. Caleb had his own party upstairs with lots of kiddos.

Caleb's Christmas Party

This little lamb had a great Christmas party. We first attempted to see Santa. This was as close as we came. Caleb brought reindeer sandwiches (had to show them off), cookies and fish for all. Then he stopped running long enough to make a craft with me. I even got a picture of his sweet teacher loving on him. If you're a mommy, you know how wonderful it is to know that your child isn't just well taken care of but with people who cherish him during the day.
Right in the middle of passing out Christmas to all of the students at my own school and afternoon sing-a-long and parties, it came at a busy time, but this Little Lamb's Christmas party was so worth it.

Happy 7th Anniversary

On December 7 we celebrate our 7th anniversary. Traditionally, we took our number picture and looked at the lights tracking down the spot Matt proposed 8 years prior. I'm incredibly blessed to be married to the most wonderful person in the world. He is truly my best friend. When looking back at my last year's post and reading my list,
I can't help but still wanting nothing more or less than a "typical day." Thanks Matt for making each typical day extraordinary!

Caleb had a fun night too. We ate his very favorite food that he requests on literally a daily basis...Pizzaaaaa! Caleb enjoyed the square's lights more this year evident in so many shots of the back of his head. He is on the run and not one to sit still for photo ops, however, he was all smiles for the pony ride.

A Little Backyard Fun

Here is some backyard fun we had one afternoon after school. Caleb loves his slide and I love his smile! I've gotten several comments lately on how grown up he looks and he really does now that he is finally getting some hair.