Christmas!

Christmas this year was great. We celebrated it three times actually since Hank has two sides to his family, and I have my one. It's pretty neat to have so many people to enjoy holidays with, although to be honest it can be a little bit overwhelming at times trying to fit it all into two days! I'm sure some of you can relate. I mean I absolutely cannot complain but I feel stressed sometimes wanting to make sure everyone gets "their" time. Overall though it was so much fun this year and I think Henry is a pretty lucky kid to have so many loving people in his life!

Hank and I exchanged gifts quietly after everyone had gone to bed Christmas Eve, and we both got each other a couple of wonderful things that were nice surprises, including a new scarf and some cold-weather running gear for me. I got him a couple of shirts and a book on coffee. Simple but great. We naturally focus more on Henry during the holidays now, and it was so much fun to watch him open his presents that next morning.

I hope whatever you did, you had a great day filled with love. I know we sure did. There so many times I kind of took a step back in awe of how wonderful the day was.

Christmas Eve- (these are just photos from my parents' visit- we actually spent the evening at Hank's Mom's and it was a ton of fun too.)

Could I be anymore festive? ;)







Christmas day (feel free to make fun of our matching pajamas!)-

Merry Christmas!

A very happy day to all of you who celebrate Christmas, and a happy day to those of you who don't too! For us, today is all about family, food, and enjoying each others' company. I also can't wait to give everyone their presents! Wherever you find yourself this Christmas, my wish for you is that you are surrounded by loved ones and have a wonderful, relaxing day. Thank you all so much for taking time out of your day and sharing in this little bit of my world. I appreciate all of you so much! Happiest holiday to you.

xoxo

Christmas at Our House

Last year we had been homeowners for only two months, and Henry was just a month old, so decorating for Christmas wasn't high on our list of priorities. This year however we've had a ton of fun decking the halls and making new traditions. Every year look forward to picking out new ornaments and collecting unique items to add to our Christmas collection. Nothing is better than the holidays with a little one, and I think I am most excited for all of the fun and memories Henry will make as the years go by!  I can still remember all of the holiday decorations my Mom would put up every year and it's so neat to think about what a special and magical time it was growing up.

Here's a peek around our home at some of our Christmas decor! Happy Christmas Eve, everyone!
















p.s.  Target coupon codes are always available for decorations.

30th Birthdays and Early Christmases

What a weekend! It's been such a good past couple of days and despite a trip to the mall, my holiday spirit is still in tact. Friday we headed down to my parents' to spend time with family, get our Christmas shopping completed, celebrate our friend Jeffs' 30th birthday, and have an early holiday on Sunday with my Aunt Pat and Uncle Bob. Needless to say the last two days have been busy, but definitely in a good way.

Friday night we headed down south and spent some quality time hanging out with my parents' before heading to bed early. My Mom has converted the two upstairs bedrooms into guest rooms, so Henry sleeps in what used to be my sisters' bedroom and Hank and I sleep in my old room. It's a far cry from what it used to look like in junior high and high school (I had pictures and posters plastered in every corner of the room), but it's still fun to sleep up there- I'm always flooded with so many memories. If I'm feeling especially nostalgic, my big closet is filled with boxes and boxes of photos, notes from friends, and various treasures from back in the day. There have been so many nights I've gotten lost in those boxes, and it's incredibly fun (and usually embarrassing) to sift through all of it.

Saturday morning Hank and I headed out on a little daytime date. We first stopped by Green for lunch then spent the afternoon Christmas shopping. This year I tried to do most of our shopping in town, but there were a few items we had to pick up while down in the valley.  It was such a fun day though, and I most enjoyed just walking around and spending time with Hank...and ending our day with frozen yogurt.  I need to talk about this frozen yogurt trip for a minute too because it was probably the best combination I've ever had- Yogurtland's Madagascar Vanilla Bean with their Kona Coffee flavor. Delicious!



After shopping we came home and got ready for Jeff's 30th birthday party, whose wife Erin is a good friend of mine.  I've written about her many times before, but Erin and I met my freshman year of college at NAU when we both lived in Sechrist (one of the freshman dorms). We instantly clicked, and both ended up rushing, pledging, and joining Pi Phi. We spent all of college side by side, and have had some great times together. Since we all graduated from NAU back in 2004 our group of friends has stayed in tact, and it's pretty neat to go through so many of life's milestones together. Erin and I even had our sons just months apart. This past weekend her husband Jeff turned 30, and Erin threw him a Mad Men-themed party. It was a ton of fun, and all of the little details she put together were awesome. I'm not a big drinker and Hank doesn't drink at all, but it was still so fun to see all of the signature cocktails being made. Hank even got in on the action with one of the fake cigarettes pictured below and a Shirley Temple. :) It was a great night spent with really great people.

Then today we had an early Christmas with my Aunt and Uncle since we won't be seeing them next weekend. We ate a big dinner then had fun watching Henry open his presents. I know I've probably already said this 100x, but celebrating holidays with Henry is the best. He makes everything so much more fun. My favorite part of today though would definitely have to have been sitting around the dining room table with my Grandma, Mom, Aunt and sister girl-talking about everything and anything under the sun. We probably scared Lauren from ever wanting to have babies (birth story overload) but it was just so much fun talking for so long.










So, that was our weekend! I hope you had a great one too. xoxo