My goal for December was to not over extend myself, and just enjoy the time with my family. I was somewhat successful, but at times, the season just feels so busy!
Brooke and Chloe (the doll we gave her when Colby was born) both ready for church...
We set up the tree, and seeing Colby's reaction to the lights was PRICELESS!
My sweet boy continued to love bath time, but wanted to splash SO much!
Just had to document the costumes that happen around here. Literally, every day is a different princess or character.
This outfit cracked me up because the hat screamed "tourist". Side note: she loved that little tree in her room, which was the same tree I had in my room as a kid.
The day I took Colby to the dermatologist, I decided to take the kids to NorthPark to see the train exhibit. I had heard such great things about it, but I was really unimpressed with the whole experience. I was envisioning trains throughout North Park (a super fancy mall), but instead, it was one retail space, that had a bunch of model trains inside. I took the kids anyway, even though it was a rip off, because I figured we should at least do it one time. And I had really talked it up to Brooke.
As soon as we left the trains, we stopped at See's candy (YUM!), and all of a sudden, Brooke complained about feeling sick. She fell asleep on the drive home, which is super rare, and was falling asleep on the couch at home. After days of this, I finally took her to Urgent Care, but I wrote about that in a prior post.
Both my kids love olives just as much as Kevin and I, so they are officially ours.
There's something so magical about babies at Christmas. Colby was interested in the tree, but he did really great at leaving ornaments alone, etc.
My baby still didn't walk on his own, but was gaining confidence in his standing abilities.
Kevin ordered himself a new wake surf for Christmas, and the kids were super anxious to help him try it out. This happened every single night, along with "rides" by Daddy across the carpet.
Our friends Daleth and Andre sent us our very own elf, who Brooke named Claudia. Some days were more creative than others, but Brooke's favorite day was when Claudia made her brownies and typed her a note.
One Saturday, we met my friend Rachel and her family at Bethlehem Revisited. I had heard great things about this event, and I was really excited to see what it was all about. It was super freezing, but pretty cool. A church down in Waxahachie sponsors the whole event, and sets up a whole "Bethlehem" experience, complete with shops, stables, animals, courts, etc. You start out at the beginning of the story where the wise men come asking where to find the baby Jesus. You then follow the messengers and centurions through the town and over to the stable where Jesus is born. You could tell that they put a TON of work into the event, but it was pretty crowded, and pushing a stroller around wasn't necessarily ideal.
Brooke thought it was pretty cool to see Mary ride past us on a donkey :) Unfortunately, we missed the camels.
By mid-december, I was ready to tackle our neighbor/ward goodies. Brooke helped me make the snickerdoodles, but then lost interest for the rest. I made a few batches of chocolate chip cookies, and two batches of english toffee. It was a lot of baking, but I love delivering homemade treats. My favorite was when we delivered cookies to our neighbor Mike. He is recently divorced, and is a little rough around the edges, but a super nice guy. He normally rocks tank tops, rides a Harley, and has a bit of smoker voice, but he is so sweet to Brooke. He always talks to us when we're outside, and when she and I went to drop off the treats, he gave Brooke a big hug. He said that it meant a lot to him that we thought of him :) Mission accomplished.
Brooke received a huge box of books from Nay Nay, and this package even included a special Rapunzel Barbie that was a collector item my Grandma had.
Park day with the little dude...
One day, my friend Jen invited Brooke over to play with her son Brooks (so confusing, I know). I dropped her off, but it was so weird to come home with just Colby. I hardly knew what to do with him, haha. We played a lot, and it was nice to give him my undivided attention.
With the colder temps, we sometimes didn't want to leave the house! Cosmic Kids Yoga to the rescue! They have really great programs for kids, and I love that Brooke gets into it.
Brooke painted ornaments for her nursery teachers and friends.
We went and saw Prairie Lights for the third year in a row. I was so disappointed that I missed registration for the Sneak-A-Peak walk they do the weekend before Thanksgiving, but I have vowed not to miss it next year. It was still fun to drive through, with Colby on my lap and Brooke riding on the center console.
We rode a few of the kiddie rides, bought some popcorn and donuts, and were on our way home. I love that they do such a fun event right by our house.
I also love that we live right by the Hawkins. We meet at the park pretty regularly, and Marlee always acts so excited when she sees Brooke and Colby. She is a total sweetheart.
We have been perfectly the art of cutting Colby's hair :) Kevin helped with haircut #2 at home, and Colby did so great. He really doesn't mind the clippers, but is a little more wiggly when we scissor-cut the top.
Next up, gingerbread houses! We started that tradition last year, so I figured we should continue it. The frosting was so difficult to squeeze out, but you can't go wrong with tons of candy.
My loves, dressed in their Sunday best.
Colby loves these goggles, and knows that he will always get a good reaction from people when he wears them.
If you're still reading, I'm impressed! I have so many random pictures from this month, but I want to record these little memories so that I don't forget the back story. This particular park day, Colby would not let go of his ball. He held that thing the entire time he was in the swing. It took up all the space, and totally blocked his view, but it didn't deter him.
And it was freezing outside, which is why I didn't even bother changing him out of his fleece pajamas.
Brooke found a lego set in one of Kevin's drawers, and she totally sucked her Daddy into building it with her. They suckered me in as well, and we stayed up way past the little lady's bedtime to finish.
During the break, we had a playdate with friends we don't normally get to hang out with. Their mom, Mandy, is my first counselor in Young Women's, and her daughter Evie (5) and son Logan (3) are a lot of fun. We met at the park, took a long nature walk, played at another park, then went to Sonic together.
It really was such a blast, until Logan fell off a metal railing, smacked his head on the concrete, cut his eye, and immediately had a massive goose egg. It was really scary, and I tried to be calm and go get a bag of ice, but I was really worried. She ended up taking him to a clinic on the way home, and he was fine, despite looking like he was in a big fight.
We must have gone to the mall, because here we are on the carousel :)
A little science experimenting...
The stealer of my morning Shakeology...
Colby figured out that he could climb up on the fireplace. Not my favorite skill that he has acquired, but he is normally pretty cautious up there, so I'm praying he remains that way.
Just doing a little shopping at Kroger...
Morning reading session...
I finished my 30 hours of continuing eduction to renew my SLP license. This was no easy feat wth two busy kids, but I did it, and I felt such a burden lifted when that was out of the way. This is one of the big reasons I fell off the blogging bandwagon.
Even the cold couldn't keep her from doing some chalk art from the shelter of the garage, haha.
This was the longest post of all time, but that was December in a nutshell, besides the major events!
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