Christmas crafting

This year was deemed (by me) the year of Homemade Gifts. I loved making gifts this year, and I think I might continue to do this every year, BUT next year I am starting MUCH MUCH earlier! Here are a few of my creations this year!

A painted plate for my FIL (the man who has everything!)

dry erase boards/calendars for my two SIL's and my husband's Aunt K

...and the majority of my time was spent on these super fun 3D footballs for game day! I made 12 (I think) in all!

Family Pictures

We took family pictures in October to document our new family of four, Scarlett's sweet first weeks, and Caroline's growth from toddler to an energetic, fun loving, little girl! Now that the Christmas cards are out, I wanted to put them up to document this time in our lives!

swimming in Jan

Nothing like being able to go to the pool in January! We are still loving spending quality cousin time, so Sat we loaded up and headed to the "fancy" hotel the Kane's are bunking up in!

*It was not cold Caroline has on pants b/c right when we got there she fell down and skinned up her knee pretty bad. She has this weird deal with boo-boo's and is fine as long as they are covered up, but once she sees them she freeks! So, thank gosh I packed these thin pants and after some quick thinking I deemed them swimming pants! She wore them happily and was fine for the rest of the day...WHEW! *on another note we are having to do this delicate dance in the bath with a series of washcloths to keep it covered, this girl sure keeps us on our toes!

the hotel had a water balloon toss for the kiddos

a "gatorade" moment for the winner

one last balloon up for grabs!

sleeping Scarlett

dinner at Aunt Laura's on Sunday

big girl, sad mama

*Update: School was a bit scary at first, but now that we have made it through our first week (both of us that is, nothing rips a mama's heart out more than you child saying "Mama don't go, I miss you already") she seems to finally be over the crying in the morning that she doesn't want to go and during drop off, and she seems to be making some new buddies! Her teacher's name is Miss Rebekah, and we really like her a lot! It's going to be a great year!

Caroline started pre-school today, so last night we surprised her with a brand new lunch box! I can't believe my little girl had grown up so fast, we know she will have a great time making new friend's and learning lots of new things! *The purple jumper she wore on her first day, was the jumper I wore on my first day of pre-school too!

a new lunch box!

getting ready to head out!

more family, more fun

The Kane's have arrived! We are excited to continue our holiday with lots of fun activities with them, starting with ANOTHER round of Christmas presents!

Katie and Scarlett

We had everyone over Sunday to play some yard games, have some burgers, and watch football!

2 peas in a pod!

Aunt Kel and Scarlett

oh these two!!

making fruit loop necklaces

hanging out on Aunt Laura's cool ride

Happy New Year

This year since my parents were in town for New Year's Eve, my Dad treated us to a fancy Brazilian dinner at Fogo de Choa. The chef's walk around the restaurant with 12 different cuts of meat and slice them right at your table! It was super delicious! After dinner we headed back home to pick up the girl's (who were with a sitter) and headed to Paw-Paw's house for game night! What a great way to ring in the new year!