Christmas Eve

We had a great Christmas eve filled with some last minute shopping, last minute wrapping, and quality time with friends and family!

The festivities kicked off with a few Christmas Eve gifts. Last year I started a tradition of buying new pajamas for everyone and I also added in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" for Adam. It was a good warm up for all the gift opening that was to come!!

We then got a visit from Greg and Erica. They stopped by to drop off Adam's Christmas present, an "Anywhere Chair" from Pottery Barn Kids and it is adorable! Adam loves having furniture that is "Adam sized!" Not to mention it made for the perfect Christmas morning throne! :) :) It was great to get one last visit in with Greg and Erica before they welcome their baby girl in just a few short days!

Then we continued our tradition (6 years in the making) of having Andy's folks over for Christmas Eve dinner. They spoiled us this year by brining the main course...lobster!! We rounded out the meal with some salad, baked potatoes and steamd green beans. It was also a good excuse to use an early gift that Andy gave me, a slate cheese plate.

After a great meal with just relaxed and watched bits and pieces of "A Christmas Story" as we prepared for the big day to come!

5 years...

On Friday, Andy and I celebrated our five year anniversary. It really is hard to believe how quickly the last five years have gone by, but at the same time, it's amazing to think of all the things we've experienced in those years.

To celebrate, we shipped Adam off to Grandma and Grandpa's and headed to the Gaylord National for the night. We got to stay in an amazing suite for just $99!! (It pays to work in my industry at times!) We had this unbelievable views and there was even a plate of chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of champagne on ice for us as well!







We got all dressed up and headed down for the indoor snowfall inside the hotel. It feels like a miniature Disney World inside that hotel!! It made for a fun and festive happy hour.




Then we headed out to find a place to eat and after quite a bit of indecision (that's not shocking for us!) we settled on Bond 45, an Italian/Steak restaurant that was really great.




We had fun reminiscing about our honeymoon and wedding day and of course Adam came up in our conversation quite often!!

It was a great celebration and we look forward to what lies ahead in year six! :)

The Grinch...in ice!

Last week I attended a networking reception at the Gaylord National hotel at National Harbor and got to see their Ice Show. This year the theme is "The Grinch!" It's pretty cool, no pun intended, though I'm not sure it would be worth the $20 and long lines on the weekends.

The best part of the evening, aside from hanging out with two of my favorite meeting planners, Gabi and Jayme, was meeting one of the sales managers for the hotel and getting hooked up for our anniversary!

Anniversary post coming soon! :)

A boy and his balloon...

Adam got a balloon on Saturday and they hit it off immediately! He took the balloon to see our Christmas tree, he walked it around and showed it where his toys were, he played a fun game of "catch and release" and he even brought the balloon to breakfast the next day. It was a short and sweet friendship until Adam realized the balloon was full of hot air and so he returned to his long time friend, "truck."

Happy birthday Andy!!!

Yesterday we got to spend the day celebrating Andy and his birthday! It was a great little family day filled with some errand running, tree decorating, a lunch out at Bone Fish, some relaxing, and a gourmet meal prepared by the birthday boy himself!!




Ok ok, I know that sounds terrible, but for those of that know Andy, you know that he would much prefer to have something to do and cooking dinner for him simply means he now has one less thing to do. So as a gift, I purchased him a duck that he had to then figure out how to cook. Yes, these are the kinds of things that make my husband smile.



I did, however, wake up early with Adam and we baked him fresh blueberry muffins while he caught a few extra "zzz's". I also whipped up a cake for him. He requested strawberry cake with vanilla frosting. I happily obliged. It's the least I could do considering he made me roast duck, sauteed prosciutto and brussel sprouts and rice for his birthday dinner!






Happy birthday Andy (Dad) we love you lots and lots!!

XOXOXO

Christmas tree hunting...

We headed out this weekend in search of the perfect (and real) tree to put up in our basement. We didn't do a basement tree last year but were determined to add a little Christmas cheer to the lower level this year, especially since Adam is loving all of the holiday flair around the house!

We started our hunt at Nalls Farm down the street from our house. I thought it would be more fun than fighting the crowds at Home Depot and while it certainly was a more festive atmosphere, you are paying for it!! Those trees were so expensive! I couldn't believe it! The little tree that I fell in love with immediately was $70!! We quickly found our way over to Home Depot! Ha!





Anyhow, we did end up finding an adorable tree (for $20!) and we got it all decorated yesterday afternoon while we watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Sadly, I forgot to snap a picture!!

I'm loving all these fun holiday traditions we are getting to share with our little guy!!

What a boy!

This picture really says it all....

Adelyn Grace...

One of my bestest friends, Sommer, had a little girl, Adelyn Grace, on November 16. She is so precious and my mom and I were lucky enough to sneak in a quick visit yesterday.





Sommer looks amazing (as always!) and Adelyn has the most adorable auburn hair and such tiny little fingers and toes. I forget how small newborns are! I loved snuggling with her and getting to catch up with my Sommer Wummer!!

Congrats Sommer and Brandon, she is a doll!

XOXOXO

A work of art...

Adam has been doing tons of fun artwork in class and I'm loving the fact that I have adorable pictures to put on my refrigerator. Definitely another rite of passage!!





He also came home with something extra special the other day. Apparently he had made me a Mother's Day gift but it never found its way home to me. Better late than never!! I'll cherish this forever!