Kissaversary Ornaments...

Every year we swap ornaments to celebrate our "Kissaversary." It's been a fun tradition and it's helped us add wonderful ornaments to our tree telling our love story in the process. It's probably one of my favorite things we do. This year we added a twist - instead of buying our ornaments we made them instead. Al helped gather up the supplies and then we spent the evening as a family creating ornaments for one another. Each ornament has a special note scrolled up in it - Adam did Harper's and Liddy's, I did Andy's and Sadie's, Andy did mine, and then Andy and I tag teamed on Adam's. None of us got to read the notes - so we've all got little secret love notes hanging from the tree - I kind of love that. XO 

Saint Nicholas Day...

Growing up, Andy's family always celebrated Saint Nicholas Day and while we've always talked about doing it the day usually sneaks up on us before we can get our act together. So this year we planned ahead and made it happen .

Al was the one to break the news to Adam that we'd be starting a new tradition and he explained all about Saint Nicholas and how if the boys left their shoes outside that Saint Nicholas might leave a few treats for them. Needless to say, Adam was very excited about this. 

The next morning the boys woke up to some treasures in their shoes (well, not in Harper's - his are too small - but outside of his) and it was just a fun way to start the day. 

A fun new tradition to add to the holiday cheer - I'll take it! 

Harper Walks...

Harper just continues to amaze. At his annual review with his occupational therapist he scored at or above his adjusted age of 1 in all of the categories - amazing! They will only continue to use the "adjusted age" scale through 18 months - which by then he likely will be 100% caught up anyhow - it's truly something to see. One thing he's been working so hard on lately is his walking. He'd been standing on his for awhile now - and taking maybe a step or two - but a few weeks ago he really started to get the hang of it. Crawling is still his preferred mode of transportation (less falling & quicker!) but he continues to work on walking and I have no doubt that we'll be chasing after him while he's running away in no time!

Wolf Trap Sing-a-Long...

The Christmas sing-a-long at Wolf Trap is one of my favorite traditions. This year I was a brave soul who took Adam, his friend Seth, and Olivia to the concert on my own - yikes. :) Luckily I met up with Sommer and Abby upon arrival so even though the kids still out numbered us at least I had my friends with me. 

Adam and Seth were all about the hot chocolate, cookies, and playing. They played cards and then found joined a football game with all the other restless boys. The girls on the other hand were quite content to just sit, listen, and sing along - this is difference in boys and girls - ha! 

A festive evening spent catching up with friends with Christmas carols in the background is just fine by me! 

Santa!

We were lucky to be able to attend Kathleen's work party again so the boys could see Santa. We weren't sure how Harper would handle it (more on that later) but we knew Adam was excited. I love to see the look on Adam's face when Santa arrives - the magic is still there for sure! Harper on the other hand - well, he wasn't so sure what to think when he first saw the big guy. 

Once it was our turn Adam went first and had a nice chat with Santa - for someone who wasn't sure what they were going to ask for - he sure had a lot to say - this is not surprising to anyone who knows Adam of course. 

Then it was time for Harper to join in on the fun - although I think "fun" is not at all the word Harper would use to describe it. Ha! A classic #SantaFail as they say in the world of social media. However you've gotta love the look on Santa's face - he sure is a pro! Don't worry Harper, he knows you've been good. 

Harper's mood turned around later in the day - phew! Was hoping he was going to be scarred for life! haha 

Time again to Deck the Halls!

I say it every year - but really - it's just so fun pulling out all the decorations and getting the house ready for the holidays. Christmas movies playing in the background, ornaments being unwrapped and reminisced over, and of course you can't forget about the wonderful Christmas candles burning and smelling the house of pine and cinnamon. Ah - the best! 

Of course we don't just deck the halls - we deck out the boys as well - Christmas jammies are one of my favorite things. 

We also got the dogs decked out for the holidays - freshly groomed with their Christmas collars, bow and scarf - too cute!

I'd say we are all ready for the holidays! 

Thanksgiving Celebrations....

It's still amazing to me that Thanksgiving has come and gone - where does the time go? We had such a great (and extended!) Thanksgiving this year filled with lots of family and some very dear friends. 

We kicked off our holiday with a pre-Thanksgiving dinner with my family and Don and Mae Mae. They were so excited to see Harper and he seemed equally as thrilled! It was too cute to see them all together - wish we'd snapped more pictures! I know they are so thankful for their little namesake and we couldn't be more thankful for them! 

To continue the celebration we packed the family up and headed south to spend Thanksgiving with Greg, Erica, Blake, Parker & Roxie at their new home in Edenton, NC. We had so much fun, enjoyed some wonderful weather, lots of scenic walks around their waterfront neighborhood, and the kiddos had so much fun playing together in their big backyard. 

Erica and I enjoyed combining our Thanksgiving traditions and cooking up a ridiculously good (and huge!) feast. The kids even helped with the stuffing - they were all bread tearing experts! Andy and Greg were in charge of the turkey which they smoked to perfection. A wonderful meal shared with wonderful friends - beyond thankful for friends who double as family. 

Gobble gobble!