Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Happy New Year!

2014 was so good to us!  In a lot of ways it was a sweet and simple year.  That's the best kind.

We celebrated a wedding...


We celebrated birthdays...




We learned new things and had new experiences...




We celebrated holidays...





We welcomed some dear friends' new babies into the world… (there were others not pictured) :)


We visited some of our favorite places, some new places, and spent time with family…







But my very favorite moments are the ones that aren't always represented in pictures… all the moments in between.

We are usually New Years Eve at home people, but this year we are living life on the edge and going to some friends' house and my parents are keeping the kids!
I snapped these pictures before we dropped them off.


Happy New Year!

Update: Looks like Reid and Georgia Kate had fun ringing in the new year too! :)



Monday, December 29, 2014

Christmas Wrap-Up

Just like that, Christmas has come and gone!  We had a great couple of days celebrating with our families.

My parents came over on Christmas Eve Eve to give the kids this playhouse!  They've already had so much fun with it.  

On Christmas Eve we went to Mumsie and Poppies' house for games, cookie decorating, church, dinner, and presents!










Reid didn't really talk about presents all month long and didn't ask for anything for Christmas, but once he realized what was going on, he was SO excited to start opening! :)  This has been a really fun age at Christmastime.  Before the gift giving part of Christmas came, he told me his favorite things were Christmas music (specifically Joy to the World), Christmas lights, and candy canes!

My attempt to get a fancy picture of Reid in front of the tree...

I LOVE Georgia Kate's face in this picture!



My mom gave Georgia Kate my American Girl Bitty Baby from when I was a little girl (or if we're being honest, probably an upper elementary/junior high girl because I played with dolls for a LONG time)! :) She got the doll a new outfit, as well as a cradle and high chair with custom Mumsie bedding.  


CURLS.
We forgot to take a picture of the kids with Mumsie and Poppies, but here are two pictures to prove that they were there. :) 


The kids fell asleep in the car on our 10 minute drive home, so we carried Georgia Kate up to her bed and put Reid in our bed because we didn't want him wondering down from his room in the middle of the night and seeing what Santa brought! Reid has been funny about the whole Santa thing.  He wanted nothing to do with him at Bass Pro and really didn't want to talk about him all month long.  We were reading a book one time and it said something about Santa and his eyes got wide and he asked, "Is Santa going to come IN my house?"  He wasn't asking it in a "that is so neat" way, he was asking it in a "I don't think so" way.  I quickly told him that Santa would just leave his presents on the porch and that Mommy and Daddy would go out and get them.  When he woke up on Christmas morning, the very first thing he said  (so matter of factly) was, "Mommy.  Santa didn't come because I didn't hear him knock."  Reid is such a thinker and always has been, so none of this has surprised me.

It was just the four of us for a couple of hours on Christmas morning.  There were definitely some sweet and fun moments, but honestly, it was mostly just a lot of sibling fighting and crying! Haha!  

In typical Reid fashion, he didn't really react to his bike for a little while.  He looked at it and then went right over to Georgia's kitchen.  He had to process the whole bike thing, but once he decided he was ready to sit on it, he was so excited and proud of it!  

Somebody loves his newest instrument!

Chris and I couldn't get over the fact that Reid is old enough to ride a real bike!  


Chris' family came over later that morning.  Grandma and Grandpa got the kids a trampoline (and this huge bear)!


Again, I failed to get a grandparent picture, but here is proof that they were there. :) 


Christie and Reid had fun jumping!
The kids ended up staying in their pajamas for the entire day!
We feel so blessed to be able to celebrate Christmas with both of our families every year.

I have especially loved the last few "post-Christmas" days of lounging around in our comfy clothes, playing with new toys, and just being together as a family.  Chris is back to work today, so it's back to reality (for just a couple of days)!  Good thing my reality is pretty wonderful!