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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

2013 In Review

Here we go again! Another whole year to look back on. I don't think there's any way I can limit to one picture a month like I did last year. But here are the highlights of 2013.
JANUARY:
We visited the doctor for our 15 month check up, and got some professional photos taken at a studio.

 
 
FEBRUARY:
We celebrated my birthday with some family photos, and we threw our first toddler Valentine's Day Party. The boys looked so cute!
 
 
MARCH:
Henry and Holden enjoyed getting outside (even though it was still cold!) to check out their new playhouse. They also got to be the ring bearers in their Aunt Erica's wedding and looked so handsome in their outfits!
 
 
APRIL:
Happy Easter, boys! They enjoyed their first Easter egg hunts and checking out what was in their baskets (especially the chocolate...)
 
 
MAY: 
Happy Mother's Day to me! We tried for a nice picture. My mom got us a zoo membership, so we enjoyed checking out the animals.
 
 
JUNE:
First haircuts! They looked so grown up afterwards, but they did not enjoy it! We also took our first family vacation to the beach and had a great week with our cousins. 
 
 
JULY:
We went to a concert in the park and checked out the new fire station near our house. Lots of fun summer and outdoor activities.
 

AUGUST:
Our second trip to the State Fair, where we enjoyed the tractors and never wanted to leave. We tried out some splash parks and spent some time in the water with friends.
 

SEPTEMBER:
This was a big month! We started our first day of Parent's Day Out, on Mondays from 9-1. There was crying at first, but now they look forward to class! The boys also turned TWO, which we celebrated with an amazing farm-themed party.
 
 
OCTOBER:
Our second trip to Pumpkinfest was as awesome as the first. The boys loved the pumpkins, hay ride, and all the activities. We also spent plenty of time in costume, from parties, to Zoo Boo, to trick or treating.
 
 
NOVEMBER:
Loving the leaves a lot more than last year! They liked raking and jumping in the piles. We had a fun Thanksgiving with our families.


DECEMBER:
Snow is a lot more fun this year, too! They can actually walk well in boots and keep gloves on, so they can enjoy being outside. Christmas traditions were special this year, too, since the boys liked picking out the tree, decorating it and unwrapping what was under it!


That was our year in a few snapshots! We were certainly lucky in so many ways. The boys get to go to the zoo and the museum, music class and PDO, and have made lots of special friends that make our weeks go by fast. Thank you to all of our family and friends for being an amazing part of our lives! 2013 was a good one, and we look forward to what 2014 will bring!
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Sunday, December 29, 2013

Christmas 2013 Part 2

The rest of the week of Christmas was pretty quiet. We finally managed to get down to Alex's family Christmas on Saturday. It is always crazy, since the house is packed with people and cousins, so I never get as many pictures as I want! We had a delicious dinner and enjoyed catching up with everyone. I tried to take some pictures while we were opening presents, but it's hard to get many good ones. The boys and their cousin Josh each got big construction trucks, which they loved pushing around the rest of the night. We had all the cousins there, so we were able to get a few cute pictures of all of them together! Love having these to look back on as the kids keep getting older! Crazy already to look at last year and see how little the boys were.

Almost all of the older cousins take music lessons, so some of the boys were showing us the songs they knew on piano. It was pretty cute, since Henry and Holden love the piano! Of course they like turning it off and on and the volume up and down more than playing it, but it was cute to see them all gathered around it. I think they always have a great time with their big boy cousins! Love that they have so many to grow up with on that side of the family. We went down again to visit and play the next day, but I didn't take any pictures. It was a nice Christmas and we love the time with family and cousins! :)








Saturday, December 28, 2013

Christmas 2013 Part 1

We had a great Christmas this year. I don't feel like we went overboard, so it was nice and low-key. We did visit Santa, and everyone talked to the boys about him, but I'm still not sure how much they understood the concept. Everyone kept asking me if they were excited, but I don't think that'll be for another year or so when they can understand and anticipate that it's coming up. I definitely enjoyed all the other stuff, like decorating the tree and making cookies, etc, so that was fun to create those memories.

The boys' main present from us was a train table. We'd had a starter set of tracks, so I bought some extra trains and tracks and the table for their big gift. It has an awesome drawer, too, so the tracks can be all put away and we use it for a Lego table too! We got several DVDs since we don't have cable, and some books. I got them a stamp set, some puzzles, a few new dinosaurs, and a new set of hat and gloves. (Along with a few other little odds and ends. Opening stockings was rough since I had put a lot of treats in there that they wanted to eat right away!) Lanore got a new toy to chew up, which she really enjoyed as long as the boys weren't taking it away from her! Poor pup.

We went to my parents' house Christmas evening, after nap. Presents there were more of the same, lots of DVDs and books, and just a few toys. I feel like we already have so many toys for this age, so books are always good! It was really cute to see them opening their own presents, and passing out presents to everyone and "helping" them open, as well! We had our yummy lasagna dinner and just enjoyed time with the family. Definitely a nice Christmas! We are lucky to have both families so close and not have any major travel plans.









The Henry and Holden ornaments that I make each year


Friday, December 27, 2013

Christmas Eve 2013

Christmas Eve I decided to get crazy and let the boys decorate sugar cookies. We pretty much were staying home in our pajamas for the morning/afternoon, so I wasn't too worried about a mess. I cleared off the counters and set up the sprinkles and dough, knowing I'd want to take pictures. Only afterwards did I see how messy the rest of the kitchen was!! Sigh. I should have at least closed that cabinet door behind them...Hopefully you won't notice that too much since the boys look cute! They definitely had fun, and even shared the sprinkles pretty well. Henry kept trying to eat the raw dough and then cried when I told him he couldn't. (In his defense, the play date cookie decorating had already baked and iced cookies, so they could eat them right away. This was the roll of dough, though, so I didn't think eating it before baking was a good idea!)


"Excuse me, mind if I reach across you..."

"Yeah, Henry! Use those sprinkles!"


The finished products before going in the oven. I know you'd eat those...
After nap, we headed over to my mom's house for our usual get together. Alex had a music gig, so he didn't come with us this year, but we had a fun time with Grandma, Papaw and Aunt Lauren and Uncle Evan. I tried to get shots of the boys all dressed up, since they looked so cute! But it's impossible to get both of them to hold still and/or look in my direction. Oh well! We snacked on all our favorite foods, ran laps around the kitchen, and read some books together before heading home for bed!
 
Giving Grandma her present


Handsome boys! (Eating crackers)







Reading the Night Before Christmas