Christmas 2017

We had the best Christmas this year. We toyed with the idea of traveling but opted to stay home. I wanted a cozy Christmas at home for Tessa's first Christmas and the first one in our house, and that was exactly what we got. It was simple and perfect. 

 Andre had the Friday before Christmas off so we beat the cold and went swimming. Tessa did awesome for her first time and was so cute. Rhett was a maniac and a pro at the kids' slide--I guess those swim lessons are paying off!

 Saturday we took a ride on the Santa Train! I was nervous when I saw the forecast for snow in the mountains, but it was just snow-globing and made the whole thing into a winter wonderland!

Seriously so beautiful. Rhett loved looking out the window on the ride. 

 And then Santa came on board! He spent half the ride in our car talking to all the kids and families. 

 Santa and Tessa loved each other. 

 Santa showing Rhett his special key to the gates of the North Pole. Andre also realized his goal for retirement is to become a train Santa. 

 After the train before the cookies and hot cocoa. Rhett loved it, despite what his face says. (He also peed his pants right before he got on board and of course we didn't have any extra clothes so he was wet the whole ride. Sorry Santa!)

 Then it was Christmas Eve and a beautiful Sunday after it snowed the night before. These kids were killing it in their festive wear. Tessa's sparkly shoes!

 Our friends cancelled last minute for Shepherd's Dinner so it was just us, but it was simple and nice. Rhett seemed to really understand the concept and loved being able to eat on the floor. 

 Christmas pajamas!

 We tracked Santa all day on Christmas Eve (seriously one of my favorite Christmas traditions with kids) and then left out chocolate chip cookies we had specially made for Santa (one of the Santas we met earlier this month said they were his favorite). Rhett carefully put out four carrots for the reindeer to share. 

 Christmas morning! Tessa was mesmerized by the lights on her stocking. 

 We were dying over this mini mermaid tail Natalie made for Tessa. So cute! 

 ...and this is how we spent the rest of the day. Besides eating, having family over, and talking with missionary Shane. The remote control Darth Vader car from Santa is clearly the favorite present. 

We ended the night at the Engstroms for Reagan's blessing. Look at these two--6 weeks and 6 months and basically the same size! We have a similar picture from when Avery and Rhett were babies.

All in all, a cozy, perfect Christmas. Such a fun time of year!

just some Christmas-y thoughts

+ We're packing in all the Christmas traditions this year. We invited a few of Rhett's friends over for a gingerbread house play date last week and it was so much fun--definitely a new tradition! The boys made houses (which turned to monsters because they are 4) and then serenaded me with Jingle Bells in their dress ups.

The cutest boys and the best gingerbread houses. It also earned me the title of the "cool mom" that I'm enjoying before it inevitably goes away. 

+ We finally started watching Stranger Things because we jump on bandwagons a year after everyone else. It's just how we roll. But holy goodness, this show. We are overthinking everything and looking for connections and foreshadowing. The hype is real, people!

+ Tessa started sitting up and she's basically a teenager. She finally has gotten the hang of eating real food (it was super messy there for a while when nothing went in and she just licked at it like a cat) and she started calling Andre Dada. Stop, time, stop!

+ "Ornament Elves" visit Rhett each night while he's sleeping and put a little ornament on the mini tree in his room. I don't want to forget the excitement every morning when he wakes up and has to show me the new ornament..."close your eyes, no peaking until I say so"

+ New Years is almost here, which means it's goal setting time! I'm making my 30 before 30 list and am super excited about some of the things on there. It's going to be a great year!

+ We found a house in the neighborhood next to ours that has the most amazing Christmas light show. It's seriously 60 minutes long and there is fire involved. I've already been twice, but I just want to go all the time because it is mesmerizing and seriously the coolest thing ever. It's also inspired us to pick up our Christmas light game (though still not anywhere close to that level).

I hope to be as happy in life as Tessa is when eating graham crackers. That face!

Christmas celebrations

Christmas is in two weeks! I think our kids are the perfect ages for Christmas this year--Rhett is so into it and gets excited about everything, and there's just something magical about a baby's first Christmas. I sat down in November to schedule the month so we don't miss any festive fun, and we've been doing lots of fun things lately!

 Building gingerbread houses at Home Depot. Rhett was very proud of his handiwork.

 Meeting Santa and Mrs. Claus at the library. A fantastic event with no lines, crafts, and fun treats for the kids.

 Rhett found us the perfect Christmas tree. In the King Soopers parking lot because we're classy like that.

 This is our first year getting a real tree, and we love the smell and ambiance, but getting it to stand straight was a nightmare. And then the tree fell over after we decorated it and some of my favorite childhood ornaments broke. I'm still mourning. So now it's propped up with cardboard under the tree skirt and no one is allowed to touch it, but darn it, we have a real tree!

 We've been getting more into #LighttheWorld this year, and Rhett has been awesome about it. Here he is dropping off a toy he picked out for the toy drive.

Preschool Christmas concert. Highly entertaining. 

Santa's Village at Winterfest where it was 65 degrees and we were sweating. I watched so many kids try to climb into the little house. 

 Our Relief Society Christmas party with so much soup and bread and so many songs I had to play on the piano at the last minute. But it was good and the spirit was there.

 Cufflinks craft shows! Rhett is learning the family business young.

 Putting Christmas lights up on our house! This was a moment of pure adulthood/manhood for Andre. (And I'm glad my dad was there to logistical support--ladder on the sloped driveway made me nervous!)

Rhett, the cheesy helper. 

Not Christmas related, but Nana and Poppy finished their mission! They stopped for the weekend on their trek west, and the kids were in heaven. 

little moments: november

I may have lost most of my phone pictures in November, but I didn't lose my spirit! Amazingly, I had a string prompting to back up my photos and combine mine and Andre's phone pictures on the cloud about a week before my phone died. If I hadn't done that, I would have lost almost all of Tessa's pictures. A serious blessing that only a few things were lost.

But November was great! Fall, the festivities, the beautiful weather! Here are some favorite moments:

Exploring the discovery room at the nature center by our house. It was a hit! We happened to go on a super cold day and couldn't hike, but we'll be back!

 Free day at the zoo! On another super cold day (but I swear the weather really was good this month?) I've never seen the animals so active! We had so much fun getting up close with the baby giraffe and seeing the river otters run on their exercise wheel.

 Tessa tried her Johnny Jumpup for the first time. Apparently it's delicious. She's gotten the hang of it more since them.

 Sleep issues. Sick + teething = baby who will only nap being held. We're working on it, but it made for some long nights. I'm just trying to remember that it won't last forever and enjoying the snuggles while I can.

 "Mom, will you take my picture by these rugs?" Sure. We ran across a steal of a deal on a huge rug for the basement that we're turning into a playroom. I lugged the rug through the store and to the car while Rhett pushed the stroller. We were quite a sight, and now I'm glad I have this cute picture to remember the experience.

 Rhett started gymnastics! He's done it before, but these classes are way more intense. They were doing handstands on the first day with no instruction! Rhett's not the best in the class, but it is so good for him to learn to keep trying and he'll get better.

 Tessa is turning into a music lover. She's always been a Daddy lover.

These two have been giving me a sneak peek of what life will be like when they can actually play together. We might be in trouble! Tessa loves Rhett and already goes along with whatever he says.