It's the most wonderful time of the year! What an amazing December it's been for our family. The tree trimming, mantle decorating, cookie baking, craft making kind of holiday season I long for the other 11 months of the year! While all of that took place in the first half of December, our most special Christmas gift of all arrived 10 days prior to Christmas. Although baby boy was due Christmas day, he blessed us with his presence on December 15, 2015 -- making this holiday season one of the most special years ever.
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Walk through this amazing, special, memorable, and of course, chaotic December with me in more photos than words - because those are the memories I want to cherish forever between this preggo brain and new mom to 3 who can't remember a dang thing these days...here we go!
First up was the tree and mantle decorating. And while E simply couldn't wait to put the train around the tree and probably asked when it was time for that 456 times, she was a trooper through the tree decorating. It's so special seeing the girls pick our ornaments out of the storage bins and ask about certain ones or just seeing their eyes simply light up because it's the coolest looking ornament in the world to them!
I've always loved looking back at ornaments and crafts every year and reflecting on past Christmases. Getting to do that with my children now is 10x more special. Can't even describe it!
This was only one year ago....and already those teeny tiny hands have grown.
Bittersweet reminders everywhere of how wonderful our previous Christmases have been, yet how our babies are already growing up and changing! Somehow, this is already E's 4th Christmas. And her first where she truly understands and believes in all the magic. And oh my goodness, does that make it magical for me!! Tonight she sat up in bed to look out her window up at the sky. Her eyes lit up as she asked "what's that I see up in the sky?! Maybeeee it's him Mommy!!!!"
These lucky babes didn't have to ask Daddy twice; one mention of wanting their own baby tree and Daddy couldn't say no (and niether could I...)
These babies fill my heart with so much love. They make our days brighter and especially during the Christmas season, they remind me what life is all about!
I'm so lucky to spend my days with this family of mine. I'm so lucky to decorate with them, bake with them, and make all my memories with them.
These kids have turned our hearts to mush. They melt us. And we're okay with that! ;)
Can you blame us? These faces.. the excitement.. the innocence.. the pure joy that being a child at Christmas time brings. It's all just wonderful.
Who knew that the $25 spent on this train set would bring such joyous memories to our family? It's E's favorite part of decorating for Christmas. She waits patiently for Daddy to get home to play with the 'Polar Express.'
I even made her promise that she would never get too old to love playing with our Christmas train! Girlfriend better keep that promise!
...and then, when baby boy arrived on December 15, the love in our home multiplied tenfold. Never even knew how possible it was to love yet another human being as much as I do.
This one below just cracks me up..we all look pretty terrible, but it's one I want to remember! The beautiful chaos of a one week old, 1 year old and newly 3 year old. It'll certainly be a Christmas to remember and one I will likely always wish we could redo over and over and over again, just to feel the insane love and happiness and even the chaos we feel now. It all makes up a beautiful memory, no matter how not-so-beautiful we look.
As I sit here on Christmas Eve (our very first Christmas Eve in our own home!), I'm listening to Christmas music and reflecting on this Christmas season. We've set out our stockings on the chimney with care, Santa has arrived and devoured his cookies, and our babies are sound asleep. I'm looking through these photos, most of when I was still pregnant and soaking up the last few days as a family of four, and thinking of how I am now the mom to 3 amazing babies...SO much joy and gratefulness fill my heart tonight!
Tonight on Christmas, and every other night of the year, in between the craziness that ensues each day, I am reminding myself of this...
I am one lucky and thankful wife and momma.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!