Christmastime Shenanigans--part 2

More Christmas time fun!

How amazing is my sister in law?! As many times as she has come over as Elsa, it never gets old at all. This time she read The Night Before Christmas to Em by the fireplace and the tree. Absolutely priceless.

Oh the craziness I put my kids through to try to get good pictures. Call me crazy, but I think it's worth it!

Em and I had a blast making this "gingerman" house during Hudson's nap one day. She kept asking if she could eat it and exercised great restraint when I continually told her no. "Okay! Honest-wee, I really wanna eat it!"

Emme loved being Mary in nursery...for about 30 seconds. Then she wanted it tied around her neck so that it could be an "Elsa cape". This kid!

Some days I just get hairbrained ideas in my head. A friend with a brand new baby commented on my Instagram that she loved a hat I made Hudson and so I made it and dropped it off to her little boy playing in the front yard, who must have thought I was a lunatic-- "Will you give this to your mom? Okay--bye!" I am such a sucker for surprises--especially giving them to others.

We seriously went to see Santa 4 different times, but Emme would either get totally freaked out or the line would be crazy long. The weekend before Christmas I put my foot down and we went and saw the Santa at boulevard. Em was a little scared but the Santa was darling and kept repeating that he knew she wanted a green Elsa dress for Christmas. After, she wouldn't stop talking about how he most definitely is NOT scary! :)

For the first time, little Emme got to shop for a little friend's gift and we delivered it a few days before Christmas. It was such a good experience for her because she's pretty much on the receiving end of everything.

Christmastime Shenanigans--part 1

There is no better time than Christmastime! My goodness, it never gets old. Here are some shenanigans that helped us feel the Christmas spirit this year.

We wrote Hermana Hauck this silly letter and made her this hymn book cover. I'm so proud of her serving in Mexico but can't wait to have her back next Christmas.

Oh the wonderful bribery that Lala the Elf brought to our house. She was certainly mischievous and Emme loved to see what Lala did in the night, but the best part was when Emme was naughty, she would cry that Lala had seen her and would be telling Santa. We might have to develop year-round elves--this could make me a millionaire.

I got to go on a date to the DSU Faculty lunch with my mommy. She is so well-respected on campus. One of the many reasons I love being seen with her.

During finals week the college had therapy dogs to calm nerves. This little Rylee was darling. Best idea ever!

Our 2016 friend Christmas party. We ate, played the newlywed game, and caught up with some of our favorites.

Some darling family, still unbeknownst to us, brought us the 12 days of Christmas. The kids got so excited to see what our "secret friends" brought. In fact Christmas morning, I asked Emme, "Guess who came?!" and she said "Our secret friends??!" :)

After tasting a Sweet Tooth Fairy iced oatmeal cookie at the Dicken's festival, I decided to make my own. This proved to be a dangerous dangerous mistake that I think will have to be a yearly tradition now!

November in Everyday Photos

Here is our November in everyday photos:

We started this gratitude challenge from The Small Seed. I say "started" because I think we only did 2 of the 25 days. Oops. But the first day we left a message for our sweet neighbor who has been fighting breast cancer. Rapunzel even took part in the fun.

I was having a particularly frustrating day at church and just wondering why I was even there, but then Hudson kept crawling over to the feet of this painting and I realized that we were still worshipping in our own perfectly imperfect way.

On Emme's birthday, we had a big DHS Drama Reunion to celebrate Russ's retirement. It was so fun to be involved and I was even invited to sing a special musical number, "For Good" with a group of who I perceived to be the best of Russ's students. I felt flattered but pretty nervous about singing the first 2 lines of the song. I felt myself feeling all sorts of high school emotions and nerves, but it was a very fun performance. Russ just kept saying, "I love you so much!" when he greeted him after. He is a special man who has had a special influence in both of our lives.

I must have hundreds of pictures of Emme in her dress ups. This is the case because I love to see her imagination at work, but it is also the case because she is almost always in them. It can get annoying and the negotiations to get her to wear normal clothes get old too, but when I see her this happy, I am reminded that it's okay to let her be little.

Hudson and his darling cousin Parker are less than 24 hours apart, and so Shane and Mandy invited us over for a little party for Parker on the 19th. I'm so happy that they'll grow up so close in age!

To Shaye's delight, Hudson started cheering during this BYU game. We then proceeded to lose, but what else is new.

We went to the Jubilee of Tree. It's such a lovely event. The Kisses for Kycie tree was especially touching; that sweet girl passed away from the complications of late-diagnosed Type I diabetes. Her tree was so moving, with angel wings and plenty of pink. Santa was there, and Emme was excited to see him. However, once she caught sight of him, she started crying. The rest of the night, she was looking over her shoulder saying, "Santa's not scary..." We also got to see Diamond Talent perform. Seeing them perform always brings back mixed-feeling memories for me, but they do such a fantastic job. This definitely got us in the holiday spirit.

Thanksgiving weekend we had a little shower for Marci. She is expecting a baby boy in March. We went and got massages. It was the first time in a decade for me, and it was such a wonderful afternoon of pampering. I love my friends!

And there is November in everyday photos!

Thanksgiving 2015

It wouldn't have been Thanksgiving without me having some sparky idea. I decided that I wanted to make matching outfits for the kids, and I settled on this orange and maroon plaid that I've been wanting to use.  I just loved the result!

We had Thanksgiving at Staci's. Emme ran wild the whole time with her older cousins. They dote on her, and it touches my heart. Pretty sure she barely ate anything.

A bit later we went to my Aunt Kim's new house on Foremaster. It was fun to see my mom's extended family for awhile. Shaye posed right in the middle of everyone for the family picture. I'm glad to see that he finally knows his place--front and center.

Little Hudsie fell asleep and Miss Dottie came and snuggled him. She has an especial fondness for him, I think. It was a lovely day. We watched the Macy's Parade with Emme in the morning and the day was filled with the warmth of family. So very much to be grateful for!

Hudson's First Birthday

Hudson's first birthday was a fun day! I filled up his crib with balloons in the morning, which he seemed to find both interesting and annoying.

I also made him this little felt birthday hat. He wasn't too sure about it, but I was able to keep it on him long enough to get some fast photos.

Here was the spread for Hudson's party. We kept it pretty simple with pizza, salads, marshmellow caramel krispie pops, and chocolate cake.

Nana and Papa and my siblings were there.

Shaye's parents and Skyler and Jamie came too. They LOVE being photographed. Can you tell? My sweet Grandma was there too.

Hudsie loved his gifts, especially the car ramp from Nana and Papa.

My favorite thing the whole day had to be the cake smash. You can see how it all progressed (or rather broke down) here!

He was chocolate wasted by the end! Happy birthday to my beautiful baby boy! I still can't believe you're mine!