Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! I hope you spent your day with loved ones, enjoyed wonderful surprises, got everything your heart desired, and, most of all, I hope you aren't suffering the preschool plague like we are. Sickness aside, it really was the most magical holiday yet. We had to rearrange schedules and drop a few traditions we normally cherish, but in the end we enjoyed our lowkey holiday to the max. Ez's jubilance and elation carried him through any lingering cold symptoms and lifted the rest of our spirits as well. And Decky? Well, he showed up for the party in between barfing, and that's really all you can ask. 😷

We spent our Christmas Eve at home with a quiet dinner and a last round of our favorite Disney Christmas movies. This was the first year in a long time that we didn't go to my aunt's house for Christmas Eve, and it was a lot quieter than we're used to, but a restful night was just what we needed. Once the kiddos went to sleep, I decided to stay up watching Elf and managed to catch Santa in the act. He was extremely generous this year. I guess between potty training and starting school for the first time, he though Ez deserved lots of goodies. 

After a less than restful night Joe woke everyone up at 7:30 (myself included). Ez groggily walked downstairs but perked up pretty fast when he saw a room full of presents. Decky had to be dragged begrudgingly to the living room and wasn't too pleased to find out we wanted him to work (aka, unwrap presents) before he'd had his morning waffles. We tore right into stockings and presents and we all found lovely surprises waiting for us. Ez's enthusiasm at each and every present ("LOOK! IT'S A BOX!!!") will forever live in my memory. Decky beelined for his brand new maracas and all of Ez's presents (naturally). 

After presents we had just enough time for a lazy breakfast and playing with toys before heading over to my parent's house for Christmas #2. When I say that a toy store awaited us when we walked into their living room, I am not exaggerating. These two boys are so very loved and they appreciated each and every gift they got (including the wrapping and boxes). Ez's head nearly exploded with excitement and he was jumping all over the place showing everyone his new gifts by placing them millimeters from our eyeballs. It was the most infections kind of excitement and I know this will go down in history as one of our favorite Christmases ever. Decky was a lot more into the bubble wrap and the tree ornaments than presents, but to each their own and he enjoyed Christmas in his own two year old way. 

As for Joe and I, even though colds threw a wrench in our plans, overall we were just happy to spend the day with our loved ones watching the magic unfold through Ez and Decky's eyes. To everyone who braved are germy little toddlers and spent the day with us: THANK YOU! You made Christmas all that much more magical, and we love you so much. To all those we missed this year, I hope you had the best day and we were sending you lots of love and festive thoughts from Sacramento. 

To combat those post-Christmas withdrawals that I know are right around the corner, I've made a little video so we can relive the day whenever we want:

Wishing you all the most relaxing week leading up to 2018!

Christmas in Sacramento

Five days until Christmas. F I V E. 

Remember when you were a kid and five days felt like an eternity? What happened to those days?? And then after Christmas it's just one more more week until 2018. In case you couldn't tell, I've officially hit what the ef happened to 2017 mode. I'm currently somewhere between wanting to cram in all the Christmas traditions I can, and wanting to just chill and enjoy what's left of this year. Anyone else? ✋

One of the best things about holidays are those things we only do once a year that automatically tie all the past Christmases together and give you that cozy nostalgia feeling. But I'm also coming to the realization that it's worth letting some traditions go in the name of sanity. Confession: I haven't baked a single cookie this year, and I doubt I will. Thankfully my mom came through with several dozen of her cookies, which are no doubt a thousand times better than mine could ever be. I also haven't made a single hand or footprint craft to commemorate this Christmas. The boys seriously hate this tradition, and as much as I love comparing their handprints over the years, it's just not gonna happen. I haven't even watched Love Actually (not yet, anyway). 

And you know what? This Christmas season is the best one yet. 

Ez puts Buddy the Elf to shame when it come to festiveness, and the sight of a Christmas tree or Santa blows his mind every. single. time. Decky hasn't quite crossed over to our level of merriness just yet, but he will get down to some Christmas music and he loves a good Christmas tree (for dismantling purposes, of course). 

Holiday highlights include Ez shouting, "LOOK!! IT'S SANTA!!!" as a white-bearded man in an orange track suit rode by on a bicycle. Also, Ez being the awkward, totally not into it kid during his school's nativity play. Declan pilfering ornaments from the tree every time our back is turned. Both boys' complete and utter joy at an impromptu dance recital we happened to catch. Ez shouting "dare!" (there) every time we pass a house with Christmas decorations. And Decky recoiling in terror any time he comes within twenty feet of Santa. 

It's technically our first Sacramento Christmas as a family, but Joe and I did visit last December and we came across a bunch of stuff we knew the kids would love. Little did we know that we'd be moving here one short month later. So of course we had to stop by the Santa Run and cheer on all the Santas, even if it was windy as hell that day. We stopped by the light show in Old Town, which Ez LOVED and we're hoping to catch one more show before Christmas. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Sacramento goes ALL OUT when it comes to decorating. Like it basically turns into a huge block party/parade and wandering around to check out lights was probably one of my favorite memories of the year. 

Here's a little photo evidence of what we've been up to lately, and as I'm narrowing down my favorite pictures it's no wonder we haven't done any baking. Apparently we've been busier than I realized. Throw in preschool festivities (aka - assembling 60 very ramshackle gingerbread houses) and it's been a crazy month. The best most merriest kind of crazy though.

Wishing you all a restful few days leading up to the big day. Haha, no, but seriously. 

Memorial Day Weekend

Considering we were just kind of winging it with our plans for Memorial Day weekend we sure managed to cram a whole lot of stuff in. Monster trucks, a petting zoo, bounce houses and balloons, my brother's graduation party, bubbles, hiking, swimming, and a barbecue. There was definitely something for everyone this weekend, and it was the perfect transition into summer. 

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend as well!

"Land of the free, because of the brave."