Christmas at Home

We hosted Christmas Eve dinner at our house this year. Brian's mom was here and my parents came over after our late afternoon church service so we had five adults and our two young kiddos.

I planned the menu last week and grocery shopped Monday morning along with everyone else in town.

Caroline and I were the first to wake Christmas Eve morning and we quietly hid out in the laundry room, ironing placemats and napkins and dressing up dolls.

I spent the day polishing silver, prepping food, making place cards, setting the table so everything would be just so. We served dinner on my nana's Christmas china and dessert on her candlewick plates. My silver is the same pattern she chose all those years ago and the one my mom uses so regularly.

Brian and I bustled in the kitchen while his mom kept the kiddos entertained. I was amazed that the timing all worked out and we sat down to a delicious and cozy dinner of perfectly roasted beef tenderloin, caprese salad, roasted chick peas + pistachios, green beans, and rosemary potatoes (recipe from The Pioneer Woman's new holiday cookbook) with fabulous pies from my mother-in-law for dessert.

Brian said a beautiful Christmas Eve prayer and my mom cried so I felt like we were doing something right!

After dinner we all filed into the family room around the tree, and the kids opened their one present for the night, new coordinating pj's.

Except Andrew's were too big - they were out of his size and the size up were about six inches too long, but he didn't care one bit. He was so excited because Santa was coming! and his family was there! and it was Jesus' birthday! Christmas for a four and a half year old is so very awesome.

And it was pretty awesome for me too. It made me so happy to work hard to create a beautiful table and a tasty dinner to celebrate this holy holiday with our families. This was the first time we have successfully hosted a holiday without my mom having to come rescue my meal - I tried the first Christmas after Caroline was born and it was SO BAD.

This Christmas dinner though, this, made me feel like a real grownup. I have the very best memories of Nana and Pop's and those easy Christmases of my childhood surrounded by our extended families, but the chance to spend a relaxed Christmas at home, in our new home that feels so very us, was really special too.

And I think the kids thought it was pretty special on Christmas morning.

I will never look at this photo and not smile, right?

As per our usual, I will take down the tree and pack away all the Christmas decorations on New Year's Day. It's always a little bittersweet, but I think it may even be more so this year. We've had a really beautiful first Christmas in this house.

The Disney Cruise

We're back!

Oh how I've missed the internet. And y'all. And your blogs.

Our family spent the last week on board the Disney Fantasy with Mickey and all his friends. We're cruise people. We cruised a whole lot before the kids because it's easy to see so much in a short period of time, and it's pretty relaxing too.

So a week on the Mickey Boat with our kids and my parents and my sister's family with her two kids wasn't exactly relaxing, but it was a blast!

We left out of Florida last Saturday after flying in that morning so it was a long, long day. But the kids did really well considering. It was a great start to the week.

We made stops in St. Maarten and St. Thomas and the Disney private island, Castaway Cay, in the Bahamas. But mostly we enjoyed our time on the boat. Andrew's face every time he met a new character was priceless.

I'm pretty sure he has a crush on all the princesses. :)

And since we were travelling with four kids four and under we did the smartest thing we could have done and brought along our babysitter. She afforded us a little downtime in the afternoons while the little ones were napping and a few nights of adults only dinners too.

Brian and I had a chance to ride the Aquaduck a few times. Andrew rode the Mickey slide approximately 62 times and the littles ran around the Nemo's Reef splash pad for hours.

Two mornings we went to a Disney Junior show and danced around with characters like Jake from the Jake and the Neverland Pirates and did the Hotdog dance with Pluto. Seriously - Andrew was kind of in shock. It was cute.

Disney is known for their attention to detail and I can't say enough about how beautiful these ships are. We spent five nights on the Dream last spring and they are both just impeccable ships. The service is outstanding and the entertainment can't be beat.

I'm sure when the kids are a little older and we're a little braver we'll make the trek to Disney World, but for now, while they still need naps and regular sleeping and meal schedules the cruise is the way to go.

Andrew's been drawing pictures of the Mickey Boat ever since we got home Saturday night and he's written a few letters to Mickey too. We're supposed to hold on to them and give them to him the next time we're on his boat.

I'm really hoping we'll get the chance to hand deliver them. :)

All Dressed Up

Brian and I got all dressed up in our snazzy best Saturday night and headed downtown with Kelsey and Matt and my parents to live it up at the Rockwall Women's League Charity Ball.

This was our second year to attend. Last year the ball was held in a huge barn in a pretty spot out in the country. And it was fun, but it was hot and humid and we all had fuzzy hair.

Last night's fancy ballroom party was much more comfortable.

Except for the shoes.

I wore these. Not only did I wear them all night, but I danced in them all night. My feet may never forgive me, but it was worth it. The band was fabulous. They were a bit like a toned town version of the Spazmatics - awesome.

The Reid girls all dressed up.

I was super happy with my dress and I'm bummed I didn't get a picture of the whole thing. It has a full ruffled skirt. I'm hoping I have a reason to wear it again soon. Kelsey was glowing in her coral dress and mom was just beautiful in her regal purple gown.

So fun to see Dad in his tux. As a member of the the Women's League, Mom worked hard to help set up and prepare for the party. It was so nice to see all their hard work pay off.

They had pretty flowers on the tables and they were up high so we could see around them. It's my favorite way to do centerpieces.

And maybe my favorite part of the party was the little flipbook we had made of us in silly costumes.

So much fun! (PicFlips had a little booth set up and they did a great job! I think this would be the BEST wedding party activity.) We'll treasure our little flip book for a long time. And Brian may grow a big mustache. :)

It's so fun to get dressed up and go to a party! I'm looking forward to next year's ball already!

Our Belated Easter Celebration

No, no. I'm not a week behind. Well, I am, but these photos are just from yesterday.

Remember how Andrew was sick as a dog last week? Well, we delayed our family Easter celebration until this past weekend.

We went to our church's new Saturday night service and then we were up early on Sunday to see what the Easter bunny dropped off. Yes, I called the Eater bunny and asked him to come a week late. No problem at all, he said. :)

Andrew thought getting an Easter basket full of goodies was way worth the wait. And Caroline was pretty happy with her new "phone" too.

And then we were off to my parents' to hunt eggs with my sister and Matt and cousin Reid. Miss Anna Kate slept through most of the egg hunt, sweet thing, but she was there too.

The kids had a blast! I knew Andrew would be a pro at egg hunting, but I wasn't sure what Caroline would think of it all. Well, she figured it out right away.

So even though our real Easter Sunday was spent on the couch, we can celebrate God's love and His promise anytime, right?

Newborn Photos

I'm so blessed to be Aunt Megs, that my nephew knows and loves me, that between us my sister and I have FOUR kids under the age of four, and we all live in the same neighborhood.

I love that our kids are going to grow up friends, two boys and two girls and maybe more? I don't know, but these four are going to have fun. And probably get into lots of trouble, but not too much. :)

Last Saturday I had the privilege of photographing my sister and her new baby and their beautiful little family.

And while this is clearly an outtake, it's one of my favorites from the day. Look! There's a pretty baby right there! I can't look at it and not laugh.

They are such happy parents and I'm so very happy for them - and for me. Because I get to love on their kiddos too. Being Aunt Megs is pretty special.

So is Anna Kate.

Her lips? Amazing! Seriously, people would pay good money for those.

I hadn't done a newborn shoot in months and months. I only do them for friends and family so my opportunities are pretty few, but I love them. They're tons of work, but so worth it.

If I were ever going to go pro I'd want to do more babies. They're squishy and adorable. And I'd take a workshop on posing. It's hard, y'all. At least for me.

But the best part is that I get to take more and more photos of Anna Kate. See? I'm so blessed to be Aunt Megs.

Happy 2013!

Happy New Year from our crazy family to yours! 

My only resolution for 2013 is to go to bed at a decent hour. My mantra is going to be eleven to seven, eleven to seven.

If I can get us all on a better sleep schedule I think lots of other stuff I want to accomplish this year will fall in to place.

If you have any tips I'm all ears because we all know I've tried this before. ::sigh::

This time I will do it!

P.S. Here's our family photo from January 1, 2012.

What a difference a year makes!

A Look Back

Looking back at 2012 I feel like it was a year of finding myself. How cliche is that? Maybe finding my creative self. I started out the year saying I was going to focus on living life.

I'm not really sure what that even meant, but maybe I did it? I think mostly I adjusted to being a mom to two mobile children. It's still crazy but totally fun, and most days I feel like we're doing really well around here.

I started out the year organizing, cleaning and purging. I got rid of so much stuff, but this house it still so full. An abundance of blessings and I'm thankful, but I still have lots of work to do here.

In March we went on a Disney cruise with my family and Andrew turned three. He of course thought we went on the Mickey Boat to celebrate his birthday. Either way, it was an awesome trip.

Sleeping baby in the Ergo and mini golf with Goofy.

I thought Andrew seemed so big on his third birthday. Now I think he looks like just a baby.

So cool.

I made my first cupcake toppers for Easter in April. Those little toppers were the beginning of my craftiness this year.

I'd never considered myself particularly crafty, but I learned that I really enjoy designing things in Photoshop.

I made banners for lots of holidays.



Like the Fourth of July, Halloween and even the Olympics.

But the crown jewel of my craftiness was Caroline's birthday party.

This still makes me happy.

Hehehe!

I should have just left these up all year!

Oh man, that was a pretty party.

Also, I made her cake from scratch. That was new. I bought my first ever KitchenAid mixer, and I've used it lots this year. It's pretty awesome.

Oh, I cut bangs in 2012.

That was a big, big change, but I love them. I'll admit it took me a bit to decide that though. Now I feel like they're flattering and current and also like I tried harder than I did - ha!

Brian was gone a lot this year. He worked a ton and he was in school getting his MBA, but graduated in December. ::angels singing::

I'm so very proud of him.

I started making Bento style lunches at the beginning of the school year.

These are so much fun and Andrew thinks he has the coolest lunch around.

I tried really hard to get my life all organized at the same time. It's a work in progress y'all.

We also spent a week in Florida this fall. It was fabulous.

The kids had the best time. I really loved it there and hope we go back in 2013.

The holidays were kind of a blur of finishing school and decorating and parties and Mavericks games. But we did manage to snap a family picture.

I can't explain Caroline's face. It's the best we could do. Ha!

Andrew believed in Santa's magic this year and was SO excited when he brought him a Batmobile. I totally get it, buddy. I'd like a new car too.

Overall, it was a good year. A year of adjusting and growing and learning who we are as a family of four.

Happy New Year to you all! I hope you take some time to reflect back on your 2012 and find that it was a good one indeed.