{seven}

The boys turned 7 months old today. It seems that they are doing new things every day and it is so exciting to see them turn into little men. We took our usual monthly photos tonight in their rocking chair with Ben's usual smile and Landon's usual falling into Ben...

Hope everyone has a great New Year's Eve tomorrow. We'll be relaxing at home and hopefully watching a movie after the boys go to bed. I think we're going to check out Burn after Reading...looks like a good one!

{recap}

I finally have time for a Christmas recap!

We had a great day with the boys and our families. Dan and I decided to open our gifts to each other on Christmas Eve once the boys were in bed so we wouldn't have to rush on Christmas morning. He really spoiled me this year...he got me a really cozy sweatshirt from Original Penguin...


a cute bird print from Urban Outfitters (that is now hanging in the boys' room)...

and an mp3 player from Dell (total surprise!)


Now I can't wait to buy a cute case for it...I've already been searching Etsy.

I got him a couple pair of Ben Sherman shoes, an Original Penquin shirt and a book he had been wanting. It was great to be able to open our gifts just the two of us...parents need that time together! I actually didn't take pictures of us with our gifts this year...with Dan was pretty happy about since he's a typical guy and hates to have his picture taken.

On Christmas morning we headed to my parents house which is a 30 minute drive (just long enough for the boys to take a little nap. :) We had a great meal thanks to my mom the chef and opened all sorts of fun gifts. The boys got some adorable clothes and books, and Dan and I got some great things too.

My favorite gift for the boys is a pair of shoes my sister got them with peace signs on them...awesome.


It was so fun to see my parents and sister get to share in the boys' 1st Christmas.



I think the best gift that day was our gift to my Mom. I got her two silver charms with baby feet and hand prints on them for her charm bracelet. She cried when she saw them...that's the best gift reaction, isn't it?!


We left Mom and Dad's around 5 and headed home to spend the evening with Dan's mom and sister. Of course our camera batteries died when we got there so I don't have any photos from that part of the day. :(

The boys continued to be spoiled with more adorable clothes and Dan's mom went overboard on us and got us a shark steam mop...I'm so excited to try it out!

She knew I have been wanting to try out knitting and crocheting so she got me a knitting loom kit to get me started. I tried the long loom out last night and look what I have done so far! Not bad for my first try, huh?


Saturday was a bizarre weather day. It was in the 70's here and for Indiana that is unheard of in December! Dan's mom and I went out for a girl's day and had so much fun. We went to a local french bistro, Ghyslain, which has the most amazing pastries and chocolates.

We each had a dessert (I had a lemon tart and she had a chocolate caramel cup) and coffee, which came in our own individual french press. So fancy! There are a few shops attached to the bistro with great home goods and handmade items. It was so fun to get out with her and have some girl time (even though the boys tagged along :).

Whew! that was quite an update. Hope you were able to make it to the end! Happy Monday friends!

{tradition}

I just remembered that "A Christmas Story" will be on all day tomorrow on TBS!

I had never seen that movie until the hubs and I met and now it isn't Christmas without seeing it at least once. You'll shoot your eye out kid! I can't wait until the boys are old enough to enjoy it with us, bundled up in blankets on the couch with hot chocolate and a fire in the fireplace.

I think the mother-in-law and I are going to get together tomorrow and make Christmas cookies. Maybe that will be a new tradition for us too. The holidays may be hectic now that we're parents, but they are infinitely more enjoyable in a way that I can't put into words.

Santa drove past me today in a red car decked out in big antlers and a red nose attached to the grill. Awesome. For some reason it made me tear up...I don't know what's wrong with me other than new mom holiday sentimental-ness. Yeah...I just made up a word.

I'm already thinking about how I want to decorate the house next year. I'm thinking lots of felt and paper ornaments for a kid friendly tree. I also want to make a new wreath for our front door. Something like this..
.

Or this...


And I definitely want to make oodles of yarn pom poms because they are just too cute!!



Oh and I want one of these looms so I can make cutesie yarn flowers like Danielle Thompson! (I just saw that the looms are sold out...boo!)

Danielle is a constant source of inspiration for me. Check out what she did this year with honeycomb bells!

Genius!

And the striped socks for stockings. *swoon*

I could post photos of her stuff all day. Seriously.

Is it weird that I can't wait for Christmas 2009?!

{firsts}

The boys had their first Christmas celebration on Saturday with they hubby's family. It was a really fun day with tons of great food, gifts and laughter. We always have fun when we get together. Dan's cousin has two little boys as well... Gavin is 18 months and Aiden is 3 months so needless to say there were toys and baby gear everywhere!

It was so fun to help the boys rip into their first presents. Here are a few pics and videos of the big event. (sorry about Landon's sideways video...just turn your head to the left and you'll be fine :)






The boys got some cute new cloths and a great activity walker from Grandma Joyce. They also got an exersaucer from Uncle Pete and Aunt Faith so now they won't have to fight over the walker! I don't know how we're going to fit all of this stuff into our living room...I think we're going to have to put the coffee table in storage for awhile.

And another exciting first...Landon's first tooth is really starting to show! Dan got a great picture of it last night (at 11:30 when he wouldn't go back to sleep *yawn*) Look at how cute!!! Its neighbor is getting ready to move in too!


I'm so excited for a short work week and more celebrating on Thursday with both of our families. We're planning on taking the boys to a Christmas festival here in town tomorrow night, as long as the temperature doesn't get too crazy low. It was 0 degrees on my way to work this morning. Brrrrr!!!!

{cheer}

Christmas came early yesterday for my mother-in-law. In order to surprise her with the new bed frame we got her from IKEA, the hubs put it together while she was at work. Unfortunately I missed the surprise, but he got plenty of pictures to document her reaction.

First there were tears of joy...

Then a happy pose...

Then a few silly ones (the handcuffs were of course the hubs' idea)...


And of course Landon had to test it out for her...

I'm so glad we were able to do this for her. She works so hard and has been such a great help with the boys.

We gearing up for a fun weekend with the hubs' family...celebrating Christmas with them tomorrow! I'm taking the afternoon off to get the rest of our gifts wrapped and just enjoy some down time.

I'll leave you today with the photo I put in our Christmas cards. I created it in Scrapblog (which I'm fully addicted to), and printed them at Walgreens...easy peasy!



Have a great weekend!

{cuteness}

Wanted to share a few new pics of the boys...I swear they get cuter every day!

{outtakes}

Just a couple pics that didn't make it into our Christmas card this year. The one of Landon just cracks me up!

This weekend was extremely tiring emotionally. The hubs and I were running on fumes which makes it hard to keep each other going. Usually one of us is doing OK, but we both hit our lows at the same time...not pretty. But after some crying and a heart-to-heart we made it through. The weekends sure aren't what they used to be!

I did get some gift wrapping done which was both a practical task but also creatively therapeutic. I really enjoy wrapping gifts and personalizing them for the recipient. Finally got our Christmas card pictures ordered too. This year I've had to give in to buying ready made cards. *sigh* I'm not happy about it, but there just wasn't time to make them this year. At least they will have a cute pic of the boys inside. :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

{blog*love}

I stumbled upon a new blog today that I'm loving...Ruffled Feathers. I found her through another fun blog...Lolly Chops. Lolly is the QUEEN of the free PDF of the cutest cards and other goodies.

Ruffled is doing a fun birthday giveaway...look at that adorable orange scarflette! Perfect for these cold Indiana winters. Can you tell I'm hoping that I win?! :)

{trauma and humility}

So I think last night was one of the most traumatic for me since Dan started back to work. Most nights I have to put the boys to sleep by myself and last night was a huge test. They were both asleep by about 10:30, but all of a sudden Ben started screaming, and of course he woke up Landon. Two babies screaming...what's a mom to do?

Well, Ben was probably hungry and Landon had just been fed and changed, so poor Landon was left in his crib to scream his little heart out. He screamed the entire time I fed Ben, and when I went to check on him, he had thrown up in the crib and it was all over him. Talk about the worst guilt ever. That is when my tears started flowing.

At that point I called my mother-in-law, who lives down the street and she came over and saved me before I went over the edge. It was 12:30 before we got both boys back in their cozy beds and off to dreamland. Talk about a humbling experience.

Since becoming a mother, my mother-in-law has been my savior on many occasions and last night was probably when I've felt the most thankful and blessed to have her in my life. She is so patient and never loses her temper with the boys. She has us over at least once a week for a nice meal, and she is always there to come over and help us out when we need to go to the grocery store or just need some breathing room.

Thank you God for Joyce...words can't express how much she means to me.

{cheer}

I'm so excited to share some of my Christmas decorations with everyone. They've been up for a week or so and I finally had time last night after the boys went to bed to take some photos. I've done quite a few things differently this year. It is so fun to pull everything out and find new holiday homes for them. Of course one of the biggest additions this year is two new stocking on the mantle. The boys' grandma crocheted these for them and I couldn't love them more. I attached painted chipboard letters to them so Landon and Ben will know which stocking is theirs. Of course that is more for my enjoyment than theirs at this point.



I really love how the mantle looks this year too. Just a small mix of milkglass, trees and a couple glittery houses.



I also finished their hand print ornaments. I was pretty disappointed in the clay that I used because it cracked quite a bit. But I decided that the cracks were just a part of their charm and went ahead and painted them. I already had some metallic green paint, and also added some snowy glitter and painted detail. A pretty ribbon to hang them finished them off. It is so fun to have them hanging on the tree.



It is also fun to have some of my handmade treasures scattered around the house. I made these tinsel trees a few years back and still love them. The button house was another creation..just painted the paper mache house white and added the buttons. I love mixing in my milk glass collection with the decorations.



I needed a little extra something on the dining room buffet, so I put together a mix of Christmasy buttons. I love it!


This is the first year that I've put a tree in the kitchen. I used the white tree for Easter also, but love it on top of the fridge.


A new addition to my collection is this beautiful, glittery Eiffel Tower, thanks to my mom. It is hanging on the dining room built-in latch.


Oh, and BIG baby news!!! Landon is getting his first teeth!!!! Poor baby is pretty cranky about it, but I am more than excited to see that little white thing popping through. He is getting the lower front two teeth, but one of them is a little ahead of the other to come in. I can't wait to see his little toothy grin!