December

We are in full swing preparing for Christmas around here.  Starting with our trip to Santa.

As you can see, my boys didn't even last long enough with Santa to get a picture.  Luckily, there was a carousel to cheer the boys up.  Every year I try to act excited with them and tell them that Santa is the greatest but who am I kidding?  I was terrified of Santa until the age of 13 so I'm pretty sure I have no luck of convincing my boys to sit on his lap.  I completely understand, boys.

This past weekend I also had the opportunity to play in the Messiah.  Honestly, up until the day of the first rehearsal I was pretty darn close to dropping out for multiple reasons.  However, as always, the music got to me and I was reminded why I play.  And it has absolutely nothing to do with the people around me.  It was the perfect way for me to focus my mind on Christ and I couldn't be more grateful for the reason we celebrate this whole Christmas season.

I just really don't know what faces Patrick pulls sometimes.  He's a character...:)

As I was getting ready for the first concert(this is a picture from the second night) Patrick came into the bathroom and said, "mom, why you dressed like a queen?"  I asked him if he liked my dress and he said, "it's pretty!  You have a crown!"  He knows how to butter his mommy up. ;)  

And now we're just trying to finish up all of our Christmas gifts!  Am I the only one that feels like I have to do a Christmas bundle more than just a Christmas gift?  I swear, no matter how early I plan ahead, I'm never done until Christmas eve.

    Patrick wanted to "help" daddy with our homemade gifts.

And lastly, this is us just hanging out at our house at 11:30 at night.  I can't really write more than one post without mentioning our house.

It takes quite a bit to get me super excited about something(a quality I wish I could change), but this house does not leave my thoughts.  I already love this house of ours and by the time it's built, everyone around us will be so relieved because then they won't have to hear about it anymore.  Who knew a house could hold so many hopes and dreams.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Best Buds

Someday, my boys might be getting in full out fist fights and yelling at the top of their lungs at each other so I want proof that at one point, they were best friends.  Honestly, I hope this phase never ends.  They have their little fights(mainly over a coveted toy) but I can honestly say that these two love being with each other.  As a mother, it's pretty great to watch.  Even when I'm having a bad day and would not consider it my best "mom day," these two have each other's backs.  

 "

I don't know what I did to deserve these two, but they're pretty great.

It's about time to catch up

Hello.

Ready for a picture overload?

Good.

So, we celebrated this little thing called Thanksgiving.  

The boys looooved the little kid table that was just their size.

I loved seeing cousins that I haven't seen in a looong time.

And in general, it was great hanging out with so many people I love.

I wish I had gotten pictures from the night before because we got to celebrate two Thanksgivings.  One with Jon's family and then one with my family.  I also got the opportunity to play in a concert on Thanksgiving morning with a long time friend who I had just recently re-connected with.  It was great and a lot of fun to get into practicing a little bit.  

In other news: Aiden got his first haircut in November.

That little tuft on the top of his head was getting a little crazy

Patiently waiting while I cut his hair

All dressed up afterwards!  

And other random happenings at our house:

Ever since moving, the kids have had a hard time sleeping at night.  Some days we're exhausted but one sweet thing that's come out of it all is that Aiden likes to hold my hand for comfort.  I love holding his hand and hearing his sweet voice asking for mine.

 Aiden is our little monkey.  Bananas are still a favorite food.

And that cooking phase that Patrick went through, it's still here.  Believe me, this takes patience on my part.  Patience I don't have a lot of the time.  But when I step back and think about it, I love it.  I love that he is sooo eager to help...as long as he doesn't burn himself in the process.

And lastly, we are in full swing of having the Christmas spirit over here.  Aiden loves re-decorating the tree on a daily basis.  

Seriously, how cute is this little man?