Gingerbread House Building

Last year we started the tradition of building a gingerbread house and it really is so fun. Asher didn't get to participate last year as he was so little but he totally got it this year and of course couldn't resist to eat a good portion of his candy that was meant to decorate the house lol.

By accident, I picked up a pre constructed house, let me tell ya, I am only buying that kind again. Sooo much easier than having to build the house one night, letting it set and then decorate another night. Chase was thrilled he could decorate right then and there. I did all of the icing and the boys stuck the candy onto the icing. We make a great team :)

North Pole Breakfast

We kicked off the month of December and the Christmas season with a North Pole Breakfast bought by Santa's elves!!! Except we had breakfast at dinner as it was a week day and we didn't want James to miss out on the fun.

The elves also bought a Christmas box for the boys. They thought it was the greatest thing ever and were so intrigued as to how the elves got into the house...was it through the chimney like Santa?...did Cisco see them?...why didn't they (Chase and Asher) hear them? I love just how into it they are, and how they are such believers!!! The box contained their advent calendars (Which have been a huge help for Chase seeing he can count how many more days are left until the big guy comes), Christmas pjs, Christmas socks, Rudolph coloring books and a book about the Christmas Story.

Boo at the Zoo in Dcemeber

Boo at the Zoo did in fact take place over Halloween in the month of October but I've been slacking on editing my photos, so hence why I'm posting about it in December lol.

We had a zoo membership this past year and we have used it a ton!! We had never done Boo at the Zoo previously but seeing it was free for us this year we decided to go and check it out. We also bought Kaitlin, Corey and Laurel along with us for the fun.

Unfortunately the weather wasn't the greatest but it did mean it wasn't too crowded and the animals were really active. We hit the major exhibits; monkey house, reptiles, the goats and sheep, big cats etc and trick or treated along the way. The boys loved it and were very into filling their baskets to the max. They were the cutest Nemo and Dory around!!!!

Hayley Ann Mae: 34ish Weeks Pregnant

How far along: 34 almost 35 weeks
Gender: Girl!!! Hayley Ann Mae
Baby's heartbeat: staying strong in the 150's
Weight gain: 12lbs
Maternity clothes: maternity all the way
Stretch marks: No new ones
Belly button in or out: Out! It never popped with either of the boys but I'm carrying more straight out in front with Hayley.
Sleep: Other than waking every hour and a half to pee I can't complain
Best moment this week: getting her nursery together and knowing that if she decided to come early we are ready for her
Miss anything: being able to sleep on my stomach, also feeling like my back isn't broke would be great
Movement: going strong in there. We've been able to feel her feet a few times which is such a weird and cool thing.
Cravings: besides wanting to drink OJ around the clock, nothing, in fact I'm back to not wanting food at all

Queasy or sick: nausea has gone away!!!

Looking forward to: Christmas with my boys and relaxing before Hayley arrives

 

This last trimester has been flying by with all of the holidays and fun things we've had going on, which I knew it would but I can't believe we are down to the last month! A teeny tiny part of me is beginning to get a little sad this is the last time I'll be carrying a baby, buuut I'm mostly happy to just get her here and have our family complete.

I've been trying to get everything done for Christmas, that needs to get done but boy my energy has hit a major decline. At the same time my back pain and contractions have been picking up! We are so thankful for yet another smooth and uncomplicated pregnancy and are praying for an equally safe delivery of our baby girl!!!

Lights & Brunch

We are well into the Christmas season and I love finding ways to get us all in the Christmas spirit. The boys are both fully understanding Christmas this year and loving all things to do with the holiday. They thoroughly enjoyed putting up the tree, having been watching Christmas movies and working on their Christmas presents for the grandparents.

Saturday evening we bundled into the car, armed with munchkins and hot chocolate (or chocolate milk in their case), turned on the Christmas music (which must be playing 24/7 according to Chase) and went off in search of Christmas light displays. We used a website to find the best ones in our area and they were anything but disappointing. All of the houses had their lights synced to music and the boys thought it was the greatest thing ever! A couple of houses even handed out candy canes!!! We will certainly be revisiting a few of our favorites before Christmas is over.

Sunday we packed with Christmas stuff. We kicked off the day by heading to a Santa Brunch. We have gone for the past 3 years now with some of our closest friends and it is truly one of our favorites Christmas activities...endless food, mimosas (though I had to skip this year) and of course meeting the jolly guy himself, how could you not look forward to it. The kids have a blast seeing their friends, and the same goes for us adults. I love seeing our group photo grow each year!

We ended the day by going to see James' Dad's Christmas concert. As I said the boys was way into Christmas music so they were highly entertained and even got to see Frosty the Snowman, and Santa, Mrs. Claus and their elves made an appearance.

Of course no Christmas celebration is complete without far too much sugar than a 4 year old and 2 year old should ever consume in one day...but that's the best part of this time of year, am I right?