Cookies and Hallmark

The annual cookie tree turned out beautiful...and delicious...as usual!

Ingredients ready!  That box of cookie mix from Costco was one of the best purchases ever!!

The pregnant holiday chef...ready to go :)

Rolling and cutting out the cookies.  The cookie tree kit we use now we got 2 years ago from Crate & Barrel.  It is awesome!  We had an older one, but when I found this one I had to have it!

Ready for assembly.  Now is when Eric helps :)  Mostly so he can beg for cookies though!

The finished product!  Santa always enjoys his tree :)

Shawn and I were friends before we became a couple, but once we were a couple I started buying Hallmark Christmas ornaments each year.  I thought it would be a nice tradition to start and each year that something significant happened in our relationship I would try to find an ornament that "fit."  As I was putting up our ornament for this year on the tree, I realized that it would be nice to share our ornament journey.  So here it is:

2008: Our First Christmas Together

2009

2010

2011

2012:  New Home

Next year we'll start a yearly tradition for Nora too!  So excited to buy a Baby's First Christmas ornament!  Plus we are heading out for some after Christmas deals today and I will hopefully find Nora's first stocking too :)

Had a Holly, Jolly Christmas!

Another Christmas has come and gone.  This year I had to take my turn at work, so I spent today at work with wonderful coworkers and beautiful tiny babies and their families.  It was a nice, quiet day in the NICU and we had an amazing pot luck meal...that was DELICIOUS!  I work with some fantastic cooks!

We didn't have any extra family around for Christmas this year...mostly because everyone wants to come visit after Nora and Amelia arrive.  So we'll have lots of visitors in Feb, March and April, but we had a quiet Christmas.  We did our family Christmas on Christmas Eve.  It was great!

We opened all the gifts from each other and from our out of town family that sent them to us.  Logan opened his gifts from his Mom and Dad....and Santa....this morning.

Merry Christmas!  The 34 week baby bump is getting big!!

The McLachingson Family (Shawn coined this name but we like it!).  Logan did not want to cooperate, and neither did Marcie!

 

Marcie looked so festive in her pretty scarf :)

She certainly loved her Christmas bone!!  She barely got through one of the knots on Christmas Eve, but we'll let her munch it for a little while each day til she's done!  The gift that keeps on giving!

The babies even managed to get some loot!  Gifts for Amelia and Nora (mostly from Abuelita...of course!)

Logan's favorite gift of the day...this cool wooden train with farm animals.  Uncle Shawn picked it out and Logan loved it!!

As soon as it was time for us to open our presents the little man decided he wanted some attention.  So he emptied this red "toy chest" and decided to wander around the center of the room posing for the camera.  Could he be any cuter???

We basically had a great day and ate yummy food.  I made the annual cookie tree with Eric, but I'll post that another day.  Now it's time for sleeping for me!

I hope everyone had a very Happy Christmas!!

We finally managed to take pictures for our Christmas card.  Finally!

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Hopefully we'll get them in time to get them out before Christmas...

Thanksgiving...and moving on to Christmas!

Thanksgiving has come and gone again.  We ate a ton of food and spent quality time with our families.  We once again took time to think about the things in our lives that we are truly thankful for.

I am thankful for my family more than anything in the world!  Not all families enjoy being together and I can honestly say that there is never a dull moment when you're with any part of my family :)  We laugh and cry together...but there is certainly more laughing than anything else!  The laughing is almost constant when you're  around Logan.  He's such a hoot! I am so thankful that my wonderful husband has fit into my family so well and meshes just like he's always been a part of it.  He is the best husband anyone could ask for and I love him so much!!  I am thankful that we have been given the great opportunity of becoming parents together.  I know that baby Nora is going to have a great father and a great life, as will any future children we have.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

Gotta love that sweet (and mischievous face!)

My sweet Marcie Moo always want to sitting right next to me!

Thanksgiving dinner!  Wish more of our family could have spent this day with us for our first Thanksgiving in our new home!

Now that we're through Thanksgiving it is time to get excited about Christmas!!  I love Christmas time.  The music.  The lights everywhere.  Normally the snow, but not here :)  I did get a bit of a head start on Christmas this year, busting out my Christmas tunes almost a month ago.  I was told it was ok because I'm pregnant!  I'm sticking with that story!  Everyone probably knows that family debate that has existed for the past few years about my blue tree vs. a mismash "family" tree.  I was overruled last year and it seems that will be the case forever now.  So my blue tree became the the little upstairs 4' tree.  But I love it anyway!  I've been playing with our camera and found some stuff on pinterest about how to take "glowing" pictures of Christmas trees, so I tried it out on my little blue tree.  Beautiful!

On Thanksgiving day we put up our family tree.  Turned out pretty nice!

Now time to decorate the rest of the house! Yay!!!  I love Christmas time!

It's almost Christmas time :)

Thanks to an old friend, I discovered that if you're pregnant it is okay to listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving :)  So I have been thoroughly enjoying my Christmas playlist for the last week or so.  I am now completely ready for Christmas time...which makes me want to start decorating!  I decided to start slow though, so I just put up my little blue tree.  Shawn and Mom have won now and the family tree will be multi-colored and full of random ornaments (like last year) but now that we have more space in the house I can do my pretty blue tree in a smaller version upstairs!  So it went up today an I love it, like always!  Logan "helped" me put up a few of the ornaments too!

Musings...

We've been so busy with baby things and the house, we just haven't had a chance to keep everyone else in the loop!  On our days off we just try to spend as much time as possible with Logan...and Marcie too of course!

 

I promise I will try to get some pictures of the house now that we have things on the walls and such.  Our camera has been acting stupid, but I will sure try!

Our House

We are moving into the house on Monday.  Yay!  We have been working hard to get it all ready and we are SO ready to be living there.  Please ignore the dead looking grass in the front yard...it doesn't rain here much and it is CRAZY hot!

 

The painting is done...for now.  I am sure I will do more painting later (especially the nursery once we find out the baby's sex and work out a decor theme) but we are done for now.

 

Before (Living Room right - Dining Room left)

 

After

 

We (or I guess I should say, I) chose much more neutral colors :)

We also painted the upstairs "gameroom."  It wasn't painted before but we wanted to add some color to the upstairs.  I love this bright blue color!

 

I am sure you noticed Logan's tent has already set up camp in the living room.  This tent was so helpful as Shawn and I were getting things ready at the house.  Logan could spend hours in his tent with the iPad...and he did!

 

Last note...I found this awesome houseguest as I was leaving one day last week.  Mom is so excited :)  Gotta love the bugs in Texas!