Well, it's about time to close out the year on this here blog, and it occurred to me that I've been very short on pictures lately, so I plan to make up for that in his post.
Without further ado, I present our Christmas season in pictures:
This is the one I sent out in Christmas cards. It's not perfect - William is kinda biting his lip but it's the best I could get of the two of them and still get my Christmas cards out (almost!) on time. Here are some outtakes from the same photo shoot (which was while we were at my folks' house, by the way).
(PS - William still has THE best laugh).
One of me and my kiddos, taken by my mom.
And now we'll skip ahead to Christmas festivities back home in SC:
My boys, and me and my girl on Christmas Eve. We went to 5 pm church them came home for a light dinner which we ate in the living room by the tree, and then opened presents that were sent in from our parents and other family not there with us. It was a fun evening. The kids scored some great toys right off the bat, but were perhaps most enchanted by the tea set my mom sent me. We've been having proper tea time all week since.
Here's the tree on Christmas Eve, after Santa came. Don and I spent a quiet cozy evening listening to music, staring at the tree, and talking over Christmases past. And I tried (in vain?) to get the perfectly lit Christmas tree picture. The ultimate photography challenge - nothing ever quite does it justice.
And so on to Christmas morning. This was by far the most fun Christmas yet, with TWO kids fully able to appreciate all the fun of the day. They did a great job - slow and gracious in opening their gifts, and no one seemed too overwhelmed. It was a nice, easy, fun day. Santa was very generous, and by the end of the morning our living room floor was a happy mess of new toys.
This might be one of my favorite William pictures ever, because he's got all his favorite things - flashlights, NEW blue boots to replace his worn out shark boots, and a tool box.
These citiblocs have turned out to be fantastic. I bought them on a whim because I love me a good set of blocks, but they are even better than I was expecting and have already seen a lot of use. By everyone.
And the day after Christmas the kids did some finger painting at their new easel. I have wanted to get a children's easel for at least two Christmases, but never been quite okay with the $50-60 price. Well, I actually went out shopping on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and was glad I did because I got this guy on sale for $25. And I swear the wood must be cedar because it smells SO good.
And interestingly, this Christmas was not one of our most expensive. We focused on the kids and kept it really simple for all our other family (and vice versa). I always feel like such a crafting loser come December, because I think of all the projects I got inspired about back in January, things that would make great handmade presents for relatives near and far. Then around the time I have triumphantly finished Halloween costumes I realize there is no where near enough time to churn out decent Christmas gifts. Drat. Soo, once again I will try to do better next year, and already have some ideas in the works.
It was great to see my family before Christmas. We had not been back to CT since moving at Christmastime last year. 2012 had us playing host way more than we played guest, so it was terrific to be back home with my parents for a short while. Wish we could live closer to all those we love so much, but for now we are content with our sweet little family here and very much looking forward to all that 2013 might bring. Happy New Year!
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