It's been fast, my friends, so very fast. But I suppose that happens with 3 kids. This year held some super sweet moments and some very hard moments. Some of the harder moments came more at the end of the year, like saying goodbye to our beloved family dog. In the same week we said goodbye, our youngest was also diagnosed with pneumonia. But there was so much good in there. Like, if one believes an animal chooses when to go, Christmas and between snow storms was totally our dog's way. He loved the tree, frolicking in fresh snow, the blazing fire, sitting as close to heaters as one can possibly get, snuggling under blankets with one of his humans, and eating ice. Yes, winter was his favorite, hands down. And in the same month our son had pneumonia, he also turned 2. Two!?!? Yes, two beautiful years with our miracle NICU baby who had surgery on his first day of life. Perception can be a beautiful thing even in hard times.
Life is sweet. So very sweet. When you choose to view it that way.
So, to finish out this year. Let's review how December went for our little family.
Wrapping up school before break
Before break started, Payton had a ton of fun stuff going on. Pajama day, her school concert, her Christmas party, and I even snuck in and ate with her (as a surprise) for her holiday feast lunch. She had a blast and we were all ready for the break to arrive.
Her hair one day before school with her matching mommy and me shirt we got (see those in the November recap under matching clothes). I had to document as it wouldn't (and didn't) look like this when I picked her up.
Leaving for her music concert at school! She was so very excited!
Surprise lunch at school with Payton
A whole lot of festive activities before Christmas
I loved having Payton home for break and she just joined into all of our fun preschool art activities and holiday traditions. Gingerbread houses, Christmas trees, watercolor painting, wreath bagels. There was just so much fun to be had at our house over the holiday season.
Annual Goody Delivery
Each year I try very hard to get homemade dessert trays made and delivered. This year, with everyone's schedules, it just was so hard to do. But, one morning, Riley and I found the time to get this all done. Monte watched Jayden and Payton was at school. We made 4 trays and delivered them to a few of the people we are so thankful to have in our lives.
Of course, Riley insisted on taking one to the library. Those librarians are just so good to us and super important to us. They loved getting treats from him!
We also pulled a few extra trays together for Payton to take her teachers. Because, life just wouldn't be the same without their sweetness in our lives either. They have become so important to us in just a quick 6 months.
Quick shopping trip before Christmas
We made a random trip out of town to do some shopping one weekend in December. It was a total regret from the parents because, man, is that when people shop. The stores were so full and that just made it too crazy to get anything done besides try to keep our eyes on our kids.
Our Sweet 2 Year old
Earlier, we mentioned our baby turned 2. We celebrated him all day as a family. And it was just the sweetest and exactly how I think a 2 year old wants it.
The day was so nice we got outside for a bit with no coats and took some pictures before playing. The big kids also picked out a cake pan (star shape) from the library and we baked our own cake. It was as sweet and as simple as a party can get. I will treasure these times always.
It's break so we'll nap if we want to
We have just spent so much of our time together over Christmas break lounging and resting. We have had so much sickness and Jayden was still recovering from Pneumonia so we decided to stay home. My in-laws did stay with us 3 nights over the break but outside of that was just some well needed family time at home.
I can't even begin to tell you how much I love these 3! They make my life so worthwhile.
I tried to spend quality time with each child whenever I could!
A trip to the ER
Since Jayden has entered into our lives, ER trips are just so much more common. We earned another trip for an allergic reaction and will now be looking at working with an allergist in the next few months. This boy, he keeps me on my toes.
It was our fastest ER visit and we were only there for about an hour and were able to get it under control fast. It's during these hard and scary times that I have really come to appreciate times of good health.
Just so much fun together
We try to keep things fun around here so we offered one evening where the kids could make supper. They love to do this! They made corn dog muffins (a popular choice for them) and I loved watching these little chefs come to life! Monte was super excited for a picture opportunity as well (ha ha):
Merry Christmas
We fully enjoyed our day celebrating Jesus's birthday. I love this time with my family. We made Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve (when the grocery stores were still open, just in case we needed them) so Christmas Day itself was super laid back and easy with leftovers and presents to enjoy.
The boys got busy playing with their toys but Payton took the time to pose for some pictures of a few of her gifts:
A new dress and an American Girl doll. She is super excited.
Riley did pose with his new sweater for about half a second:
Santa was also good to us and wrote us the sweetest letter:
We did see him earlier in the month and grabbed a picture of all three with Santa:
We are now looking forward to the New Year. Payton is on break still until 1/6 and you can bet our household is soaking up all the time we can with her!
For ringing in the New Year, we plan to stay home and celebrate as a family. We got a huge snowstorm and have 5 foot drifts. We also want to soak in being healthy for the moment. We have had so much sickness in the last few years that we have really come to appreciate and fully enjoy our times of good health.
We hope your Christmas was very blessed and merry! Happy New Year!
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