December Recap….

Our December, like most everyone else’s, was super busy.

We had a birthday party, a new baby and Christmas festivities to keep us running all month long!

Since the new baby, I’m a little behind on my blogging, so I’m going to try to catch up, for memory’s sake…(and since I will have this year’s blog book printed, I want all of the 2011 stuff together!) :)

Since we knew Maybree was scheduled to arrive on the 15th, we got our Christmas decorations up early (I started mid-November this year!). I was so excited to use all the stuff I got after Christmas clearance last year. It was so fun to open all those bins and find all that brand new stuff. What was even more fun was seeing the price tags and knowing I only paid 10% of that cost! There’s just something about getting some 90% off that makes you feel great! Ha…

Most of the stuff I bought last year was for the dining room and play room. Here’s the dining room:

The Playroom:

It was probably my favorite room in the whole house! I did the garland around the door with mesh and lots of candy ornaments. I also got the elves from Hobby Lobby and thought they turned out so cute!

 

A few living room shots…

     

I did a little decorating in our bedrooms this year… Some garland, mesh and ornaments in our room…

 

AB had a tree in her room this year and LOVED it!

I put up the little “My First Christmas” tree that one of DW’s cousins made for AB the year she was born in Maybree’s room.

I was also excited this year about the garland and ornaments I got last year after Christmas for the outside of the house. The columns got wrapped and I LOVED them. The only thing we need to different for next year, is add more balls to the old garland… it didn’t really match the new that I made, so we’ll fix that next year! :)

The week of AB’s birthday, we went to a “Stay & Play” class at a gym. AB had the BEST time and I can’t wait until we aren’t “homebound” anymore and I can take her back! There were lots of mats, rings, a ball pit and two bounce houses to keep all the kids busy.  

I thought she might be shy around all the different kids, but she ran around the whole time and every time she’d pass me, she would yell, “dis so fun, mommy!”

Totally worth the time and money we spent that morning! Aunt Stephanie, Willie & the triplets went, too! Ms. Danielle, Cori & Finley were also there, so afterward we all went out to lunch.

 

AB’s actual birthday was Friday the 9th. She celebrated by opening some gifts… Aunt Kristy & Uncle Beau mailed a package and it arrived perfectly on her birthday! That night, she wanted to eat at Red Lobster, so we took her there.

Her party was on Sunday afternoon, and I still have to blog about it!

On Monday night (the 12th), we took AB to the mall to pick out our yearly Christmas ornaments. It’s a tradition we started with our Cooper his first Christmas and we’ve done it every year since. This year, AB was old enough to pick the ornaments herself! So fun… She picked a Buzz & Woody for Cooper’s tree, a Mickey Mouse for her tree, and the Sister ornament for Maybree’s tree.

The three little trees are in our foyer and they each hold the kids’ ornaments.

Tuesday we went over to cousin Willie’s house for a cookie decorating party. The kids made crafts and decorated cookies.  

Wednesday I had my last doctor’s visit and afterward we met up with Aunt Carrie, Allie Claire & Whitt to exchange Christmas gifts and have lunch at the mall food court. Carrie got me the funnest gift this year… it’s a subscription to Birchbox. Each month they will send me a box of sample make-up, hair stuff, etc. to try. The first box arrived that afternoon! Carrie couldn’t have planned that any better! :)

Wednesday night was my “last supper” before having Maybree on Thursday! I requested Blue Highway, so we went there for dinner when DW got off work. That night, he also surprised me with a sweet eternity band with Maybree’s birthstone. Although he gave me a piece of jewelry with our first two kids, I really didn’t expect anything this time around and was very surprised. So sweet. I had always planned to give Cooper’s one-day wife the diamond earrings DW gave me when he was born and AB will get the necklace and pendant her Daddy gave me the day she was born when she’s old enough… So I love that Maybree will have something, too. DW said there wasn’t any way to leave her out! :)

Thursday was Baby Day! Such a sweet, sweet day…

The week we came home from the hospital was the week leading up to Christmas. AB had lots of fun that week to keep her busy and make her feel special, too!

She baked cookies TWICE with Grammy. She even made Pop get in on the action the second go around!

She got to spend the day Christmas shopping with her Nie-Nie and her cousins. It was so sweet… My MIL got the kids and took them to town to pick out gifts for their parents and their siblings. They had lunch after and then wrapped all their gifts. AB came home with her three presents and proudly announced to DW that she’d gotten him a keychain. :) Christmas morning, she passed out her gifts and did the same thing and told him what it was before he opened it. It was so cute! Nie-Nie told us that AB picked everything out herself, which made it even that much more special. She did get DW a gator keychain, and got me a cupcake bead for my Pandora bracelet. Maybree got a purple (AB’s favorite color) outfit and a little horse stuffed animal.

Mom & I made a few Christmas goodies on the 22nd. I always do a big baking day, but this year, opted out. I just couldn’t do it, but I also couldn’t have Christmas without some Martha Washingtons. So mom mixed them up and then I dipped them in chocolate. That night, we all packed in DW’s truck and took a ride around town to look at Christmas lights. Of course we took a sack of cookies and some punch. :) I wore my pajamas (which have been my outfit of choice for the past two weeks) and that made it even more glorious. AB loved that we both had our jammies on. :)

We did our yearly picture of AB with the baking-day finished products.. it was so sweet to add Maybree this year, too! The pictures of course didn’t turn out like I wanted, but are pretty funny…

 

DW was off work on Friday, so he took our big girl to see her first movie in the theatre! They saw what AB calls the “Chicken-munks” movie. AB did great and sat through the whole thing! Daddy even took her for a milkshake afterward.

That catches me up through Christmas… so maybe I’ll get that one done tomorrow! :)

~amw~