More Pre-Christmas Fun

December was certainly a fun, busy month! We didn't travel anywhere, though, so it was a relaxing type of fun. J and I enjoyed a much-needed morning play date with Ellie and Lizzy Kay (and Ally and Mary, too!). It was an awake-at-4am kinda day so we made a stop at Panera to share a breakfast sandwich which turned his mood all around. After a 10 minute power nap in the car he was ready to play with his buddies. The moms chatted over lattes and the kids destroyed (in a good way) Mary's play room. I love that my child loves my friends' kids. We are so blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful friends.  

 The zoo is a 3 minute drive from my gym so Jackson and I pop in most days after my morning spin class. The weather has been gorgeous, too, which is a nice treat. We are all in need of some serious sunshine after a string of cold, rainy days.  Sometimes we don't see any animals but just run around, climb walls and look at flowers. Other days, we are fascinated with snakes or turtles. I don't know what I am going to do when J wants to touch a snake. I wonder how I can not pass on my (many unfounded) fears to my little guy. Well, I'll cross that bridge later :) 

 Then, there was December 22nd, 2013. It was 80 degrees outside. So, what else do you do when it's beautiful but put on a speedo, play in the sprinkler and eat a homemade popsicle. 

 That same evening, we had planned to do a walking or driving (if it was raining) tour of the lights in our neighborhood. But, we were pleasantly surprised by the weather and took a bike tour instead! The McNabbs joined us and we had a grand time pedaling around, listening to Christmas music and listening to the kids in awe of the beautiful lights. 

 Finally, our last event leading up to Christmas was to make our first annual Byrne family ginger bread house. Beth got us a pre-assembled one from Williams Sonoma so we got to do all the fun without the laborious construction of the structure.  JB is the master gingerbread house maker so he made sure to pass all of his techniques down to little J.  I sat back and ate mint M&Ms and watched my boys do their crafty thing together. 

I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite

First of all, I would like to say thank you to Lisa and Bonnie for my white elephant gift. 

We called this "The Year of the Rat" in the Monterey/Bolling compound and I was by far the most perturbed by the furry, long-tailed creatures both in our yard and in our walls. For the community group white elephant, they bought me a rat from IKEA (you can find everything at that store!). Andy stole the homemade peppermint bark candle that I was really excited about. I thought he was being really sweet to steal a gift for Bonnie, but little did I know that he was a plant to leave me with the rat. Per a suggestion from Mike and Blair we have named the rat, Ronaldo, to honor their red glass duck wedding gift-turned-Christmas decoration. 

Last Friday night we hosted our 4th or 5th annual Elf and Sugar Cookies night. In attendance were the Robbs, McNabbs, Gregg from up the street and a brief appearance by Lane and William from next door. We really missed the Sabins, who have been with us since the beginning and can quote the entire movie. I wish we could say that we saved some cookies for them…but they were just too good.  The kids enjoyed rolling, cutting and scooping cookies onto the trays. But not as much as they loved decorating and eating the cookies! We actually managed to watch an hour of Elf, too.

Luke is proud of his snowflake

Jackson did so well this year! 

Katie ponders what to do next

Evan, 1 year old, getting started with cookies early in life

M&Ms, sprinkles, icing…yum

The Robbs

Our little cookie monster

Tis the Season to be Jolly

It has been so fun to have a two year old this Christmas. It makes us really focus on the importance of Christmas, and conveying that message to Jackson so he hears it. But, when we are not sharing the Christmas story with him, we are out having fun and enjoying all the joy this season brings! 

We started our holidays with the Grand Illumination in Norfolk. The McNabbs having been going for years and J and I tagged along while Jonathan was working.  We rode the Tide (Norfolk's metro) into downtown which was a treat for little J man. He would have been happy if that was all we did that night! We set up for a picnic and hot chocolate on Waterside drive and waited for the parade to come. The parade had 73 "acts" in it and was almost 2 hours long! It was fabulous, even for me to watch, and the kids just stared and squealed with excitement. J, who goes to sleep at 7/7:30 each night, was wide awake when we got home at 9:40ish.  

His favorite part was the horses :)

Then, we decorated for Christmas on November 25th. Yes, I know it's before Thanksgiving but I realized that the Christmas season can be stressful so why not take a little load off and do early decorating. Plus it's more fun to have a festive home for a few extra weeks! Jackson thoroughly enjoyed putting up the tree, looking at all the lights and helping to hang ornaments. We were a little nervous but he did great with even the glass ornaments. Whew! 

I love watching my two favorite boys hang out. Jackson wanted JB right by his side. 

They are cute buddies

Finally, we had some Thanksgiving festivities in Hatteras for our annual Friendsgiving! The kids are going to outnumber the adults next year, but this year we came extremely close with something like a 11:10 Adult:Kid ratio! It's a fun time. Jackson and his harem enjoyed cake pops one afternoon. We ventured down to the ocean for some running around, watched movies, made forts and enjoyed good company and delicious food.  

Cruisin'

I am finally getting around to posting pictures of our fabulous trip to the Bahamas in late October. Last year we had a blast with our neighbors and friends from The Compound (we live within several yards of each other and basically all share a fence) so we decided to run it back for another (and final) year leaving out of Norfolk. By chance, Sara and Wes happened to be there celebrating his 50th birthday. They spent the whole time with us and we are so glad!! It was a wintery day leaving Norfolk but we didn't let that slow us down. We headed straight to the Serenity deck for a little serenity in the huge lounge chairs and no children :) Here is some of what we enjoyed:

Sun, scarves and snuggling

Taking in the view as we pulled out of the port

Norfolk in the distance…Bahamas straight ahead! Ready to ditch our winter coats

Reading, sleeping, talking, laughing

Awkward family photos

Fancy dinners, fancy dresses, karaoke, magic shows and fun times

Delicious food and the ability to order as many things as you wanted to try. The company and conversation were even better than the food, however. 

More awkward photos and photographers who weren't too keen on our funny business

Nassau, lighthouses, sun, breeze, beaches, vacation, no responsibilities

Good friends, Bonnie and Andy

Girl time, long conversations, good hair days, tank tops in October

More good friends, Dan and Lisa

Snorkeling! I think we should wear masks more often. I kinda like the look

More awkward family photos

Several hours of snorkeling and laying out on the beach at the Hilton in the Bahamas. Warm water, nice sand, playing frisbee, reading, sleeping, cool drinks

Wes really explored the shipwreck

Brain coral, my favorite

Freeport. Look familiar to anyone who lives in Norfolk?? 

Lots of ping pong competitions when the winds weren't hurricane-force!

A week-long date

Cruise life, sunny weather, strolling, no responsibilities

More awkward family photos from the men.