49/52

"a portrait of one, two, or all three of my children - once each week - in 2019"

Jaden: You were SO ready for a good long Christmas break, especially since you had a big Civil War project due right before the holiday. You also got really into gingerbread house and cookie decorating this year, something you have kind of been pressured to do in year's past. And right before school got out? You came home with a gift from a girl in your class - lots of food and snacks and a PS4 gift card for your closest friend that's a girl. ;) Turns out you and your buddies had set up a Secret Santa gift exchange all on your own - but no one really remembered to keep it a secret. ;)

Brandon: You have said you're not quite as excited for Christmas this year as you were in year's past, and I think that's a sign that you're growing up some - but also the fact that you're MORE excited for the vacation that's to come after Christmas. But you've also shown that traditions really matter to you, which makes me so happy since I've been very intentional for years about setting a good foundation of traditions and memories that you can carry with you as you grow. Gingerbread houses, a Nativity Advent "countdown," Christmas cookie frosting and decorating, and all the Christmas movies and hot chocolate we can fit in.

Kaitlyn: You have no idea what all the hustle and bustle and chaos is about, but you've been really good about taking it all in stride. Admittedly, Mommy has been a bit more stressed this December than year's past. It seems like there's just been "more" to deal with - busy work days, lots of planning and organizing needed in our home, a lost Christmas package, illnesses, etc. But watching you look to our tree and point and smile at the star up top, flipping through all of your Christmas board books over and over again, and seeing how careful and respectful you are of all the ornaments and wrapped packages... well... I'm just so happy to have a little girl to enjoy all the madness with. But I do know I'll be enjoying unwrapping all of your presents more than you will - you are definitely in need of some older toys to keep busy with through these winter months, and it's been so fun buying girl toys for a change. ;)

Halloween 2019

Halloween came and went in a blur this year! With October being extra cold and wintry, an oldest child who doesn't even get a Halloween party at school anymore, and a toddler who didn't have a clue what all the fuss was about, we kept our celebrating small and simple... but sweet all the same.

It's no secret and I say it every year, but I've never been a huge Halloween person. However, I love any reason to celebrate and make our home and our activities feel a little extra special or out of the ordinary. Thus I've determined that no matter how old our kids get, we will continue to celebrate the ghostly night every year - it just might look different years from now. We'll probably trade in our Reece's and hot chocolate for wine and fancy cheeses... which sounds just about perfect. ;)

This year it included Disney World themed pumpkins. One pumpkin for each of the four theme parks to celebrate our approaching vacation. We free-handed all of them, and they didn't turn out too bad. ;)

And it included the sweetest girl in the cutest costume I've ever seen. This costume was a hit to all who saw her, and she wore it so well. She's darn near impossible to get a picture of these days, but gosh was she a cute little lamb.

Kaitlyn loved her Halloween bucket long after Halloween was over, even just last week walking into the pantry to grab it off its shelf and start carrying it around the house like a purse again. ;)

And then there's our middle child - who just can't give up his Star Wars theme. Although we do have some fun plans for this next Halloween already in the works and it DOESN'T include Star Wars. ;)

We kept everyone warm in our home again - it was brutally cold this year! I served easy snacks and drinks, and though we had every intention of not taking Kaitlyn out in the cold, we could tell that she wanted to be included with her older siblings and cousins so she actually made it to seven houses before calling it good!

Every year. Same picture.

Now bring on turkeys and Christmas trees!

48/52

"a portrait of one, two, or all three of my children - once each week - in 2019"

Jaden: You and your brother are starting to carry on a family tradition - a past time that I shared with my dad when I was about your age. You have gotten hooked on Friends on Netflix, and now we watch one episode before you boys go to bed every single night. You love this show, and I love how it makes you laugh. Some of the content is a bit mature for your age, but I've watched how you boys handle it and react to it, and I've learned that you both are more mature than I give you credit for - and you already know more about the world than I thought you knew, too. ;) We're only on season two and we won't be able to get through all 10 seasons by the time it leaves Netflix on January 1st, but I have found full seasons on YouTube so - we're going to watch the whole dang thing! I love this 25 minutes we spend together, and I look forward to it every day.

Brandon: Our Disney vacation countdown chair has gotten very short! And you have now made another Christmas countdown chain that you keep in your bedroom. You're looking forward to so many things! We were watching the Disney World Christmas special together on Thanksgiving night, and you started getting sad. I asked you what was wrong, and you said you're already sad about how close our vacation is to being over. And we haven't even gone on it yet! That's the Disney effect. ;)

Kaitlyn: We had a good Thanksgiving break together, but one of my favorite hours was spent at the indoor park at the CF Rec Center. We walked into that gym filled with toddler and preschool fun, and your eyes got big and I could tell that you weren't even sure where to start! I had to drag you away from there to make sure that you could get lunch in before nap, and it made me already look forward to a new spring and summer and taking you to all the parks all the nights of the week. :)