|| Mama enjoyed some days to herself before the herding of cats and festivities began. I love taking time before the holiday season to decorate and cozy up our house - all by myself. ;) The pumpkins get stored away. The mantles get dusted. The Christmas decor goes up - everything but the tree. :)
|| Then - Kaitlyn and I had a mommy/daughter day while the boys were still in school! We had so much fun together. We went to the Indoor Park at the CF rec, which she LOVED. She would have stayed there all day long playing with the indoor roller coaster, the sweet little club house, and riding those riding toys all over the gym floor. We also spent time together at the bookstore, picking out sweet and pretty new books and exploring all the fun toys. She was in her element there, too, and I had to drag her away kicking and screaming. Literally. ;)
|| For the boys' first day of break, we took a morning visit for breakfast at the new Hurts Donut shop and enjoyed a day of quiet activities around the Christmas tree and cozy nap times and snuggles.
|| Thanksgiving day was easy and slow. With nowhere to be until my parents' house in the afternoon, we watched the Macy's Parade on TV in the morning, stayed in our jammies a little longer, ate some cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and tried (rather unsuccessfully) to get pictures of our three kiddos together. ;)
|| Our big meal this year came at Mom and Dad's, and Kaitlyn looked beautiful in her pretty dress and stockings. She soaks up the attention and puts on a show wherever she goes!
|| After putting the babe to bed, Brandon and I cozied up to the table for the Home Alone Christmas game by candlelight... complete with hot chocolate, of course.
|| We kept our Black Friday tradition alive by NOT going shopping... and instead headed back over to Mom's and Dad's to help them decorate their home. I'm not sure why, but when it comes to decorating a tree, Jaden is a much better helper for them than he is for me. ;)
|| Even with the rain, we made it to Holiday Hoopla this year, enjoying a dinner warm inside Whiskey Road with the sights and sounds of the hoopla stage right outside our window. And when it was time to stand on Main Street and await Santa's arrival, Kaitlyn did SO well. She had no clue what was happening but she was a content little babe cozied up in her Daddy's arms all night long.
|| I didn't take many pictures of the rest of our weekend, but it was a busy one! A UNI football playoff game on Saturday when the boys and I had front row seats right behind our team's sideline and enjoyed a thrilling and up and close win to advance to the 2nd round. There was another Thanksgiving celebration at Bud and Rita's with my whole extended family on Saturday night... and a basketball tournament to travel to on Sunday. And in between it all... lots of time around our tree.
