Welcome 2015!

We are not much for going out on NYE, but we've been ringing in the New Year with pretty much this same great group of people for the past few years! We had them over to our house this time for a "black and white" themed party. 

We dressed Grayson in the (way too small) tuxedo vest and bow tie from Aunt RaRa and Uncle Billy's wedding from two years ago. Along with some skinny jeans, converse, and some spiked hair...this was one adorable little dude!  Even more adorable was how he feel asleep around 5 pm right before people starting coming over. 

I know the quality isn't great, but here is a video of him dozing off while sitting on the couch. 

So, like the good parents we are, we layed him down so he could be more comfortable....

and then put a noisemaker and a bottle of fireball in his arms and snapped some pictures!

But don't worry, after some sugar, he perked right up and went strong til midnight!

He served pizza...

did some party tricks...

Please note the dress up heels and the toe point!

hung out with his buddy, Ethan!

and fit in with the big guys too! 

He, Daddy and Uncle Ryan were all sporting similarly awesome shoes!

The girls had a nice time dressing up too!

But I didn't get a good pic of the other two cuties.

This is what it was like trying to get in a nice picture of the three of us...

...so dramatic!

All of our friends left by 10 pm, so we cleaned up, changed into PJ's, and snuggled on the couch to watch the ball drop. (Avery went to put on her coat because she thought "watching the ball drop" was something we were going to do outside!)

I cannot believe our kiddos made it til midnight!  I have to say this was probably my most favorite New Year's Eve yet! Bringing in the New Year with the 3 people I love the most snuggling on the couch together....way better than any fancy party, that's for sure!

We wish you a new year filled with many blessings! Bring on 2015!!

Merry Christmas!

The anticipation of Christmas Day gets greater and greater every year and it becomes more fun every year with all of the preparation and fun activities that come along with it. I cannot believe it was over two weeks ago. But here are some shots from our Christmas celebration(s)!

Our Christmas Eve tradition is to go to the candlelight service at church (my favorite part of the season!) and then to my Aunt Terri's where 40+ aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, and significant others gather to eat eat a ton of food...and cannolis! Every year, a few more kiddos are born and added to the fun!

Santa even comes by the house and leaves a bag on the front step with a gift for each child!

This year, Mater's Tales for Gray and funky sneakers for Avery.

Thank goodness the last of our Amazon order (Grayson's train...the ONLY thing he asked for!) was delivered at 4 pm on Christmas Eve. Daddy worked hard getting it all set up for the morning. It looked great on a repainted train table that was given to me by my co-worker (Gray doesn't need to know that part! I love recycling.)

Of course, the kids were thrilled to see the gifts and stockings under the tree. There was even a stocking for Guster this year with yummy holiday treats.

 Some of Avery's favorite gifts....

(she was the only one who cooperated with the camera to show me what she was opening!)

And of course, some funny stocking stuffers...

tiny pickles for the lady

and olives for the boy!

 Grayson's favorite gift came later when Mom Mom came with a motorized SpiderMan scooter!

 So happy!

 And how can you not love the fact that he is wearing Adam's old Izod Christmas sweater from when he was a little boy?! I'm obsessed with it...I love it so much!

 Madi also got a nerf gun for Christmas, so the kids (and adults) got into a huge battle.  I actually have audio of Madi saying "this is the best Christmas ever!" during one of the many nerf battles.  I think most of the adults agreed. I mean, half of them went out later that week to buy themselves a nerf gun (and perhaps a remote controlled helicopter too). It seems that I am the only one withOUT one! 

We did take some toys outside...some light up flying things from Mom Mom that were fun!

And we also relaxed (or passed out) for a little...

 Here's my traditional group picture on the couch...that I never remember to take until at least a few people have left. (Missing Tori, Aunt Lisa and Uncle Scott).

What a great, happy, blessed, magical and exhausting day it was!

 But because we love to celebrate, we continued a few days later at my mom's to exchange gifts with my side of the family. Here are a few shots from that afternoon.

Ben wearing Noni's dancing Christmas tree..

The boys delivering a big package to Giuliana...

 Giuliana carrying a gift too...

 Avery pumped up about getting a gift card to BounceU...

Grayson having some quiet time with Chandler Bing...

 and Avery laying down with a tummy ache after eating three ham sandwiches plus multiple desserts...well exceeding the amount that I ate!

 We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas too. 

Just 348 days til next Christmas...and I can't wait!

The Adventures of Pickle, the Elf!

Way back on Thanksgiving morning, our elf Pickle arrived again for the season. We had a ton of fun with him the entire month of December! These are just a few of our favorite things that Pickle got into...at least the ones I remembered to take pictures of!

Riding a reindeer nightlight...

Shaving...

Hiding underwear in the tree...

 Avery only noticed Grayson's underwear on the tree at first. I had to point out that the tree was filled with both her AND Gray's underwear!

 Dressing up like Spiderman...This was their favorite!

 Making photocopies of himself...

 Putting googly eyes on our bananas...

 Pickle left magic seeds (tic tacs) and instructions to plant them in sugar and see what grows overnight. The next morning there were candy canes!

Hanging out in the lights...

Getting stuck in the basketball net...

 Building a snowman in the bathroom out of toilet paper rolls...

 Chilling with Santa...

 Writing the countdown on the bathroom mirror...

 But best of all, on Christmas Eve (his last day at our house), Pickle left a note downstairs telling Avery to go back up to her bedroom and look on her shelf. Pickle stopped by New York City on his way back from the North Pole to bring her a new, bigger version of the beloved snow globe that broke a few weeks prior. It was magical!

(It helps that Bob Bob works in NYC and everyday he literally walks by the newsstand at port authority where we bought it. He offered to pick one up and give Pickle the credit for it! Thanks Bob Bob!)