Party Hats

I bought the boys new years party hats to wear for our family new years eve "picnic".  Bennett didn't think it was such a great idea.  Bennett never cries, and loves hats.  I guess that is why I couldn't resist taking his picture while he was protesting.  At least Hudson tried to make him feel better...such a good big brother.

New Years Eve

We had a family friendly New Years Eve.  Our morning started early with daddy making a Starbucks run for coffee and breakfast.  Then we headed to Jump, Rattle and Roll to show daddy how Bennett loves to jump and go down the big slide now.  After all the jumping, the boys were hungry so we went to lunch at Red Robin.  After lunch we were all in need of a long nap so we headed home. When we woke up we decided to order pizza, rent a movie and have a "picnic" in our family room.  It was a simple way to end the year, but perfect because we were all together. 

Children's Museum

My parents bought the boys a membership to the Imagine Children's Museum for Christmas.  This is a wonderful place for the boys to let out some energy (usually).  We went today with Shelbi and Olivia and it was MADNESS.  I guess going when school is out for Christmas is a bad idea.  Oh well, the kids had fun and I got to practice taking pictures with my new camera again. I love it, but there is so much to learn.

Bath Time

I had a fun time practicing with my new camera when the boys were in the bath the other night.  They making taking a good picture pretty easy.  Cuteness!

Dinner Downtown

On Monday we went with my brother and Melissa to Matt's at the Market for dinner and then to the Edgewater Lounge for drinks and dessert.  My parents watched the boys at our house and I think it was the longest, most relaxing time I have had away since Bennett was born.  We walked around Pike Place for awhile, had an amazing dinner, wonderful wine, great conversation, followed by yummy cocktails and honey and lavender creme brulee.  The only negative was my late bedtime and early wake time to meet them for breakfast before they left back to Houston.

*Pictures were taken with my Christmas camera...thanks honey!

Christmas Day

Christmas morning was by far my favorite Christmas to date.  Hudson woke up so excited, but patiently waited upstairs for almost a half hour for Bennett to wake up.  They were both in awe of all the presents that they saw when they came downstairs.  Hudson opened everything pretty quickly and Bennett mostly enjoyed the empty boxes and wrapping paper.  When we were cleaning up Hudson said "I sure got a lot of stuff for Christmas, but I love it all".  When the high of the morning wore off a bit John took the boys to surprise his parents and say Merry Christmas to his brother and Stephanie.  This was one of my favorite gifts, it gave me time to shower and get ready for Christmas at my parents rental house with family.  When they got back we went to my parents rental house.  My whole side of the family was there.  It was a very special Christmas, especially for my grandpa.  He had all of his kids/spouses, grand-kids/spouses and great grand-kids in one house for Christmas.  It was very busy, and it was perfect.  My mom did an amazing job on everything (as always) and I think I need a week to recover from our 3 days of eating, drinking, late nights, short naps and present opening.

Christmas Eve

This year we spent Christmas Eve with John's parents.  We attended the children's service at St. Thomas with them.  It was the perfect Christmas Eve service for little ones.  The children of the church acted out the story of Christmas and lead Christmas carols.  It was a short service and Hudson and Bennett both enjoyed it.  After church we went to their house for dinner and presents.  This is when the present madness began.  Sweet Hudson 100% thought that Christmas meant he received ONE present from Santa and that was it.  He slowly became a bit overwhelmed.  That night he said "am I still going to get slinky dog from Santa even though I got all these presents?".

Annual Christmas Dinner

Last night we had our annual Christmas dinner with the Banks and Tiroux families. We have been getting together to celebrate Christmas for years and our event has evolved over time.  We started years ago with getting all dressed up, going downtown for dinner and then out on town.  We now gather at one of our homes with all five kids and try to eat dinner and keep track of our kids and our glass of wine.  Even though the we are now going home when we use to be heading out we have just as much fun.  There is nothing better than watching our kiddos form friendships as strong as ours. 

Ivars with Aunt Melissa and Uncle Brett

Aunt Melissa and Uncle Brett are in town for Christmas!  My parents rented a beautiful home on the water in Mukilteo.  Yesterday the boys and I went over and we all went to lunch at Ivars.  The boys did great at lunch and Hudson loved feeding the seagulls with Uncle Brett.  Bennett was in awe of the water, ferry boats and the seagulls.  It was a great start to many fun days with my brother and Melissa here.  Love them!

*Photo taken by Hudson