December Activities - 2016

We braved the cold and got out of the house to explore our new city. We hopped on the train and met Phil at work, then we headed to historic Faneuil Hall. They have great holiday lights, choreographed to music and are near the harbor. It was a great way to start getting our bearings of Boston.

The girls were such troopers, super excited about every little light. Elle loved touching them :)

Jayne's favorite was the trellis that is lit up on the North End. The blue was so vibrant, she just looked up and walked in awe.

It was the perfect little adventure for our family!

We've been settling in at home as well, unpacking, rearranging etc. We're so blessed that these two have each other.  They're so cute!

Plus this cute pup - the girls love Koda!

Our little librarian :) This cutie is great at keeping us entertained.

We baked Christmas gingerbread cookies and decorated them together. Jayne was in her element!

Our local library has great programs for the kids. This month the Sugarplum Fairy came to visit, bringing stories, crafts and necklaces. The girls loved it!

Another favorite is the Walpole Mall. They have a small indoor play area plus little rides that keep the girls entertained and out of the cold.

Christmas dresses!

Christmas came quickly and was magical with our two little angels.

Christmas PJs!

Elle's face in this photo is my favorite, pure Christmas joy! We had a great holiday season here in Massachusetts.

NYC - December 2016

NYC during the holidays always sounded magical so when our friends who live in NYC were going to be away for the holidays and offered us their vacant apartment, we happily obliged. NYC is within driving distance from us so we packed up on a Thursday night and headed out. The girls were great on the drive and settled into bed once we arrived.

On Friday we got up and headed straight to Macy's department store on 34th street to visit Santa in his wonderland. We wore every piece of clothing because it was freeeeeeezing! But these two happy faces made it all worth it :)

Heart melter!

After walking through the winter wonderland we made our way to the real deal, the big guy himself! Jayne was a little timid but did alright. Little Elle was scared, but let Phil step away briefly for a photo.

The Christmas shop area was beautifully decorated as well. Jayne loved all the snowflakes. She and Elle just danced around on the red carpet, in pure Christmas bliss.

Next we made our way to Times Square, chasing birds along the way :)

The Disney store was the perfect place to get inside, explore and warm up. Needless to say, our little princess was in heaven!

As a reward for being such a happy trooper in the freezing cold, Jayne got her very own bag of "PINK!" m&m's at the M&M store.

After naptime and dinner at home we headed back out to see Rockefeller Center in all its holiday glory.

The next day we headed out (in the falling snow!) to the financial district. The 9/11 memorial pools are beautiful and sobering.

Our September 11th baby

We visited Eataly (and happened upon the besssssst hot chocolate ever!) and then got our frozen-selves back inside for the night. We went to church the next morning and then headed home from our quick NYC trip. Until next time NYC!

Holiday Season 2015

I figured for simplicity I'd combine our holiday season into one blog post this year (already shared a lot of our early holiday activities in the Mum B. post)...so here's the rest of our events - get ready for a lot of pictures of our lives in late November-December!

Jayne was SO excited for the first snowfall of the year. She wanted to go outside in it immediately so, 8am?, why not! She loved touching it and eating it ;)

  

We tried to make a snowball but it the snow was too dry and powdery to pack. Jayne loved the idea of it all the same

Jayne is really into dresses and is super excited whenever Sunday rolls around because she gets to wear one of her special church dresses. She also is obsessed with her "bwack shoooze" and wears them any chance she gets. I only let her wear them out of the house when we go to church so she loves Sundays a lot! 

Sister love! 

I organized a roommate get together for my freshman dorm-mates. Its crazy to see where all our lives have gone, but then chat and visit like no time has passed. Love these ladies!

 Christmas was magical this year. We had visits with Santa, christmas carols and decorating the house to help us lead up to the big day. Jayne was all about the Christmas season this year. She asked Santa for a dollhouse and a Barbie and knew it too. She'd tell you what she wanted from Santa when we asked her. 

We stayed at my parents house on Christmas Eve this year. Christmas Eve evening it started snowing and it didn't stop! It was beautiful and made for a cozy night.

We opened traditional PJ's and snapped some photos of our cuties, laid out our stockings and snacks for Santa and then it was bedtime for the littles!

We put the girls to bed and the adults watched "A Christmas Story". Afterward we started a new tradition of gift card BINGO. You win, you get to chose a gift card. Simple as that. It was a fun way to spend time interacting as a family and it only got slightly competitive :)

We woke up to a foot and a half of snow, and it was still coming. It was prefect for Christmas!

Santa was kind to us this year and Jayne got the dollhouse and Barbie she asked for. She was excited but was exhausted and pretty run down with a cold (we'd been up a lot that night with her). I think she was somewhat overwhelmed too and didn't really comprehend what was going on :) We still made it fun though and loved seeing her realize that Santa brought her what she asked for.  Unfortunately (or fortunately) we didn't take many pictures of the action because we were just too busy enjoying the fun!

The beloved "dowlhousss" Jayne told everyone she wanted. Christmas is magical with kids!

Even though Jayne was sick Christmas Eve/Christmas, it made for a fun week as I feel like she truly enjoyed her presents slowly throughout the days after Christmas so I guess that was good. November and December were fun and a great end to the year and holiday season. It seemed to zoom right by! Here's to 2016!