Merry Christmas Day 2014

Christmas this year was literally the most fun ever.. HG was so into the whole thing and hilarious to watch as she opened everything and got so excited. These last two days really have been exactly what I would hope for the perfect quiet family holiday!!

The aftermath

Twas the Night Before Christmas..

And all through the house there was laughter and fun, with toasty fires and reindeer bubbles for all! Perfect day!!

Merry and Bright 2014

Holiday Activities

Just a few pics of writing our letter to Santa.. Very focused on the task!

And gingerbread house decorating.. Again, very focused!

Santa and Sweets with my Sweets

So I am not entirely sure where this notion comes from, but I am like completely anti mall Santas. I have this idea in my head that the Santa visit needs to be quaint and homey and somehow not in the middle of a crazed mall full of intense holiday shoppers. Last year, HG wouldn't even tolerate the idea of being near a strange man in a beard so we skipped the whole thing, but this year I thought I might be able to talk her into the process a bit more. We hopped over to Zionsville for their Santa in the Village which was literally just Santa hanging out in a little house- no photographers, no fees and absolutely no production. He was super nice, though, and I managed to convince her to give him her letter and at least stand in his general vicinity.

Actively shivering as I try to get just a couple of pics around the village

Again completely shivering hahaha

And then we went over to what is pretty much my idea of heaven on Earth. The Cake Bake Shop is a newly opened business here that is literally everything beautiful and girly and serene all mixed into one perfectly appointed place. I am completely in love with it. HG and I had some delicious desserts and then she got to watch them baking which was mesmerizing for her. There were several older girls there with their mothers and it was really sweet to picture having a place like that here that we can go to for a special time together as she gets older.

Tis the Season 2014

Wow, this fall has truly been a busy one for us and the holiday season definitely snuck up quickly it seemed like.  Hunt has been juggling a very heavy school schedule and work load on top of his "real" work, which has also been quite demanding so I feel like we have been a little bit into survival mode to get through it all.  HG has been doing really well in her preschool room and seems to have adjusted to the busier pace and large number of kids and has also successfully mastered potty training with honestly very little stress.  We have been a little hard pressed to get much quality family time together, though, and I'd be lying if I didn't say that it has somewhat taken a toll on all of us at various times over the past few months.  But, there is an end in sight come May and I am so thankful to be looking towards that now.  In the hustle and bustle of just keeping up with normal every day life, I was a little bit luke warm about the undertaking of house decorations and getting into the holiday spirit, but I seized a quiet evening while Hunt and HG were at the beach over Thanksgiving to get the mantle done and that really helped get me into holiday mode.

Puppy relaxing by the fire

We got super lucky that the one free morning that we had to grab a tree this year was miraculously balmy.. It felt like we were back in SoCal which was awesome considering that last year we waded through slush and snow to get one.  It was crazy to pull out Harper's little mini tree and see that this year she towers over it.  She was super excited to have her very own tree, though, and it was fun to watch her get excited about putting the ornaments on.  That evening we decorated the main tree as she donned her new ballerina outfit which has become somewhat of an obsession for her.

Obsessed with this pic

Ballerina twirls

Bubbles and Twinkly lights.. my perfect idea of the holidays