Jaden's First Big Boy Bed

At the start of the year I decided it was time to turn Jaden's bed into a toddler bed. I kept putting it off but I decided that it was finally time to do it. He loves his bed and is a really good sleeper so I knew he was ready for it. He was so excited to be able to climb in bed all by himself. I was able to sit on the floor next to his bed to read stories. Then I tucked him in like usual and he went to sleep. He stayed there all night and was all smiles in the morning. I love my little noodle. I can't believe how fast he's growing up. Sweet dreams, sleep tight, we love you, good night!

Happy New Year! Welcome 2014!

It's new year's eve once again and we're ready to celebrate and welcome the new coming year.

Ron and the kids spent the afternoon making ham bread for dinner while Jaden played with his trains on the table. Ham bread will always be one of our favorite holiday traditions. The house smells amazing for the entire day and our tummies are filled with yummy goodness. And since it was a celebration there was no shortage of silliness going around. The boys had fun and kept cracking up over drinking their cider and suddenly falling to the floor. 

New years eve at our house is very low key. We enjoy spending the evening at home playing board games together while we wait for the count down. We'll turn on the TV and watch the New York countdown specials when they come on.

This year the kids decided to also party by playing the game Just Dance. It was awesome watching them try to mimic the different dances of the game. We had a lot of laughs that night. As the clock struck midnight I reflected a bit on the year we just had. It was full of change and new opportunities. It was full of new adventures and things to see. I'm so glad I got to share it with our family. Welcome to the new year. I look forward to all 2014 has to offer. Especially with the ones I love the most!

A little Gingerbread Magic!

This year we were surprised by our friend Debby Hill with this amazing Gingerbread house. It was beautiful and festive all lit up with lights. It was so much fun. I loved all the little details and how the windows glowed in the dark when the rest of the lights in the house were turned off. It was one of those things that you couldn't help but smile when you looked at it. It was a special gift and we felt very honored to receive it. We can't say thank you enough for adding some extra magic to our house.

It was the perfect way to show us that Christmas day means so much more!

Christmas 2013 is finally here!

Christmas day is finally here! We look forward to it every year. This year was my 38th birthday and Ron planned something a little different. Instead of celebrating my birthday where I open my birthday gifts first thing in the morning, I did it throughout the day. He chose a theme "the 12 gifts of your birthday" instead of the 12 days of Christmas. He gave me a ring of envelopes filled with different clues. He then set up timed email texts throughout the day to let me know which new clue I would get to read. Then I had to figure out where he had hidden my gift. It took the entire day but it was so much fun. It made my birthday extra special. It has always been important to Ron to separate my birthday from Christmas as much as possible. Whether it's first thing in the morning before we go down to the tree or something special that lasts throughout the day. He's always done an amazing job.

One of the best things about Christmas morning is that everyone is in such a happy good mood with no bickering. It helps to keep the magic of the day. We still have hope that one day Jaden will enjoy the holiday morning activities with us. He still gets overwhelmed by everything and hides behind the couch or hangs out at the table. He's doesn't seem to enjoy opening gifts all at once right now. Ron or I will have him sit on our lap and try to show him how. He seems to do better if we just open it and then let him explore it at the table. Which is okay. He will probably do a lot of things his own special way.

Once the gift sharing is finished we typically get ready to take Kaeryn and Tristan down so they can spend the rest of the day with their mom. I thought it was awesome that Ron had hidden one of my birthday gifts in the van. I'm still trying to figure out when he set everything up.

Christmas day is a declared pajama day in our house. We each get our jammies on Christmas eve and stay in them throughout Christmas day. It's one of my favorite traditions. And since the only place we go on Christmas is drive down to Modesto to drop off Kaeryn and Tristan it works out perfectly. That way not only are we filled with excitement and magic but we are comfy too. I love our Christmas family traditions. To me at least they add to the joy of the day.

It truly is one of my favorite days of the year. Filled with so much fun. I don't even mind sharing my birthday with Christmas. It's a day filled with magic for me. Holiday movies, Christmas cookies and other treats, birthday dinner and cake, enjoying the new things that we all gave to each other. Who could ask for a better birthday. Happy Christmas!

Family Photo 2013!

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas time I try to get a family photo. This is the one that made it to our Christmas cards. Wishing everyone the happiest of days and joyful hearts!