Christmas Eve

I’ll start this post out with some sweet Christmas Eve Eve (Christmas Adam?) pictures:

We sure have some handsome boys on our hands, and their Sunday best really emphasizes them in all their handsomeness!

We sure love these two brothers!

Christmas Eve was spent lounging, cooking and getting ready to party!
We almost made it out the door before big brother discovered a way to look downstairs without actually going down:

Please notice the hole.
We had been telling the boy all week that he couldn’t go downstairs and he was really good about not doing it.
Occasionally he would stand at the top and say, “Why can’t I go down? Are there presents?” We would respond, “I don’t know, you just can’t come down!”
So our fun little game was kinda charming until he discovered this.
He saw the Legos. Seriously? The Legos?
Oh well, at least they were from us and not Santa!

Anyhoo---Back to the partying!
We made it out the door and spent Christmas Eve at Eve’s:

The Edwards were kind enough to host the evening at their home, and these kids were pumped to spend the evening together.
It had been far too long since we had spent time with these Stamfordites!
It’s been really fun that we have been able to spend all three of our Christmases back here with these wonderful families.

The missionaries were also able to join us for our delicious dinner!
They were so sweet with our boys, and it was a fun experience to have them over.

The night was spent chatting, eating and enjoying each other’s company.

This picture would have been perfect if we all would have been on the same page about who was taking the picture. ;)

I’ll take what I can get! These boys of mine are SO HANDSOME!

Thad was excited to get  home and open the one present that was sitting under our tree waiting to be opened on this special day:

Come on…

What’s inside?!

Ta da!!!

With Grandma Teresa’s help we had two of the cutest matching PJ boys on the planet that night!

Can you give us a little spin, Thad?

And the stockings were hung…or set out in their spots.

Cookies and carrots for the Big Man and his reindeer!
We even were extra nice and left out egg nog this year.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

I wish this post could end peacefully here, but shortly after Santa came, Wes baby woke up puking.
It was so sad for him to be throwing up, but he was still so happy. This boy is always happy!
He had a few baths in the middle of the night, 3-4 pajama changes and spent most of the night in the towel-covered pack-n-play in the hallway.
To Be Continued…

Post Utah, Pre Christmas

After returning on the redeye flight Monday morning, the boys gave me 3 hour naps, so I was able to get some shut eye too. But don’t be fooled, we didn’t waste one moment getting back to business…the business of fun!

Thad was so happy to be home and get reacquainted with his toys after their 3.5 week separation

He could hardly wait for me to set up his gift from Kanosh:

He caught on pretty quick!

A few hours after waking up from our naps, I was on my way to drop the boys of with the Russ’ so I could head into the city for Brian’s work party.

We went to a club called Yotel where we had appetizers and some good conversation.
It was great to put some faces to names that I hear a lot. It really is a great group of people he works with!

There was a stellar view out on the deck and the weather wasn’t too bad for December 10th!

Hanna and I spent a good portion of the night chatting and catching up after not seeing each other for ONE WHOLE MONTH!
Seriously? I don’t see this girl enough.

It was a fun night and Times Square was happening as always.

Our favorite part was the giant Mormon ad behind us on the right. Here’s a better view:

Pretty awesome to see stuff like this in NYC.
I hope to see it replaced after Christmas! I’ll keep you updated.

The next day I went to a Primary presidency meeting where I was released from serving with some of the best ladies I know.

Heather Van Leeuwen.Sally Francia.Camille Falta.Me.Julia Raia
This is the first leadership calling I have ever had and I am so grateful for it.
We organized the Darien Ward Primary from the ground up and I’m so glad I was able to do it with them.
It was a good two years, and I’m excited to also be apart of the new Primary presidency that has been organized.

Thad always loved playing at Sally’s house if I had to take him to meetings and that night was no exception.
I think we are going to have to go over there just to play and get our Sally fill!

We joined all the crazies and started the Elf on the Shelf tradition.

We asked Thad what we should name him, and he said Melvin.
Where did he hear that name and why does he remember it?
Oh well, it’s a good one.
I think his reports to Santa have been mixed, but we’re hoping Thad ends up on the Nice List. We’ll let you know in a couple days.

Two and half days after returning from Utah, we were lucky to get a visitor from there:

Uncle Todd!!
Todd heard a few days before we came back to CT that he had gotten an interview at Sacred Heart University for their Physical Therapy program.
We are so happy for this achievement, especially since it meant a sleepover and a trip to the city with a visitor!
We for sure wanted to go to the city to check out all the Christmas awesomeness that happens there, and this was our perfect chance.

It’s always awesome to have an extra person to help me meet Brian in the city when I have the boys. Plus, Thad couldn’t get enough of him!

We checked out Macy’s windows first.


Wes was a bit of a struggler all bundled up, but at the end of the night, that boy was toasty!

Bryant Park was our next stop:





If you can’t tell by these dreamy Christmassy pictures, we really wanted to get our ice skating on, but settled for a $2 carousel ride.

I don’t think Thad cared one bit!


Me either.

Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller Plaza were last on our list of sights to see.


Saks Fifth Avenue had some neat windows as you can see…

But, it’s what was across the street that was the highlight of the evening:

At least I got a picture of Wes with the tree, right!?

I would have to say it was a very successful night in NYC.
We’re so glad Todd was able to join us, and that we have awesome boys that are such good sports about walking around the city for hours.


I think Wes was pumped to get on the train at the end of the night.

After Uncle Todd left, things started to slow down a touch, and we got to get back to some “regular stuff,” like playing at home, running errands and hanging with friends.

Now that Wes can crawl, this is Thad’s new favorite thing:

He pulls something  so Wes will follow…

And he turns right back around.
It is darling and they BOTH love it.
Win, win.

Checking out the Christmas fun at Stew Leonard’s

Thad just enjoying the glow of the Christmas tree on a gloomy morning.

We were invited to the Children’s museum with our friends Heidi and Gina, and it was a huge success!

These are the awesome neighbor gifts I was able to give out this year thanks to Teresa.
Everyone I have given it to thus far is super excited to have it.

We had a fun experience at the fire station and went there to donate a toy I had been meaning to return.
I wanted Thad to have some experience with giving, and it was a fabulous experience. I thought we would just drop the toy and go, but they firemen were excited to see us and let Thad check out the engine.

Isn’t he the cutest?
I tried to tell Thad that good things happen when we do good. It was a perfect little pick-me-up for the holiday season!

And before the Farrs headed out of town, we had to see them.

Thad and Sophie were up for a photo shoot in their holiday gear.
I loved it!


Hanna and Sophie are hopeful of that Thad’s fear of water will pass sooner rather that later…

Thank you for the paddle board, it was a hit!

So I guess, we’ll just be waiting to see what this guy has for us in a couple days-

I know our Thad is excited and we’re excited to have Wes around for the first time.
Although Wes wasn’t too fond of Santa, I’m sure the jolly ol’ guy won’t hold it against him. ;)

We hope your Christmas is a special one!