So we meet again

'Tis the Season. Spencer ran right up to Santa this year and began spittin' off each item he wished for. Cam had to sit on my lap again and just wasn't sure about this hairy dude. Thank goodness for the amazing photogs that run the place because otherwise we would've had those classic crying photos with Santa… which wouldn't be a terrible thing. I secretly want one :)

Happy Holidays,

Christmas 2013

Christmas never fails to be an extremely time of year. Between the shopping, the wrapping, the crowds,  traveling to family, it can be a little overwhelming at times. I know that's not what the holiday is all about, but it always ends up that way. I've no doubt that's how it will be for the rest of our lives too. The perfectionist I try to be at times, always wants the best for her kids. But who wouldn't want to do all that you could for two sweet little boys?! 

So this year, our big gift we bought for them was a play set. I shopped around what seemed like forever and ended up with a very decent priced set from Walmart.com. Once  found what we were looking for, I stalked that website like no tomorrow. Good thing though, because we ended up purchasing it for $200 less than it's original price, and we couldn't be happier with it. The boys both love it and it's so nice having that access directly in your backyard. We spend a lot of time outside anyway, so this was just perfect not only for the boys...

Christmas this year was SO much fun! Both Spencer and Cameron had the best time opening gifts and swimming in a sea of toys. Just not sure where to house them all yet. We're thinking of moving the boys into their own mother in law suite in the back since they come equipped with so much stuff.
Kidding, of course.
This will be a whole other post, but since Christmas is over, I am now focusing on Operation Spencer and Cameron Room AND Operation Play Room. In the next few months, the boys will be sharing a room and Cam's nursery will turn into a play room. So stay tuned :)

Here are a few of my favorites from Christmas morning:

Then back up a few days where we had our Christmas down South will all of my family. Nana bought the boys a scooter and Cameron his own trike, which both were and are big hits. Spence loves anything with wheels on it, and Cam is following suite. It wasn't nearly enough time visiting with everyone, but we made the best of it.

Christmas Eve we had our good friends, The Semescos, over. Spence, Cam and Ruby had a great time on their dinner date and playing. We also welcomed the Newest Kid on the Block, Jack, which is Ruby's six day old baby bro. He's beyond precious and he gave me a slight bit of baby fever while he slept so peacefully in my arms. Just as last year, we walked around looking at Christmas lights and went to visit Santa and his broad, Mrs. Claus, down at the end of our street. Our neighbor, Karyn, has them down at her beautifully lit up house each year. It's great for the kids in the neighborhood, and for anyone that drives by. We're lucky to live on such a great street.

When we returned home, our Elf on the Shelf, Elfie, left the boys a very special Christmas Eve present, which they took no time tearing into. Once Elfie flew back to the North Pole that night, he wouldn't be returning until December of next year. We will miss him until then.

Then once we had on our new pj's, sipped hot cocoa and watched a little of a Christmas show, the boys went off the bed and the man himself paid a very special visit to our home.

I hope everyone had as lovely a holiday as we did!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Christmas 2012!

My last post was also about Christmas and the activities we did, but that was with our entire family. This post is more about the four of us and our personal Christmas Eve and morning.
While spending time with loved ones during the holidays is what the season is all about, the personal and extra time I get with my boys is even better.

Last year, Spencer was eight months old and wasn't too sure about ripping paper off of presents. This year, Spence was 20 months and Cam was two months. It's a given that Cameron hadn't a clue what was going on, but Spencer on the other hand was SO much fun. Not only did he enjoy the seasonal decorations, lights, and Christmas tunes, he was thrilled to tear into the paper that wrapped his gifts and to find what was awaiting him. He was in heaven. And of course, spoiled. Cameron had a more toned down version of Christmas, but still got everything he asked for :)

Since we have our own little family now, creating tradition is important to me. While this time of year is so busy for us since family is out of town, we travel, what feels like, a lot. Luckily our families are awesome and agree to push everything up by a few days. This allows us to be in Orlando and in our own home on Christmas Eve and Morning.

Christmas Eve this year, we met up with our neighbor friends, The Semescos, and walked through our 'hood to take in the Christmas lights. Our other neighbor down the street had Santa and Mrs. Claus visiting so we got a sneak peek at Santa before his busy travels. The kids, and their parents, really enjoyed it.

Christmas hugs

The Condons and The Claus'

Spence and Ruby enjoying a wagon ride

After our Christmas Eve escapade, we went home and put on our Christmas jammies, drank hot chocolate, watched Rudolph and Elf on the Shelf, and put out Santa's milk and cookies before bed.

Then waking up on Christmas morning to see Spencer's face was priceless. We had so much fun with him and I'm sure next year will be even better. Santa definitely remembered to stop at our house!

my boys

More of Christmas can be found on my Flickr page. (click the link)

Firsts

My goodness do I have a ton of catching up to do. Things have been so busy I haven't had the opportunity to do much. Caring for our two boys, then the holidays really snuck up on me. We've been busy indulging into the holiday spirit. Having children makes it so much more enjoyable, which I why I tried to cram everything we could possibly do into a very short window. But we managed, and memories were created. Mission accomplished :)

Since Cameron graced us with his presence a month early, he's had a lot of "firsts" in 2012.
I guess I'll start with Christmas...

We took the boys to Sea World to enjoy their Christmas display. They had Christmas themed characters all over the place, Santa Claus and The Polar Express, snow and lights everywhere. We went in the evening so we could enjoy it to the fullest. It was really pretty to see and Spencer had a ton of fun. Sadly, this was our last visit as our annual passes expires already. We went more than a handful of times throughout the year that I feel fulfilled. I can say we did fully utilize our passes.

Another activity we did was drive close to an hour to Lake County for a train ride to the North Pole. We boarded a functioning wooden train and took a ride to see Santa and his elves, all while singing Christmas carols, drinking hot cocoa and eating cookies. Spencer was in heaven! His one of many obsessions is trains. He stuck his head out of the window for a majority of the time. The rest of the time he was dancing and clapping away to all of the songs. He enjoyed this so much (minus the Santa) that we'll definitely be back next year!

We also drove around many of neighborhoods, and walked around ours almost nightly, to look at Christmas lights. I'll spare you those pictures as you know what lights look like. Spencer has really enjoyed them this year, especially while riding in his wagon to view them. I have been wrapping Cameron up and wearing him. He usually just sleeps, but next year will be so different for him.

I heard through my mom's group about Celebration Town Center and their festivities they put on each year. So of course, we had to go see what all the fuss was about. Surprisingly, it was really awesome. Not only do they have snow (Florida snow = soap suds) each hour, but they also had horse drawn carriage rides, caroling, and a train! Not to mention the Kilwan's hot cocoa and Columbia restaurant we had. Yum! A few shots from our fun, cold night...

Last, but not least, we made the typical Florida triangle trip for Christmas this year. Our first stop was Port Saint Lucie to spend a couple of days with my side of the family. Spencer and Cameron were spoiled, of course. We had a hard time fitting everything into our SUV. 

Then from there we always head up the coast to visit Rich's dad and Sandra in New Smyrna Beach. Papa Cork got Spencer his fist "bicycle", a Radio Flyer Tricycle. It's pretty awesome!

It's so amazing what one year can bring :)