Merry Christmas

I knew there was no way to top Christmas 2012.  But 2013 showed up big time.  I love Christmas.  It's such a beautiful season.  It's even more special now.  I think it's this way for every new parent but I see Barrett in every nativity.  Every baby is him.  I think it's even more so that he is a Christmas baby and I've had the entire Advent season to prepare for Christ's birth.  I've also had the entire Advent season to prepare for Barrett's birthday. I know that the two do not compare.  But I can never think of the Christmas season and not think of 2012.  That day changed my life forever.  

Enough mushy stuff...

Christmas Eve we went to my Grandmother's house for lunch, we had a great time and I took zero pictures...moving on.

Patrick, John, Hope, Barrett and I went to Midnight Mass at 8:00pm.  Barrett did pretty good until he saw the girl in front of us had a snack.  So we gave him some cheerios and he was happy.  After Mass we went to my parents house to get Ally and had some pigs in a blanket.

Ally's Christmas dress.  I thought she looked so pretty! Day 24 outfit

Santa came.  I want to always remember Santa's first trip to our house.  It was so special.

The expression of joy. ha!

I had grand dreams of what our first Christmas morning would look like.  For example, in my dream Patrick and I would go and get Barrett out of bed and he'd be so smiley and happy to see us.  We change him and bring him into the living room where he'd crawl as fast as he could to see what Santa brought.  You can tell my dreams didn't exactly come true.  It was perfect though, he just needed a bottle first!

Ally, on the other hand, was more excited to see what Santa brought! 

Patrick and his babies.

After his bottle he was a happy boy, (well as happy as he could be with the terrible cold he's got)

This is a simple picture but it wins Christmas for me.  I love that of all the things we got him he was the most excited about the yogurt melts.

This hit me like a ton of bricks, you'd think a year later I'd be used to seeing "Mom & Dad" on stuff.  

Our annual picture in front of the tree.  I love it. 

I use the self timer exactly one time each year and I always have to look up in the manual how to set it.

(I need to do a post on all of our pictures in front of the tree!)

Day 25 outfit (they say 1st birthday) (By the time I put him in bed he'd worn 5 outfits today.)

Birthday breakfast.  He ate the entire cinnamon roll and loved every minute of it.

Gracie getting her bone.
Sam with his. They were happy dogs! We went to my mom and dad's house for brunch. This year we just bought for the kids. We had this book growing up and we wore it out.  I can remember fighting over who got to lift the flap on each page looking for Spot.  My sweet little brother got this one for Barrett.

I totally cried. (I might have cried again just thinking about it).  It was bound to happen at some point today anyway.  I was just so caught off guard.  

Then, I catch a sweet moment like this between my sister and Barrett and I teared up again.  I know I've said it a hundred times but seeing people you have loved your whole life loving on your child is one of the most special feelings.  I'm not really sure why, I knew they'd love him but it is still so special.

Luckily the same folks are there to turn right around and make me laugh.  John and Hope got our dogs this giant candy cane bone.  It's the size of a real walking cane.  Ally looks so unhappy it's kinda funny.

The birthday boy getting a nap.

Clay getting a nap.

Dad was sick and stayed in the bed.

John was helping Ava put her lego thing together.

Drew

Ava

S'mores

Porter

Harper

Our sweet little family.

John and Hope with Bentley and Hope's dad's dog that doesn't have a name but sure is cute.

Patrick and Leslie.

After we came home and recharged for a bit, we headed to the Horton's house for dinner.  Barrett was exhausted and sick but he was a trooper.  We opened gifts and then ate dinner.  Dinner was fabulous and I ate way to much it was all so delicious as usual!  It was a fun time but I was spent.  I was beyond exhausted.  The activity and emotion of the day was almost too much for me.  

We were blessed beyond measure this year.

I had the perfect ending to the day when sweet Barrett let me rock him before bed without putting up a fight.  It was like he knew I needed it.  He laid his sweet little head on my chest and just looked and smiled at me.  I never wanted it to end.

I'm sad it's over.  Luckily in the Catholic church we celebrate the Advent season leading up to Christmas and then the Christmas season for the twelve days after Christmas so I'll be soaking in the last few days of our Christmas season because Jesus is the reason for the season.

Gingerbread House competition

We had our annual gingerbread house competition Saturday night.  Patrick and I had a dinner for his work so we were late.  Everyone was pretty much done so I just decorated John's house.  It was not our best work.

This is the winner!  Created by my brother-in-law Clay.  A little backstory, when my little brother put a contract on his house we stopped by one Saturday afternoon.  The house is laid out a lot like ours.  After touring it my mom comes into the kitchen and says, "Well Maggie this house is just like yours but BETTER!".  So that became the joke all fall how John & Hope's house was just like ours but better.  So you can't read the little tags on Clay's creation the big nice one says John's house and the little shack says Maggie's house.  Pretty clever.

This is the one that John built and I decorated.

My older brother likes to use the gingerbread house competition as a political platform each year.

It was fun.  Barrett was tired and fussy so we didn't stay long.

I've been sentimental this week for sure.  Barrett will turn one on Christmas day and I can't believe it's already been a year.  All the Christmas things I did last year I was huge and had no idea how close I was to meeting my baby.  We didn't get to go to the Slovensky family party this week because Barrett didn't feel good and we didn't want to spread anything.  I was so sad we didn't get to go.  I remember being there last year.  Again, I was huge.  No one thought I'd make it to the new year much less my due date.  I remember thinking that this year when we went we'd have an almost one year old.  

And continuing our 25 days of Christmas outfits.

Day 19

Day 20

Day 21

Day 22

Day 23

Holiday Happenings!

Here are the last few days of outfits!  

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

Day 15

(Not really a Christmas outfit but it was his birthday party outfit and the first time he wore it!)

Day 16

Day 17

These aren't really Christmas but I had a little laundry disaster so they had to do for the night.  I mean they did have penguins.

Day 18

We've been falling behind on our Advent calendar activity list.  We've enjoyed reading the scripture each night but the activities have taken a back seat and I'm okay with that.  Lets be honest it was mostly for me this year anyway.  We have enjoyed breakfast for dinner and chose an angel off the angel tree at church.  

Today we had a fun play date with some new friends.   Okay they aren't really new friends.  Anna and I have known each other for a long time.  I graduated high school with her older sister and she graduated with my little sister.  Her boy is 6 months old and a doll.  Anna's friend Blair also came with her sweet little Halloween baby.  She was so tiny and adorable.  I didn't take any pictures but here are a couple Anna took of Barrett.

He was fascinated by Anna's tree.  He hasn't really bothered our tree but he wanted to take everything off hers.

He was tired from all his playing. Being a bully and stealing Drake's paci.  He is such a stinker.
This was the other day trying to get one of his birthday toys out of the box! We've had such a great week.  I can't believe we're only a week away from Christmas.  I was thinking earlier that this time last year I was only a week away from meeting Barrett and I was clueless.  I can't believe that is has already been a year!