Hey there, Santa!

Trevor went to visit Santa Claus today!  He did so great!

All smiles for the man in the red suit!   (This is Trevor’s shy face.  Well, part of it.  It is more of a shy act.)

Favorite Things

Since it started playing, I have had my radio tuned to XM 23 Holly…Christmas music all the time.  I have heard the My Favorite Things song a million times already, so this morning, I thought I would share two of my favorite things with everyone.  (And reveal some drastic changes that were made last night)

So, before I slide (literally, our sidewalk is still ice since we here in Southeast VA don’t own a snow shovel) out the door to pageant rehearsal, are our two favorite things on this cold December morning: 

snuggling on the couch in pajamas watching Mickey Mouse

and, dying your hair a delicious shade of milk chocolate brown :) 

 

Happy Saturday!

Virginia Living Museum

A few weeks ago, our friends Mandy and Paul came down from Richmond with their twin boys to visit and have a play date with Trevor.  The boys had such a great time that we knew we needed to get them together again soon.  Mandy’s mom had the outstanding idea of taking the twins to the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News and she and Mandy invited us to come along.  We all had a great time, and the museum was awesome.  They had tons of interactive stuff for kids to do (of course, the boys are too young right now) but it is something that we can go back and do again once they are older.  It is actually much closer than we thought it was—and on the drive up there, we discovered a cute area of Newport News called Hilton Village.  Shane and I are hoping to get back up there to do some exploring eventually. 

Here are some of the pictures of our adventure:

 

Mandy and I strolling with the boys

we then thought it was a good idea to let Trevor and Caleb run free!

Trevor wouldn’t climb into the turtle shell, so we had him sit on it instead. 

this, i think, was the best photo of the day—all three boys looking AND smiling!

 

passed out on the ride home!

 

confession: the adorable blue corduroy train overalls that Trevor is wearing in all these photos—belonged to my brother back in the day.  circa 1994 we think.  goes to show, Oshkosh is always in style :)

Deck the Halls

We began decorating for Christmas this past weekend…so far we just have the advent wreath and tree up, but we still have more to go.  Shane is waiting for the sub-arctic temperatures to take a break so that he can put the lights up outside.  I think it should be in the 40s tomorrow, so maybe the warmer weather (and I mean that relatively) will get him outside and motivated to climb up on the ladder to put the lights on the roof. 

So far one thing I have noticed that is different this year is Trevor’s reaction to all things Christmas.  Everything seems so magical to him—the lights, the sounds…everything.  He loves to go into the kitchen and dance to the Christmas music that I have constantly playing in there…every morning as soon as he gets to the living room after running down the hallway he lets out a big “OOOOO!” when he spots the tree.  As the holidays this year are turning out to be so much more magical for Trevor, the holidays are becoming more and more meaningful for Shane and I.

 

  

With all the cheer that has taken residence at our house, I am ready to settle in for the evening and take care of my favorite holiday activity—Christmas cards!  Hope the holiday cheer is taking up residence at your house too! 

Thanksgiving Travels

As per our usual routine, we headed up to Connecticut to spend Thanksgiving with my family. We left here on Wednesday afternoon, drove to my mom’s house in NoVa and then we all drove up to CT together on Thanksgiving morning. The drive up wasn’t as bad as I would have thought—but am I the only person who thinks there was way more traffic on the roads Thanksgiving morning than there was last year?! Still, not bad—we even got to see some snow as we were passing through Delaware and the southern part of Jersey.

We were in CT Thursday through Sunday morning and we had a great time. Trevor loved spending time with his cousin Connor and the two of them had a blast. On Friday the boys (with the exception of Trev) went out bowling and to a hockey game, so it gave me some nice time to spend with my aunt and grandmother. It was a great time and I hope to be back on the road up there soon—after Christmas maybe?? Shane has a hankerin’ to go skiing, so I think it might be a MUST.

The Holiday Season Begins!

To kick off the holiday season this year, we decided to head to Norfolk for the Grand Illumination Parade.  On that night, all of the skyline of downtown Norfolk and Portsmouth are illuminated at once and then there is a huge parade through Downtown Norfolk.  Trevor had a great time sitting up on Shane’s shoulders watching all of the different bands and floats go by.