white day-after-christmas

we were hoping for a white christmas this year, it would have been our first since we've lived in nc. we didn't get a white christmas, but we got tons of snow on the 26th! better a day late than never, right!? malcolm was sooo excited, he's been asking to make a snowman for weeks (ever since we bought a copy of the old "frosty the snowman" and "frosty returns" cartoons on dvd, haha!)

when we got home on christmas night, there were tiny flurries in the air...

and this is what we woke up to on sunday morning!
(our view from inside the house)

this may not look like much, but this is a lot of snow for us! it was pretty great!

the boys braved the cold temperature, and ventured out to make a snowman! good thing we had just found malcolm a nice warm coat (thanks vicky!) too bad i still haven't found him any good boots yet.

malcolm loved being out there in it :)

our poor frozen pumpkins, leftover from halloween :(

their masterpiece! they did a wonderful job, biggest snowman on our block.

the boys making snow angels. they had been out there for quite a while, and by this point malcolm was cold, tired, and generally over it. he wanted to come inside.

i got him out of his cold wet clothes, wrapped him up in a soft, cozy woobie, and laid him in his new recliner. alanna heated her "snuggle bag" (rice filled sack) in the microwave to help warm him up. he loved it.

danny's mom and dad also got a lot of snow where they live, and they emailed us these photos of their snowman!

dan and vicky, he turned out so cute, and this photo is fantastic :)

our christmas

we had a very nice christmas this year. i meant to get this post up right after the weekend, but monday morning i woke up with a severe toothache (the same bad tooth that gave me trouble months ago) which pretty much consumed my whole day. thank goodness danny works for himself, and was able to stay home and help me out around the house. i felt absolutely awful. it still aches, but we were able to make an appointment with the dentist for next monday. i guess ibuprofen will be my best friend until then.

here are a lot of photos that i took on christmas eve/day.
all the gifts under the tree after santa dropped by :)

the kids had so much fun opening their presents



probably his favorite gift



sleepy eyes...


...and crazy bed head hair. perfect christmas morning photos :)



malcolm and his bounty!


alanna and (most) of hers!


my parents sent us some really great gifts. my mother gave me this cute cupcake stand and tea towel, along with a generous gift card, new pj's, and a pretty scarf. thanks again mom!


alanna and malcolm made these cards for danny and i. love them.


this was my gift from danny and alanna. they made this seat cushion for the toy bench in malcolm's bedroom. that old bench was made by one of my uncles when i was a little (maybe even before i was born?) and alanna had used it in her bedroom in utah. when we moved to nc, it came with us, and then when we moved into this new house in june, it made its way into malcolm's room. i had planned on painting it, and also making a pad for it, but had never gotten around to it. so danny and alanna helped me along by making the seat cushion. (good thing i never ordered the fabric online that i had planned on using.)

alanna sewed the cover all by herself, she even did the measurements and figured out how to make the corners and everything! i guess she really did learn something in her sewing class last year (she used the design from a purse that they had made, as a guide for the cover.) then danny screen printed the caterpillar and strawberries on it at his shop. they even used snaps to close the back side, so that it is easily removable in case it needs to be washed. they did a great job, and it looks really nice in his room. thanks guys!



while we were putting it in malcolm's room, lucky dog was naughty and helped himself to one of alanna's gifts. he loooves opening presents, haha!




in the afternoon we headed out to danny's parents house for dinner, and more gifts for the kids. we all love spending christmas evening at their house.


alanna and her favorite present... a kindle!



my handsome boys


malcolm relaxin' in his new recliner :)


vicky's wonderful meal!

we really appreciate all of the terrific gifts that were given to the kids. they love all of them, and will (hopefully) keep them busy for a while, haha. thank you all so much for everything. we really are so lucky to have such great families. i just wish that my side wasn't so far away. love you guys.

merry christmas!

wishing you all a very happy holiday!
love - alanna, malcolm, danny, and i

p.s. happy, happy birthday to my sister natalie! we love and miss you!

little bits of christmas

this has been a very busy, and sometimes stressful month, but we are finally as close to being ready for christmas as we will get. i still need to wrap the gifts, and make a few treats, but those things i enjoy so they will be easy. you read that right, i really like wrapping presents. when i was younger, my dad would send me out to shop for my mothers gifts, and then he would pay me to wrap them up. i always liked doing it for him, and all those years of wrapping gave me lots of practice. i think i do a pretty good job :)

i am working this evening, thursday night, and most of the day on christmas eve, so i will be busy right up until christmas day! i cannot wait until saturday morning when the kids get to open up their gifts. malcolm is now old enough to be excited for santa to come. and alanna always likes getting new stuff, so she is excited for him too, haha. here are a few photos from around our house.

there was nowhere for me to hang our wreath outside, so i hung it on malcolm instead!

we are using our eric carle advent calendar again this year. malcolm thinks it's so fun to see which ornament we get each day.

danny's vintage ceramic tree. it is lovely.

our skinny little bargain tree that we bought our first year as a family (for a whopping $29.88 at target! haha)

my kewpie doll angel tree topper

malcolm and i painted this together on our last trip to marbles. i just love it!

and my sweet mother sent us a set of four matching christmas stockings! we've never had a nice set, and the oddball ones we did have were looking pretty sad this year. thanks mom, we all love them!

and here is a silly little video just for fun :)