Catching Up: Part 2

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! This year, as always, there have been many changes and blessings in the Hall house. I'm a little sad to see 2013 go, but excited to see what 2014 has in store for us!

I said in my last blog that I would go over all the "activities" that we've been doing this month… the only problem with that is I have a hard time remembering what I ate for breakfast. Good thing I take so many pictures!

Corvallis does something every year called Pepsi lights. It's a drive thru thing where you just roll down your windows and look at a whole bunch of lights and different Christmas characters. We let Payton sit in the driver's seat while we drove through; she had so much fun! Carter slept through the whole thing. Maybe next year!

First family ornament!

We had quite the day planned for Kyle's birthday, which was on the 14th. We started out by picking up Grandma Sue, grabbing coffee, and heading to Storybook Land. It takes place every year at the Linn County Fairgrounds, and admission is free (we bring canned food to donate). It's hard to describe… it's a little tacky, a little cheesy, lots of lights, and absolutely magical for kids. We love it! There are a bunch of different little "scenes", and they set up dolls and stuff in them to recreate Disney movies, nursery rhymes, Christmas stories, all kinds of stuff! 

Ready to go!

Love this munchkin

Probably Payton's favorite display… Cinderella!

Toy Story!

So much to look at for little Carter man!

Birthday boy with his favorite little lady

Before you exit Storybook Land they have a Santa that you can take pictures with. I asked Payton if she would sit on his lap, which was an emphatic no. Last time we were near Santa she didn't want to even be in the same room as him! I told her that was fine, Carter could sit on his lap by himself. She was very concerned about Carter meeting Santa, and told me she didn't want me to put him on his lap. Carter, of course, didn't care! He was smiling at everyone as we stood in line.

What do you think he asked him for?

We tried to get Payton to take a picture with Mrs. Claus. You can see how successful that was!

Kiddos with Grandma Sue

She had so much fun… but our day was just beginning!

After running home and eating some lunch, our next trip on the agenda was taking Payton to see the Nutcracker, which was being performed by a local ballet academy at the community college. We thought she would really enjoy a ballet, she loves to watch dancing! Plus I knew there wasn't really anything scary, and I figured she would love all the pretty costumes. I didn't think Carter would enjoy sitting through it though, so Kyle's cousin Sarah came over to watch him while we went.

Waiting for the show to start

So excited!

She was mesmerized…

Payton did so well, she sat through the whole thing and barely said a word. If she made any comments, it was about the fairies pretty dresses. She loved the costumes! Apparently they're going to perform it annually, so she can enjoy it next year too!

After the Nutcracker we swung by the house and grabbed Carter, then met the family at Bo-Macks BBQ for dinner, which is Kyle's favorite. But we still weren't done… next on the list was bowling! I only bowled one game and then decided to take Carter home to put to bed, but Payton would have bowled all night if we let her. All in all, I think Kyle had a really great birthday :) The last one before the big 30 next year!

Hanging with Uncle Bryan at the bowling alley

He was such a happy camper all day!

Kyle's been on break for the last week, which has been really nice. We've still been taking Payton to school a couple days just to give her a chance to run around with her friends, but Kyle has been keeping Carter at home most days. Carter doesn't really care if he gets to see his "friends" or not! I've been working of course, which has been going really well. It actually feels nice to be back, doing what I love to do. When Payton's not in school, we've been trying to keep her busy with various activities.

Gingerbread men before...

And the finished product! We had a hard time keeping Payton out of the candy!

Luckily, I had Christmas Eve and Christmas day off. It's been a long time since that's happened! This year we spent Christmas Eve with the Casebolts, and Christmas day with the Halls. 

Hanging out in front of the tree

Carter looked so handsome in his little sweater vest and button down shirt!

My favorite gifts

Christmas jammies! The tradition continues!

Payton's gift from Santa this year was a Bitty Baby American Girl doll (with matching pajamas!), and a doll crib

The happy face every parent loves to see Christmas morning :)

Kyle thought I went a little overboard on all the gifts I got for our 5 month old

He loved the paper!

Payton opening her gifts with her Bitty Baby at her side

My Aunt Tanya made this for her! As you can imagine, Payton loved it!

We spent both days hanging with family, eating, laughing, opening gifts, hanging out, all that good stuff. Another successful Christmas! Thank you to everyone who got gifts for the kids!

Yesterday we hung out at my parents for lunch, Grandpa Book and Dot came down to see us. We had burgers, but Payton thought I said we were eating "boogers"; she told me that we can't eat boogers because those were gross and they belonged in our nose. That girl cracks me up!

Last night we decided to light our wood burning fireplace for the first time; I don't think it's been lit in over a decade! It was so cozy, Payton was terrified of it at first (of course) but came around when we stuck marshmallows in it to make smores.

Nice and warm, and smelled so good

Yum!

Carter loved watching the fire

Carter's friend Bradyn came over to play yesterday; they're getting so big!

Kyle is still off this week, but New Year's is my holiday this year, so I'll be working. Can't believe it's almost here! 2013 was such a big year for us, can't wait to see what 2014 has in store! Love you all and happy holidays!