Cookies, Snowglobes, and a Christmas Program

This week…. I am so glad it’s over. It seems like there was so much going on and I could barely keep up. Not that this coming week is going to be any less hectic, but at least it is now holiday break for the girls, so I can cross getting up at 6:30AM and driving a million miles a day off my list.

Wednesday I had to bake cookies for Camryn to bring to school for after her Christmas program. I did something simple, but they turned out pretty cute and delicious.

Break and bake sugar cookies, cream cheese cookie icing, and candy cane Hershey Kisses. It doesn’t get easier than that.

Of course, if you’re feeling less pregnant, overwhelmed, and exhausted, you could use your favorite homemade sugar cookie and icing recipes.

I also think next time I will add sprinkles.

Last night I finished up the girls’ teachers’ Christmas gifts. A few weeks ago I saw this snow globe gift card holder on Pinterest and thought it was a cute idea. It adds a little creativity to the generic gift card and makes it more personal. Please excuse the poor quality of this picture, I took it in a dark kitchen early this morning. It looked cuter than this in person.

You just take a Mason jar, any size (I used pint jars but I kind of wish I had gotten some a little taller), and fill it with glitter and water and any small items you want. I used little miniature ornaments. Then you hot glue your gift card standing up to the bottom of the lid. I also glued a little Santa down there. Then turn it over, add a ribbon around the lid, and you’re done! Click here if you want to see the tutorial I used.

Summer went on a field trip to see The Nutcracker this morning, and Camryn had her Christmas program. Joe and I dropped her off, went to IHOP, and then got back to her school an hour later to watch the program. My mom and brother also came to watch.

For one of the songs, the pastor of the church that her preschool is at played the guitar with them. Camryn is over to the left in the middle row.

She did such a great job. She sang and danced the whole time, and didn’t act overwhelmed by the audience at all.

“…you better not pout…”

After the program, we went to the gym for cookies and punch. And yes, this picture makes me wish I had gotten her some red tights.

She’s getting so big!

Summer had a great time on her field trip. They also got to make gingerbread houses this afternoon. It was definitely a good day for both of them to end the first half of the year on.

Jace’s Nursery… A Sneak Peek

I’m not quite ready to stand back and let you see the whole room together… we still have a few things to do to it. But I thought a little sneak preview couldn’t hurt. I am way too excited to wait any longer to show you what we have been working on for our little guy!

We chose a dark turquoise for the walls. I wanted something bold and fun, but relaxing at the same time. I think we definitely accomplished that. I am in love with the color! Because of the lighting it’s hard to get a picture that shows what the color looks like in person, but I think the picture above is pretty close.

We decided white would be a good contrast to the darker walls, and orange adds a fun accent. I got these letters at Hobby Lobby, spray painted them a glossy white, and hot glued the ribbon to the back.

I didn’t want to spend a fortune on wall décor, so I picked up a bunch of scrapbook paper in colors and patterns that look nice with the walls, and I also found this white scrapbook-sized frame. I used chipboard letters to trace and cut out the alphabet, and then glued them to a piece of white paper.

My mom, aunt, and I are working on making the crib mobile. I’ll unveil it once it’s done, but until then, here’s a little pillow I made using some felt scraps and our “test owl”.

It’s not a nursery without a closet full of little bitty clothes! I’ve been so lucky to get hand-me-downs and gifts from some great friends… Joe and I have only bought about an eighth of his wardrobe!

This owl sleep sack and hat were sent to me by a company called Corner Stork Baby Gifts. You all know I don’t do many reviews, but I could not pass this up… they have so many cute things and this was just the most adorable sleep sack I’ve ever seen, especially considering Jace’s room décor. It’s really well-made, and Corner Stork’s customer service is amazing. I’ll do a full review after Jace is here to actually use it, but I wanted to go ahead and share it with you because I love it!

And finally.. the crib.

The Baby Shower!

My aunt Billie and cousins Katherine and Libby hosted a baby shower for me at their house on December 4th. I was a little unsure if it was okay to have a shower for a third baby, but everyone convinced me that it was fine since it’s a boy this time and it’s been a few years since the last one. I’m so glad I ended up agreeing because it turned out really well. It was so nice!

We played two games.. first was smell the baby food and guess what it is, and second was guess which melted candy bar is in the diaper. Lot’s of “ewwww”’s with those!

I loved the way she decorated. The cake matched the invitations!

How cute is this punch?!

I only walked around with my camera for a few minutes so this is the only picture of Summer and Camryn that I got… I think my cousin took a lot of pictures though, so hopefully I’ll get copies some day

Jace got so many great gifts. True story: my baby fever started when I saw these Aden + Anais muslin swaddling wraps at Target a year or so ago. I can’t wait to use them… swaddling is the best baby trick in the world!

Johnny came in to help Erika carry my gift (they got me the jumperoo!)

I am so thankful to everyone who came, and to my aunt and cousins for hosting this shower… I’m a lucky girl to have so many awesome people in my life, and Jace is a lucky baby to have all of these people excited about his arrival!

Our 2011 Thanksgiving

Normally on Thanksgiving, we go to my aunt and uncle’s house to celebrate with my mom‘s side of the family. This year my aunt and uncle and cousins went to Florida and we decided to drive out to my grandparents’ house to spend it with them.

the girls love uncle Wesley

too many cooks in the kitchen?

I’m getting hungry just thinking about everything we ate that day

a really common sight when all but one cousin (my brother) is a girl

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, my mom and dad had us over for another meal. Which was amazing.

32 weeks

the inevitable turkey coma…

…which doesn’t last long when you have small children

many mooses… meece… meeces… i’ll stick with mooses

We decorated their Christmas tree while we were there.

After we got home that night, the four of us put up our tree.

It’s an artificial tree year for us, I am way too pregnant to be vacuuming up pine needles every day!

Jack is so happy to have his spot back

I love our living room this time of year.. so cozy!