December - where oh where did you go?

Our December was not exactly as picture perfect as I envisioned it when I wrote my last post.  Sickness struck soon after and then it hit again and again.  We have been through 4 antibiotics, about 52 bottles of tylenol and motrin, and lots of orange juice, ice cream and hot tea.  Thankfully we were all feeling fine by Christmas eve and, for the other few days of December that we were well, we did manage some Christmas fun.

I don't waste any time getting Christmas decorations up, so the day after Thanksgiving our preparations began.  Our mantel and our tree helped to lift our spirits all month long with their twinkling lights and soft glow.

Hannah made a sweet Mary for her class Christmas program and of course "Pink Baby," as Hannah calls her, made a wonderful baby Jesus.  All the girls in the 4K classes were Mary and the boys were Joseph.  Hannah and her friends sang Christmas hymns and prayers and really helped prepare our hearts for Christmas.

Later that week some of our friends down the street had us over for milk and cookies with Santa.  It was such a treat to hear the big man himself read "The Night Before Christmas." 

Here are Hannah and Lily with Santa.  Lily was absolutely terrified of him but at the very end of the party I got her to stand sort of near his knee for a split second in exchange for a sucker.  Of course, smiles were a little too much to ask for in that moment.  Lily is still talking about how Santa gave her a sucker though.  Suckers and candy canes...probably Lily's favorite part of Christmas :)

Other than a trip to look at Christmas lights with hot cocoa in hand and gingerbread cookie making that was about it for the Brown family pre-Christmas memory book this year.

Thankfully, though, by Christmas Eve everyone's spirits were lifted and we managed to make it to Christmas Eve Mass healthy and happy.  

After a quiet and restful night we woke up Christmas morning to all the excitement and wonder that this special day brings for little ones.  Candy before breakfast...

a surprise doll house made by mommy and daddy...

and a certain 4 year olds' Christmas wish for snow granted!... 

It was just enough snow for a light dusting on the ground but it was a white Christmas nonetheless.  Hannah went out early on to test her new umbrella.  Her Christmas wish list only included two things (besides snow) this year...an umbrella and a pink fishing pole.  She was very excited to see that Santa left her both under the tree.  

Lily didn't really remember snow so we had fun watching her explore the cold white powdery stuff that her sister was so excited about.

And together they built this little snowman (aka. Candy Cane).  He finally melted away yesterday and Lily is still not sure what to make of the fact that he is gone.  She has looked up and down the street for him and Hannah keeps explaining that "he will be back again some day." :)

After a fun Christmas morning together and some afternoon rest time the fun started all over with a visit from Bebe and Grandad.  They stayed for dinner and we had some special last minute guests join us as well.  My friend Beth called to say she and her fiance Shawn's flight to Portland was delayed and she wanted to stop in and visit.  Beth is a good friend from college and I had not seen her in quite some time so we invited them to join us for Christmas dinner.  It was such a special day and this unexpected visit made it all the better.  I loved having those faces around the dinner table and it will be one of my favorite memories this year.  I could not have asked for a more perfect day to celebrate Jesus' birth and I am so very thankful that our month was able to end on such a wonderful note.  I hope you all had a very merry Christmas as well!!!

It was a good one...

Our tree is trimmed, our Advent wreath is out and we have our first visit with Santa scheduled for tomorrow but I don't want to get to all of that holiday cheer before sharing a few of this year's favorite Thanksgiving memories. We had a great time hosting everyone here at our house and I am pretty sure that no one left hungry. My two favorite turkeys loved every minute of our festive and bustling house...

I think they wish that all of our guests could just move in our house and live with us full time!  We had a full and very special Thanksgiving starting with morning parade watching...

then a little later at "entertain the kids while the turkey is cooking" storytime...

and finally at post-turkey lingering at the table...

The food was great and was more than plentiful with each of our guests contributing to the feast.  From appetizer...

to 18 lb turkey...

to many desserts...

It was delicious!!!  We were so thankful for the food but most thankful for the company...

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving full of good food and lots of family too!  Now on to Advent and Christmas!

Gettin' Ready

We are preparing for a large crew of guests here at our little Brown house this week to celebrate Turkey Day!

I think that I have mentioned a few bazillion times before that we LOVE the holidays around here and hosting our families for Thanksgiving is such fun for us.  Now don't get me wrong, I can get a little stressed, (just ask my sweet and oh-so accomodating hubby) but I try to get things organized and started early so that the stress stays to a minimum.

The decorating is mostly done with our cornucopia taking center stage...

along with our thankful tree...

Each night after supper we write something we are thankful for on one of the maple leaves and add it to our tree.  I really like these branches because once we are done with Thanksgiving we will switch gears and use it for our Jesse tree.

I am loving the fact that Hannah and Lily are home with me this week and they are helping with all the preparations.  Hannah came home from her school Thanksgiving feast with this cute hat and tom tom....

I love the Indian name she chose for herself...Lily Flower.  Wonder where that came from? :)

I am trying to do my best to not rush this week away.  The holidays always seem to fly by so we are trying to slow things down and make the most of each one.  With that in mind we are making sure to take some time out this week and make our own fun Thanksgiving day crafts that I will share later.  Hannah and Lily are also enjoying spending some time with their new Thanksgiving books that arrived in the mail last week from Bebe and Grandad...

I hope you are all enjoying the start of your Thanksgiving week as much as we are!!!!!

two

Last week we celebrated Lily's second birthday.  I honestly cannot believe that two years have passed since the birth of this sweet little one...

The year between a first and second birthday is an amazing one to me.  Lily has changed so much since this photo was taken one year ago...

Soon after that picture was taken Lily took her first steps...and she hasn't looked back ever since.  This child spends most of her days running from place to place, mostly on the heels of her big sister.  My babe is tiny, weighing in at her 2 year check-up at 21 1/2 lbs, but what she lacks in weight she makes up for with her giant personality.

 .

Lily is very sensitive and oh so very sweet.  She is such a talker, loves the word "no" and really prefers to have things own way :).  This little one is opinionated about absolutely everything, from which cup she drinks out of, to what she wears (and who puts it on her)...

Lily likes hugs and kisses, but they have to be quick because she has things to do and can't be stopped for too long.  She loves to read books, play puzzles and play with her baby doll, but mostly she prefers to be outside in the swing, on a walk, or digging in the garden.

Lily goes back and forth between being outgoing and being a little shy around strangers.  She becomes little miss show off when she is wearing these...

We bought these shoes for her recently and if she has them on watch out.  Lily will stick her foot out in front of you and leave it there until you comment on her "parkly shoes."  She did this the other day while we were out shopping... stopping each person we passed by sticking her foot out in front of them and waiting for them to take notice of her shoes.  She can work a crowd for sure.

Probably my favorite time with Lily is each Monday and Wednesday when I pick her up from Mother's Day Out.  Lily and Hannah's school is affiliated with our church and so we are lucky enough to have our church building right next to the school. We have about 30 minutes before we pick up Hannah, so we slip into church and spend some time alone together in the quiet talking about the stained glass windows, statues of Jesus and discovering all that we see from a distance at Sunday Mass.  When it is time to leave, Lily blows Jesus a kiss and tells him that she loves him.  It is so sweet and I know he is there blowing her a kiss right back and telling my sweet girl how much he loves her.

My little Lily you are the world's sweetest little girl as well as the world's biggest stinker and there is not a thing I would change about you.  Our lives are so much fuller now that you are a part of our family and I am looking forward to continuing to watch you grow.  I love you so much and am so grateful that God blessed us with you!