We wish you a merry Christmas "time"

Was looking at Mela's homemade Christmas Countdown Calendar today (can never find a good advent one!) and lo and behold ...

it's only five days 'til Christmas!!!

I was shocked. Don't people know we have an entire house to unpack, here?? There's no time for Christmas!!

It's going to be awesome, though. This is the first year that Mela has any kind of awareness of the season and it's pretty cute. She points out Santa and all snowmen are named Frosty and she'll tell you she's going to give a gift to her brother, except "it's hidden."

It's also pretty confusing, though ... every time she sees Christmas lights or it snows, she exclaims "It's Christmas time!" (to which we agree) and then "Santa come my house now!"

How do you explain that Christmas "time" actually lasts for several weeks?

Hence the Countdown Calendar.

Nate is pretty oblivious to the whole thing, as expected, 'though he was pretty wowed when we put up our little tree up and loves to say, "Santa!" every chance he gets.

Show-off.

Had a lovely weekend of Christmas parties both Saturday and Sunday... and Mela and Nate's first sleepover at their grandparents house (without parents!). We're old though so didn't get crazy but it was nice to know this is now going to be an option.

Little breaks are very good. Although, like a lame mom, I missed them.

And this week, we're going *home* to my parents' for the holidays, which means lots of good fun, tasty food and help with the kids!!

I can't wait to see family, especially Aunt Mary. Every time Mela sees a present, she declares that it's "a present for Aunt Mary" and says that she'll love it and she needs to take it to her right away. Heartbreaking.

The best part of being with my family, though, is being able to share my delight in the kids with people who feel the same way (i.e. won't be annoyed). "Look at how much Mela's grown! Listen to how much Nate can say! Aren't they beautiful?! Aren't they funny? Aren't they perfectly wonderful in every way?!"

Family is great for that.

Merry Christmas, everyone! Hope you have a wonderful holiday with family, wherever you are.

Say click!
We finally got access to our massive collection of photos today and I just briefly looked through the ones from last Christmas. Feels like a lifetime ago. I definitely wouldn't go back but did tear up a bit to see my babies so young.

Mela met the cats for the first time! Uncle Sam and Aunt Lisa showed me their new house! My baby looking so slick: Mela seemed like such a big kid. And she was only four months older than Nate is now. Weird. Jenny and Nate hanging out. Tragic that they won't be together this year. Fast forward one year:

Nate's a big believer in dental hygiene: Do you think Nate's eating enough??
Is it more funny that he's sitting on a potty or that he looks so fat?The supermodel in the morning: Cheesy smile for all the fans: A real, perfect smile for her mama: Chris's true rainbow shines through:
I've finally learned ... the key to getting ready for a party? Lots of TV. It's awesome: they don't move! You can even take a rare shot of the two together and they don't even blink!
Here we were last year, barely keeping our heads afloat: And here we are this year. In our new house. Everything looks great, although if you look closely, you'll notice that I'm wearing two different earrings. Went to the party like that, didn't even notice 'til I came home. I think it's a perfect sign of our lives right now. Happy but still pretty crazy.