a christmas special

the holiday came and went like it was catching up to yesterday. it made me think of the day i got married... the months of preparation to have a few perfect hours that felt more like a few minutes. a colorful, bright blur, and fuzzy, too, thanks to the bottles champagne we drank. but just like my wedding day, the memories are clear. vivid, concise and full of meaning.

i really don't take these things for granted. i've already replayed a few of them in my head over and over. they make me smile. i remember max climbing aboard his new scooter, and knox anxious to follow suit. joshua donning his crocheted santa hat to pass out all our presents. getting full from eating the christmas day whiskey donuts. mmm. donuts. yea. i definitely remember those.

and then it was over. gone in a hurry, just as it came. and it was pretty great. a bright, blurry mess of a day i can't wait to do again.

and now a few photos to help further memorialize it all seems fitting!

in anticipation of the potential influx of gifts the boys would receive for christmas, we brought ALL of the toys into the living room for one last hurrah before donating most of them. it was crazy up in there for a bit but they had a a great time reuniting with their forgotten play things. and i was so happy to get that off of my to-do-list.

we promised our family food and booze, but most importantly our famous whiskey donuts. yes you guys they are amazing. recipe up on le blog soon.

somehow, we were actually ready for our guests well before they were due to arrive. we were all cleaned up and looking spiffy, ready to tear into those presents. but we had to wait. the worst! and dudes my mom is ALWAYS late so that wasn't doing us any kind of favors. thankfully, the kids don't reeeeally know what christmas is, so it was really just josh and i getting impatient. but they could still tell something was supposed to be happening because why were we still home and in our kind of fancy clothes? they were getting restless. cue the piggyback rides! our most often used distraction+anti tantrum tactic. works 99% of the time. and it went on about 99% of the day.

i earned my presents this year is all i'm going to say about THAT.

finally. people! and a dog! uncle joe + andre brought their little princess stella and the boys were in heaven. they even let her borrow their new sunnies.

that elmo doll is just as annoying in real life as you imagined.

always when max isn't looking....

and we KILLED IT. house officially trashed.

the best part of the day was that despite a house full of toys and candy, this guy just wanted to ride on his mama's back. and i was happy to oblige. it was christmas after all, it would be over in a flash. and i had about three donuts to work off.

we hope you had a merry, merry holiday and cheers to the new year! we're out!