Livin On The Floor

The floor is where we live nowadays...

It's where daddy comes up with interesting ways to play with Finn's toys...

And most importantly it's where Finn gets to explore...

At times being on the floor can feel so monotonous and simple...but I know one day we'll look back to these days with fond memories and appreciation of the simplicity of life with our boy.

So this just serves as a reminder to myself for those days when the routine feels routine, that livin on the floor is where it's at. It's where I truly want to be.

Finn's First Christmas

Baby boy's first Christmas. So here we go, 36 of my favorite photos from the day. Yep, thirty-six. :)

Finn woke up at 9:15am and sees the Christmas tree and presents for the first time...

To my surprise he actually picked up one of his gifts...

And even ripped it a little...

Then he had fun playing with his stash...

Sweet baby boy...

Before we wheeled out Finn's final gift, Rob and I exchanged our gifts. Rob has a thing (passed on from his family) where he wraps gifts in obscure ways to keep me from guessing what it is. He handed me this one...can ya guess what it is?

Yeah, it was a CD wrapped with a paint roller, lol. I also got my new lens which I have lots to learn about but definitely am loving...

We then wheeled out our final gift for Finn...

First he pushed it around in circles...

Then checked out the steering wheel...

Then got him in it...our little cutie...

We then made our way over to my mom's house...

Sweet moments with uncle Greg...

Getting Finn strapped in...poor kid had to deal with the sun AND my hair in his face...

The cousins checking it out...of course they asked if they could go for a ride...lol.

We grabbed a family pic for the day...

And this next one cracks us up...totally taken on accident, but Rob said it should be our Christmas card for next year...

Please keep you hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times...good thing there's a lap belt. :)

Then the annual pickle finding competition for all of us grown kids. We do it for bragging rights and a lovely gift card. But mostly bragging rights. This year it involved standing on chairs and lots of hints. The thing is only like an inch big.

A fuzzy phone pic, but it shows how we all ended up. It felt like we were looking forever, but someone finally came out victorious....

Oh that would be me, lol. :)))

Then we headed over to spend time with Rob's parents.

The weather got warm as the day went on, so Finn was pretty much topless the whole day.

A lil container of ice cream all for me...

And to cap the post off with the sweetest pic my sister captured on her phone of Finn in his car. Sweet baby boy.

A busy, but good, good day filled with loved ones. Memories were made for sure.

Now to gear up for Finn's first birthday, about a week and a half away. My main project I'm going to attempt is making a video with pictures and video clips of his first year...I know it's going to take so much time and work, but I really think it will be something special to have and look back on. My heart feels a mixture of pride, joy and aching as I watch this boy grow...it happens so fast and I want to hold on to the sweet memories of our amazing boy.

Hoping you all are well and recovering from the season. The worst part is taking it all down. Boo. I'm going to try to not get crazy with it and just do one thing at a time, and those outside lights can just stay up till New Years or beyond.

Christmas Party

For the past, I don't know, 4-5 years? My mom's house has been the place for an annual Christmas party. Well her house got a year off this year, so Rob and I decided to put together a little gathering. 

And you know what the best thing is about having a party? It makes you clean every nook and cranny of the house (well except for the secret junk rooms that hold all the mess). So before friends and family started to arrive I ran around the house real quick and took some pics. 

I've been eyeballing those topiaries (plant looking things) on the piano for quite some time now at Target, and they were on clearance for 50% off, mmm...clearance.

But overall I used what we had for decor and just stretched it as far as I could. It's amazing what you can do with leftover ornaments, berries and lights.

The angle I took this picture is weird, but it shows I just piled some lights in these tin pails (that are from my baby shower...I heard they were only $3 or so at Home Depot)...and put some berries around em.

Then I just placed leftover red ornaments throughout the house...

Ah, that blank wall above the couch...I'll get to you someday...

I used our shelves to hold the plates, cups, silverware...yeah, I'm really enjoying these shelves. And then I used some of our lovely Christmas cards received to decorate as well.

Another thing I did to get ready for the party is I raided my mom's attic. I only grabbed the berries and that sweet little ornament tree in the pic below, but it all definitely helped. And also lent a hand in me not feeling the need to purchase anything.

Then using those tin pails mentioned above I balled up some cloth or paper to fill the bottom of the pail, then piled some ornaments. Then just cut a few pieces of our Christmas tree and stuck it in there. So glad I didn't buy stuff to fill these, super easy but I thought they turned out cute...

I didn't take many pictures during the party, just grabbed a few...

One sleepy baby ready for bed...

We made chili and everyone brought a dessert or appetizer to share. Such a great night indeed.

I can't believe that Christmas is in 2 days. Fastest. year. ever.