December 🎄 ✨

Mom, Dad, Ellen, Corey, and Cam came for a late Thanksgiving / early Christmas visit the first week of December! It was the best.

Barkley was so excited to see Gma Trudy and Gpa Mark he jumped right into the car!

The happiest picture! :)

The happiest dog! :)

Adults-only dinner at The Boathouse one night

The most chaotic indoor basketball game hahaha

Cousins!

Mom brought dresses that Sarah, Ellen and I wore growing up.
Despite her expression Elise loved hers, and both girls wore them to church the next Sunday. 
Lydia even wore hers to her class Christmas party!

This is the best pic we could get of us wearing them.
It's a screenshot from a home video of Sarah and me dancing on Christmas Day, 1992. ❤️ 

Love this one. :) 

"Cheeeeeeeeese!"

Their visit was really, really good - just wish it had been longer! 

Lydia joined the Five Mile Club for running a total of 5 miles since starting Running Club in September!

Christmas FHE, with Matt telling the story of Christ's birth
from the scriptures using Great Grandma Hill's nativity set. ❤️
Love this picture.

Grammie Heidi and Gpa Mike sent the kids ornaments with their initials. :)

At preschool Luke and Elise got to ride "The Polar Express" (the little train from the mall) and they got to sit together! It made their day. :)

Lydia did her running club's 1-mile Jingle Bell Run at the elementary school! She did great. Matt even volunteered to go early and help set up. 

Go Lyd!

Matt and Luke did a couple of wintertime yard projects. 

Matt's new favorite picture. :) Hahaha. So cute. 

We made lots of Christmas cookies. :)

We had a little snow one day - just enough for the kids to attempt a snowball

fight at the bus stop!

Lydia's class Christmas party

Luke's preschool performance

Luke and Elise's preschool performance!

Lydia, Luke, and Elise's performance at the ward Christmas party. Elise wasn't really supposed to be there but she followed Luke up hahaha. 

Watching the big kids perform

Our ward did the most wonderful Night in Bethlehem themed party.

Lev's bday party :)

My annual Chic-fil-a peppermint milkshake :)

Christmas outfits!

These girls helped me make and deliver 20 boxes of home made Christmas cookies + Christmas cards to our neighbors! Such a fun (and stressful) afternoon haha. 

Really happy with how these turned out and hoping to make it a tradition!

Went to see The Miracle of Christmas at the zoo and this was the only picture we got. :) 
Elise cuddling up while waiting in line.

Lydia and I had a little date to Short Pump to visit The Giving Machine!
This was the first time it came to Richmond. Pretty cool! Lydia decided to donate an infant care kit, and I chose a goat!

On Christmas Eve we went to church (where the kids did another performance!), and then the kids played outside with Soren for 3+ hours. We had a special fam dinner, FaceTimed with Matt's family (Heidi did Symbols of Christmas for the kids which is always great), and we each opened one present! Unfortunately I was super sick, with what turned out to be Covid, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Fever, chills, flu symptoms, all of it. Matt got it a few days later! But it was still a great Christmas. :) Possibly the best gift was that Elise potty trained! She basically taught herself! We were at the gym one day and the lady in the Kid Zone I guess didn't know Elise wasn't potty trained? So she sat her on the potty, and... Elise went! So we just went with it, busted out the undies we'd been saving for her, and let her give it a try! She had maybe 3 accidents but picked it up almost immediately, and almost entirely without help. Such a big girl! She's our earliest (by a couple months) and easiest potty trainer so far. :) 

Best Christmas gift --> Elise potty trained!

Reading Lyd's new Book with No Pictures which she thinks is hilarious! 

Luke was SO EXCITED about his new toy tool kit, and Matt loved the lawn mower ornament Luke picked for him haha. 

Lydia made me this Super Mom necklace. :) It's always the goal. :) 

Christmas Day! 

Elise introducing her new Red Haired Baby to Pink Bunny 🥹

The only thing Luke asked Santa for this year was a cowboy costume, and Santa delivered!
Lydia had a long Christmas list, but one of the top items was Harry Potter cloaks and a wand. :)

It was a great, low-key Christmas besides being sick. Highlights of the rest of Christmas break included Emmi coming over to play almost every day, playing with Soren a couple times, ice skating at the mall, Matt volunteering at the Giving Machine, going to three different children's museums including the one in Charlottesville, a week of swim lessons for Luke, reenacting the nativity in Primary (so fun and crazy haha, Luke was a shepherd and Lydia was a wise man), me taking all the kids out to brunch at First Watch (and it went great!), playground visits, two Spiders basketball games, and Zac, Whitney & cousins visiting! Phew!

Pillow fight

Right after the girls were on the Jumbotron!

Another pic I found on my phone haha

Second picture ever of Baby Girl :)
We're so excited for her to join our family next year!