a magical christmas

it was a busy, but oh so magical christmas season. i feel like we squeezed in most all that we hoped to! having jon home all last week was incomparable & moving ahead to 2016 & the birth of our third daughter has my heart overflowing. 

crafting their names on christmas trees-

sugar cookies- by far our messiest endeavor of the season! [partly because we had to shut our water off & bring a plumber out in the middle of it, as jon was fixing lucy's new bedroom shower & made a wee little mishap...]

decorating a life-sized gingerbread lucy :)

union station santa train magic- a wonderful tradition!

a snowball fight between goofy santa & miss cinnamon :)

cousins [& best friends] at meme's <3

nice job, daddy!

christmas eve crafting- gingerbread men that we baked, painted & hung on the tree!

the dandurand girls on christmas eve pre-mass. eloise stayed at meme's, while jon & i took lucy, as we knew the overly crowded service wouldn't be the most successful environment for our wild woman :) she had a blast with her cousins!

receiving this in the mail was a highlight of the season for me-

the girls had so much fun with this special advent calendar this year! their aunt jane [lucy's namesake] had it made for her son many years ago & we were honored that she chose to pass it on to our family. 

christmas morning santa success!

first batch of cookies in the books!

santa babies-

jon & i hosted christmas dinner & the very best part was that my gramma helen gifted me her beloved gold silverware for christmas! i have loved & admired this set for years & couldn't believe my eyes when i opened the package! i'll cherish it always.

so blessed with cousin time-

a memorable, beautiful holiday. one of my favorite memories was the kids running around our living room, finding books & toys to wrap up & gift to meme. tasman played santa, lucy helped wrap & there was so much joy in their hearts as they watched meme's big reactions!

today is the first snow of the season & i can't wait to get the girls out in it when they wake up! my mom spent the morning helping me finish the big closet switchovers. hours & hours later, i am thrilled & relieved that with a few finishing touches from jon, our house & bedrooms are officially ready for our 3 precious girls to each have their own special space!

jon & i are having dinner with our close friends brett & christina at union station this new year's eve- it will be the first time jon & i have been out on new year's for literally years! 

bring on 2016!

-ivy