christmas 2018!

we have had such a nice week of celebrations & taking a breath away from the hustle and bustle that quickly became our december. 

our christmas was laid-back and so special- time with family, extended and our own. the girls left cookies for santa by the fireplace, reindeer food sprinkled on the lawn, and woke up to more hatchimals and shopkins than i ever hope to see again ;) aunt alli made the girls a new lemonade stand, great gramma helen handpicked them each a new dolly that they have hosted breakfasts for, changed dresses on 1000x, and slept with each night in their treasured new hand-sewn dolly sleeping bags from gmom. auntie amy surprised them with their own aprons + a matching set their dollies, and meme gifted the girls new jammies and comfy critters [they're all about the infomercials]. betsy's heart about exploded with all of her beloved moana goodies, and eloise has a new light-up puppy that now rivals her favorite lambie. lucy's favorite gifts are her reading books [never far from reach], and santa's surprise of all the makings to open her own restaurant. i call this the christmas of chapsticks because in all honesty, we now have about 50 floating around the house from grandmas, aunts & santa himself. having jon home all week has been a huge gift to all of us, and i'm definitely not ready to get back into the swing of school and activities just yet :)

auntie amy had signs made for each of the girls' bedrooms, and lu was so proud to make a coordinarting one for her new dolly- which she named sydney, a name she's chosen for a toy before <3

we got a night away with some of our closest friends in the world- can't imagine life without the brewers for any of us!

mall date with meme-

uncle patrick, eloise's godfather, made a special trip to make sure our middle knows how treasured she is :) 

daddy & lucy date night for pizza & his high school alma mater's basketball game. lucy was way more into the snow cone than the game, but wouldn't have traded the time with her daddy for anything :)

such sweet sweet sisters-

gmom gave lucy her first sewing machine lesson, and this is her completed project! they've been working on some basic hand-sewing for quite some time, and this was an exciting next step-

celebrating one of my oldest friends & her marriage last night. it was a beautiful time filled with an array of people who have truly been instrumental in my life. 

2019- we're looking at you with goals for unplugging & breathing more, and worrying & overthinking less. 

xoxo, 

-ivy

this week brought 2 back-to-back tinitainer performances at local senior living homes [so very sweet and touching to see the joy brought to each audience], christmas jammie days at school, eloise's preschool christmas program, lucy's kindergarten christmas party that i ran along with my friend laura for all 60 kindergarteners [that was a big endeavor!], a special festive morning with meme for grinch pancakes & who-ville hot cocoa, seeing mary poppins returns with dancing school friends, and time well spent with our sweetest sweetest Goddaughter, virginia rose <3

& i'm sitting here wondering why i'm so tired ;) looking forward to a night out with our dearest friends this evening. it's jammed pack, but the best week of the year for sure! 

xoxo, 

-ivy

making a list & checking it twice... x10! this week brings our last [half] week of activities, school christmas parties, programs & jammie days, and towards the end of the week- winter break! we are sooo ready for slower days & all the festivities!

annual neighborhood christmas cookie delivery!

lu & coach d's first basketball game- mega success all around!

such a special night with our little sugarplums downtown at the nutcracker <3

lucy's last tinitainers christmas shows are this afternoon at 2 different retirement facilities- she & kaitlyn are ready for their duet rendition of santa claus is coming to town! and jon & i have our annual "wrap party" date tonight where we turn on our favorite christmas movies & wrap all the gifts. 

9 days to gooooo! confession- the countdown is so much more fun than the actual day to me! ;)

xoxo, 

-ivy

the month is whirling by! all 3 girls are just the absolute best ages for christmas magic- whole-heartedly believing, thinking every airplane in the night sky is santa's sleigh, pounding the candy canes [not kidding- i'm going to have to cut them off, but i probably won't], wishing for snow, anxiously searching for our elf each morning, christmas movies on repeat, and so much conversation about baby jesus. lucy and eloise are learning the history of jesus' birth in school, and the season of advent is embedded into their curriculum on every level. this is particularly true for lucy, who spends so much of her time in school! it's made this year extra special, as we celebrate the season in every facet of our lives- outside our home & in its walls.

as always, i'm trying to find balance. the demands and busyness of the season of the year alongside this season of our lives with 3 young children is exhausting and exhilarating. we're all wishing for more snow days, to slow us down and keep us in :) 

lucy's kindergarten christmas program. a sweet and special evening-

seeing santa at daddy's office! jon's work puts on the nicest christmas party for families each year- elves, crafts, treats & a long visit with santa. lucy agonized over what to ask santa for this year, and ended up asking for a surprise! the little girls are wishing for "light-up moana necklaces" :)

eloise's lunchbox napkin doodle for lu!

we whipped up homeade christmas play dough after school one day per betsy's request- easy & fun to all do together! it smells like oranges & cinnamon, and we had fun with cookie cutters, the girls asking google to play the home alone soundtrack on repeat & christmas pancakes for dinner!

& a busy busy weekend for this reindeer dancer! 4 holiday shows & lots of smiles!

onward!

xoxo, 

-ivy