Candy Cane Christmas

Let there be light! Over Thanksgiving weekend, Tal put 56 lighted candy canes along our sidewalk and driveway. Unfortunately, this morning I ran over one of our candy canes and smashed it to smithereens while I was pulling out of our driveway. Oops!

Christmas Glow

I love the glow of our Christmas lights at night! 

Blue and Silver Christmas

Our house is ready for Christmas...and toddler-friendly for Hadley!

This weekend our family got into the Christmas spirit by decorating our house in silver and shades of blue:

To keep things simple, we only decorated our living room, and we reused the same silver and blue decorations that I bought on clearance a few years ago from Target, Walmart, and Walgreens: 

 Our house feels festive!

Everyday Moments

Life...unedited. 

These random iPhone photos are dark, blurry, and untouched, 

but they capture everyday moments that I want to remember.

Grandma Barbara gave Savannah a gingerbread kit last week.

Our family enjoyed decorating and eating the gingerbread cookies: 

Savannah took this selfie to show off her two front teeth that have (finally) poked through her gums after waiting for 8 months:

For Thanksgiving, Savannah made this craft to show that she is thankful for her family, sister Hadley, teacher, school, mom and dad, and a home to eat, sleep, and play:

Savannah and Hadley had a sister slumber party with Daddy in our bonus room:

On Thanksgiving, our family drove on the Emerald Isle High Rise, and this was our beautiful view of the Sound on our way to Salter Path:

On Black Friday, the girls and I hung out at Aunt EJ's and Harper's house while Tal and Uncle Benny laid a  new subfloor at Grandma Barbara's house. Here are the three cousins playing on Harper's bed:

On Black Friday, after everyone finished working on Grandma Barbara's floor, we ate oysters for lunch:

Here is Tal shucking oysters:

 Eating oysters in the yard:

 Grandma Barbara made these yummy mahi bites for lunch, too:

Caught in the act!

Hadley found the bath crayons and drew on our master bathroom wall:

Thankfully, Savannah was able to wipe off the marks easily: 

Today Savannah enjoyed painting her fingernails during my monthly spa day at home. During my spa day, I spend an hour coloring my hair, whitening my teeth, painting my toenails, and doing a face mask: 

Hadley looks cool in her sunglasses:

We put up our Christmas tree today, and Hadley enjoyed the magic of Christmas:

Thanksgiving 2016

Our family celebrated Thanksgiving in Salter Path with Tal's family. The weather was warm and sunny with temps in the 70's, so we spent most of the day outside.

Tal deep fried the turkey:

Savannah (7), Hadley (2), and Harper (3) took turns riding their pink Jeep around the yard... 

They enjoyed swinging on Grandma Barbara's porch:

 Hadley snuggled on Uncle Benny's shoulder:

Happy Hadley

We relaxed at Gran and Grandaddy's house: 

 Hadley opened and closed Gran's porch door MANY times and walked barefoot across the yard to Grandma Barbara's house MANY times today:

Later in the afternoon, Barbara, Benny, and Tal demoed Barbara's living room. They removed the carpet and damaged sub floor. (Tomorrow they will wake up early and install new laminate flooring in Barbara's living room):

To avoid the construction zone at Grandma Barbara's house, I took the girls to the beach:

The beach behind Grandma Barbara's house was deserted, peaceful, and beautiful while the girls played in the sand: 

Everyday Moments

Life...unedited. 

These random iPhone photos are dark, blurry, and untouched, 

but they capture everyday moments from the last couple weeks.

Savannah and her cousin Harper visited Santa in Pigeon Forge, TN:

Last week Savannah and Hadley got their flu shots at the doctor. Hadley also had her 2 year-old check-up. She weighed 32 lbs and was 34 inches tall. She is in the 90th percentile for height.

Savannah made a dream catcher in art class:

Hadley loves snuggling with her blanket and baby. The teddy bear was a recent gift from Grandma Barbara and Uncle Benny. Savannah picked out this teddy bear from the Build-a-Bear Workshop because Tal's favorite futbol (soccer) team is Manchester United.

 Free ice cream after dinner at Andy's:

Hadley enjoys sitting on top of our living room trash can and playing in her kitchen:

Tal got his truck repaired after our accident on October 19:

Last Saturday, our family (along with Grandma Barbara) ate breakfast at Krispy Kreme before we went to the Raleigh Christmas Parade:

Unfortunately, our family never made it to the parade because we had an accident in the parking garage. Tal backed up our Expedition while the rear door was open...and the back window shattered when Tal hit a beam: 

Before

 Thankfully, Glass Doctor came to our house yesterday and replaced our back window. We didn't have to pay anything because we had already met our deductible after our truck accident in October:

After