Christmas Day

    We had a really great Christmas, and I hope you did too. Connor woke up at about 7:15am {gasp!} and wanted to go straight downstairs to see if Santa came. I beat him to it so I could catch his reaction {see below}. He was so happy and couldn't wait to play with his new firehouse and firetruck set. We were able to get him to wait a bit before opening all his other gifts by feeding him breakfast. If it was his choice he would have opened all his gifts in 5 minutes, but we wanted to make it last a little longer.

My happy boy!

Christmas Eve

      Merry Christmas Eve! We have had such a fun day over here. It started with Connor seeing Hoho the Elf on the table making snow angels in sprinkles. There was also a gift left for him to open with a sweet letter from Hoho {below}. After a shower and breakfast, he opened it.

Dear Connor, 

     Guess what today is? It's Christmas Eve! That means tomorrow is Christmas. I have a lot of fun things planned for you to do today. When you open the box I brought you, you will find stuff for you to use throughout the day. First you are going to make Santa cookies. He really likes sugar cookies, so that's what I got for you to make him. Be sure to leave some out for him before you go to sleep. Jaimee and Brandon got you a special plate to put them on so they know they are for him. I also packed that in the box. Your Christmas jammies are all ready for you to wear after you take a bath. After you get dressed, your mommy and daddy are going to take you to look at Christmas lights around your neighborhood. When you get home you can open the snack bag that I made you. Inside you will find popcorn and hot cocoa with extra marshmallows. Those are my favorite snacks, so I hope you like them also. Maybe your mom and dad will let you watch a special Christmas movie before bed. The final thing I have planned for you is to read The Night Before Christmas.

     I have really enjoyed spending this Christmas season with you. After tonight, I will be busy working in the North Pole preparing for next year. Continue to be a good boy for you mom and dad because Santa is always watching and I will be back to check on you! I love you and can't wait to see you next year.

XOXO,

Hoho

December Traditions

    December has become a very fun month at our house, especially now that Connor is getting older. I am all about traditions, especially during Christmas time. We have started quite a few over the last couple years, so here they are.
     Our first tradition that we started last year is a Christmas book countdown. It has been a hit both years with Connor because he loves opening a new book each night before bed. With the exception of our Christmas Eve and Christmas book that I set aside, I let him choose the books in any order this year.

Family Pictures in Vicenza

    It's that time of the year again: time for our yearly family pictures so we could have new ones to put on our Christmas cards. Aaron knows that at the end of the year it's time to take them and he is always so thrilled {cough, cough}.  This time I was the one not feeling too thrilled while taking them. Word of advice, never plan to take them after a night out that involves a wine tasting... I'll leave it at that. Anyways, we decided to take them in downtown Vicenza since it will be our last Christmas in Italy. Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!

 Our life.

Bolzano, Italy: One Last Christmas Market

     In my last post I blogged about our trip to Innsbruck to visit their popular Christmas market. Well yesterday, we went to the largest one in Italy. It was located in Bolzano, and was only a two hour drive from our house. We went with two other families that we have become close to while living here in Italy.  In total, there were 6 adults and 6 kids {all boys 4 and under}. They all behaved really well, so that made it easy for us parents.We all made sure to bundle up and wear lots of layers because it was cold {like in the 30's}. Aaron was smart and packed us hot cocoa in a thermos, plus we drank mulled wine to keep us warm.