Pre-Christmas Recap -

It’s time for me to cram in about a month’s worth of stuff in just a few short days, so I can squeeze it all into 2016. I should know better, but I do this every single year!

So first up, Kate and I hit up Starbucks in Target to kick off December with some hot chocolate. She is my shopping buddy on Sundays (sometimes) while Karsten naps. That’s when I get groceries for the week, and this month, did some Christmas shopping. Kate is definitely a fan of the red cups and the hot chocolate inside.

We have had some much needed lazy evenings at home, along with a lot of crazy weeknights and weekends. I love these people, and it’s so nice to have some laid-back evenings every once in a while.

Kate really wanted to help with the wrapping this year, and of course I wasn’t about to tell her no! She labeled this one for me. Look at that 5 year old handwriting! She has come a long way in a few short months. I can’t believe how quickly she is learning to read, write and spell.

December is not complete without a trip to see Santa. Last year’s Santa visit didn’t go so well for Karsten… and this year’s trip wasn’t much of an improvement. She clamped her arms and legs around me when I got close and I had to pry her off to stick her in his lap. She tolerated it by looking anywhere but at Santa, and was pretty relieved when her time was up. Kate, on the other hand, was her normal social-butterfly self and went down her wish-list with Mr Claus. First on the list was a Hatchimal, of course.

On Kate’s last day of school, I wanted to do something special with just her. So, I took off a few hours early from work and picked her up. We went by the nail salon and had her nails painted for the very first time. She choose to have them painted for Christmas with red nails and white dots.

Kevin and I also had a night out at my work’s Christmas party. My mom came up for the day to babysit the girls, so it was fun to dress up a little and head out with just the two of us. Thanks, Mom!

And last but not least, I had to grab a couple of pictures of the girls in front of the tree. Who can resist matching Christmas PJs? Certainly not me.