I seriously can’t believe that 2018 is already over and 2019 has already commenced! It just doesn’t even seem possible that we’ve traveled around the sun once more and that the holidays have come and gone. December always seems like the busiest month because we’re always trying to do as much as possible in only 31 days before the year is up, along with Christmas parties and holiday memory making and everything else that goes along with the holidays. But overall we had a fantastic December that wasn’t too overly stressful and I can’t wait to share it! Of course I’m liking up with Kristen to find out what’s new with you!
It seemed like we’d been going out of town and doing so much since September so instead of trying to schedule a lot in December we opted to just try and stick around the house a little bit instead. The first weekend in December was right after our Christmas party with our friends so we decided to keep the rest of the weekend low key. We did some shopping but really just hung out at home in the playroom. Since the girls have become more mobile we’ve been spending so much of our time up there because it gives them the opportunity to move around and play with things without getting into too much trouble. And even better that they love it!
That next week was the Christmas party for my company. I wish that we could have had spouses/significant others come but since it was a lunch, they weren’t invited. Even though I wish that Chris could have been there, it was still a great time! I got to hang out with my coworkers, drink a little wine, take some pictures in the photo booth and enjoy the amazing views of Minute Maid Park! That’s right our party was where the Astros play! It was an amazing venue and we all had such a great time. Afterwards we all went out downtown and enjoyed spending some more time just hanging out. Chris was an all star dad and wrangled the girls by himself while I had some fun!
That weekend we ended up having another Christmas party to go to that was hosted by our neighbors. I didn’t take any pictures but we had such a fun time! The girls loved playing with all the other kids that came over and they especially loved chowing down on the lasagna for dinner. They enjoyed it so much that we made it for dinner that week with some spicy sausage and even though the girls would cry when they got something that was exceptionally spicy, they would drink milk and go back for more! It was the cutest thing!
One thing that I wanted to make sure that I did this year was to get some pictures of the girls in front of the tree. Chris and I were trying to get them to sit still which is almost nearly impossible now, and then one of us had the brilliant idea to turn them around to look at the tree and handed them the remote that turns the lights from white to colored to alternating to off. They sat there for a good 5 minutes while I got the most priceless pictures of them looking like they adore the Christmas tree! They really just loved pushing the button on the remote but I got my pictures!
Usually we’re not ones to try and do much during the week because it’s usually too hectic with the girls and their routine, but our friends suggested going to zoo lights on a Thursday night to beat the crowds and we happily agreed! I had been wanting to go to zoo lights for so long because it sounded so cool, so I was really excited to share the experience with the girls. We got there right when they opened so the sun was still partially up, but as soon as we got in to the zoo and settled it was dark enough for all the lights.
The girls got a wagon for their birthday that Chris completely decked out with lights and it was such a great addition for our trip! The girls loved being able to see all the lights and they could even eat their sandwich in the wagon without dropping food all over the place! It was seriously so much fun, even though there weren’t any animals out to see, and I know that we’ll be going back again next year!
We were very much in a mood to see Christmas lights that week because once the weekend rolled around we headed out for more Christmas activities around Houston. One of the local breweries- No Label had a big Christmas market with live bands that Saturday afternoon so after the girls naps we headed to the brewery and walked around for a bit and had a beer.
We had some time to kill before we needed to head closer into town for the lights so we decided to visit MKT Distillery that’s right next to the brewery. They had a vodka, whiskey and moonshine for us to try (I didn’t love the straight liquor tastings!) and then Chris and I got mixed drinks and hang out with the girls for a little bit. The location of the distillery is really cool because it’s located right in the middle of one of the old silos. We definitely will have to venture back!
We ended the night by driving in town to see the lights at Bayou Bend that’s put on by the Museum of Fine Arts. Basically it’s this big beautiful house that was donated by a philanthropist Ima Hogg that they add a ton of lights to on the outside and then you can walk around the inside of the house and hear a little Christmas story. The girls loved seeing all of the lights but they hated meeting Santa. We opted to do the traditional crying photo so we could show them how much they hated Santa back in the day. There were other activities scattered all over the grounds including snowball fights and sledding and old Christmas movie watching. We just did the sledding with the girls and they enjoyed it, and I know that they’ll enjoy the other activities once they get a little older. I can see this being an annual trip for us too!
Before I knew it it was the week before Christmas! One of my coworkers turned the big 3-0 on Christmas Eve so we decided to celebrate her and the start of the holidays with a champagne lunch at a place called A’bouzy. It was so much fun and I definitely want to go back for another visit!
We had one more Christmas thing to do in Houston before we headed to my parents house for Christmas and that was to head to Saint Arnold for some more Santa pictures and a picture with Saint Arnold too! We had taken the girls there last year to get their picture taken and I wanted to continue the tradition! We enjoyed a great meal out in the beer garden before heading inside for pictures. The girls were pretty freaked out again by Saint Arnold and Santa so we opted to just hold them and get a family picture instead, but Izzy still started crying.
After that we packed up and headed to College Station to kick off our Christmas! We had a great Christmas with family even if it was a bit crazy and chaotic chasing after the girls because they both decided to start walking! Addy had been walking for a week or so before hand and literally that weekend Izzy decided to start legit walking! It was fun to see them in action, but man did they keep me on my toes!
Besides celebrating with our extended family on Christmas Day, all of the women got together on Christmas Eve and finally divided up our wine from Napa. I’m not ashamed to say that I went home with the most wine at 17 bottles and they might have been the most expensive too…
We ended up driving back home to Houston on Christmas which was definitely not fun because I had to work on the 26th. It was the start of close which meant that we were busy so thankfully that helped my one work day to go by super quickly because I was off through the New Year!
Like every other year, we were headed up to Dallas to spend the New Year with Chris’s family and also to do our Christmas celebration. We did some last minute shopping on Thursday before heading up to Dallas. Because we got there so much earlier than New Years Eve, we were also able to see some friends and family along with spending a lot of time with Chris’s brothers and their families and his parents. My cousin and also one of my good friends have had good babies this year, and I hadn’t had the opportunity to meet them, so I loved getting to finally see them and love on them!
After doing our “tour de Dallas” we spent the rest of our time just relaxing with family. The girls made out like bandits during their second family Christmas, and we loved getting to play How Do You Meme with the adults before celebrating the New Year!
Like I said before, it’s seriously unbelievable that it’s 2019! I’m very much looking forward to the coming year, and I’m hoping that it’ll be even better with more new experiences and fun with the girls! I’m also hoping to get back into blogging, and hopefully I’ll have the chance to get caught up on replying to comments as well!
So, what’s new with you? Did you have a good Christmas?
