Thanksgiving was an amazing trip to Minneapolis to see some of our dearest friends, whom we don’t see near enough, and had a blast!! It was surprisingly warm while we were there. We were hoping to see a little snow, but the warm weather was perfect. Staying with the Sullivan’s is a treat…they can cook, I mean really cook, and we ate and ate and ate…it was heaven.

(New Years resolution #2…eat more bagels.)

Sean and Michael both sported their mustaches in all their glory, full bushy glory. With the end of November came the end of MOvember and the stache came off with a little help from Daley!!

My parents live in an amazing home…my dad is a builder and my mom is an interior decorator and it is a beautiful combination. Their home was part of the Christmas Tour of Homes in their neighborhood and it was stunning! It’s not really fair to even talk about it because I have one measly picture of their kitchen. It was fun to walk the tour with a bunch of strangers and listen to the comments…lots of oohs and ahhs, and I was proud of the work and the attention to detail they put into every corner of the home. It was magical!

The next few weeks were full of Christmas preparations…picking out the perfect Christmas tree, decorating, baking, going to Christmas parties…one party in particular was a little too much fun, the next day was a little fuzzy, but worth it!

Our girls are 8 years old and in my opinion it is the perfect age…they looked forward to more than just the presents, they loved every part of the holiday, but still found the magic in our elf, Minty, and Santa. More importantly, they are understanding the true meaning of Christmas.

Grandma came in town to visit and it was fun as always.  She was also kind enough to watch the girls while Sean and I snuck off to New Orleans for a quick get away. The weather was stellar, the music was amazing and the Beignets at Cafe Du Monde were just as I remembered, warm and piled high with powdered sugar. yum! Sean and I had a blast…easy conversation, lots of laughs and a great time to just reconnect after a busy month. I adore our trips together!

(New Years Resolution#3…travel more.)

Our year started off with the arrival of our new little niece! We are so excited to add another girl into our family! We have 8 nephews, so it is nice to have a little lady in our family. I think Brittainy looks amazing for JUST having a baby…not fair!!! It is laughable how bad I looked after having the girls, I was so puffy and fluffy and…well, you get the picture…not good!

Welcome, little e, we love you!

(New Years Resolution #4…kiss more babies.)

Mom and dad came to the hospital to meet their new granddaughter, she is the spitting image of her oldest brother. Super duper cute!

The last picture is of Ellie, she adores babies and is the best mommy to her baby dolls!