mele kalikimaka 2013

and this is exactly why you do not put off blogging. i've totally forgotten everything that happened over christmas. and isn't that the pointing of blogging, to remember those itty bitty precious details? and to make matters worst, i'm finding a total lack of holiday pictures as i'm scrolling through our archive. total mom fail. i'll give a record my best effort.

this holiday season went by faster than probably any other i've experienced. it started early when my cousins visited for thanksgiving (such an amazing week. i keep trying to convice them to relocate permanently), then we went straight into t.j.'s birthday, followed immediately by my mother-in-law visiting (finally! so good to have her around), & before we knew it christmas had come & gone. i tried to cram as much holiday festivities in as i could but i just didn't seem to have enough time or energy for every thing. we enjoyed holiday parties & play dates,  crafting, decorating, & baking, gingerbread houses, presents, snow men made out of sand, & a book advent calendar. it was hard keeping up with everything but so so worth it. cooper is very in to holidays, celebrations, & traditions. every time i tried to let something slide he was right there begging to bring it back i.e. homemade cinnamon rolls for christmas eve breakfast-i so wasnt't up for that but who can turn down his cherubic face? we are so grateful for the family we were able to see during the holidays & the dear friends who helped fill the void.

this was the first christmas eve were cooper was too overwhelmed with excitement to fall asleep & eagerly up before the sun. his brothers weren't quite sure what to expect but the quickly copied his enthusiasm. christmas day was absolutely perfect. normally i bulk up on presents. this year i went with the mantra, less is more. and it totally was. i limited the presents to seven quality gifts for the bigger boys & five for mylo. i put so much time & thought in to each gift. i wanted it to be something the would really enjoy & that wouldn't break before the week was up. they loved everything they got. cooper's favorite gifts were an ipod touch & a giant amythest from grama & papa. tj loves his car duplo set. mylo cannot get enough of his new basketball hoop & golf set. i planned to stop by the beach early in the afternoon so we could get back in time for our christmas dinner. but the boys were having too much fun to break it up. i decided to let them play with their toys until all day, move our christmas dinner to a late lunch, & stop by the beach for a sunset, instead. it was absolutely perfect.