IKEA & Snow

Today is the last day of my long Christmas holiday vacation. I had debated whether I should just go ahead & go back to work today but had quickly decided against it. I hardly ever take a day off just for myself so I decided to take Mason to daycare & spend the day with the husband instead!

We had an afternoon date & it ended up being such a great day! We first had lunch together & then headed to IKEA to do a little shopping...in peace...without a 2 year old running around. It was SO nice to be able to take our time, check everything out & focus on shopping & not where Mason was hiding at :)

We ended up buying an entertainment hutch for Mason's playroom with some canvas bins to put all his toys in. As well as a bamboo cutting board, full length mirror for the closet, filing cabinet for all my craft supplies & a couple of plastic bins for Christmas decorations. I couldn't believe how affordable everything was & wandering around looking at all the decorated rooms & décor was so fun! I absolutely love IKEA!!

After our shopping excursion we had a few more hours to kill before having to pick Mase up so we decided to go to a movie. Thinking back it had been over a year since we last went to a movie together so it was nice to get out, get some popcorn & enjoy a little alone time with the hubby!

We ended up seeing "Daddy's Home" which was a cute, light-hearted comedy with Will Ferrell & Mark Wahlberg. When we had got to the theater it had started to snow & when we walked out there was already a couple of inches on the ground. Getting to daycare was a bit dicey but once we got home it had stopped snowing & it was time to shovel the driveway.

Shane had a little helper to assist with the snow removal much to his dismay :)

 

Once the boys got done shoveling, Mama came out for a little fun in the snow. There was a snowball fight that took place as well as a few snow angels made in the snow.

So very glad I decided to take the day off & get in a much needed date-day with the hubby as well as some fun with the family in the evening!

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas to all our family & friends! Hope Santa was as good to you as he was to us this morning!

Mason woke up around 7am, came out to the living room & the first thing he saw was the Home Depot workstation that Santa had brought him. He absolutely LOVED it :) We had to tear him away from it & show him all the gifts that we needed to open. He seemed to be a little overwhelmed between the workstation, the new train table & all the gifts under the tree but slowly he started to figure it out & then there was no stopping him!

This was the first year that he understood that Christmas morning meant opening up presents! He had a ball picking out presents under the tree & kept asking "is this one for me?" We soon found out that he opens presents like his Mama - S.L.O.W. He would tear a little piece off, set it to the side, then tear another little piece off & repeat.

 

 

 



At times it was painful to watch but there just was no rushing this boy! Gift opening at the Taylor house took almost 2 hours at this rate but we didn't mind. We just enjoyed watching Mase open his gifts & get SO excited over each one.

 

After all our gifts were open it was time to open the Bulldogs gifts. Can't forget the furry kids! Mase helped Millie & Bubba open their gifts of Three Dog Bakery treats & a new toy. It was so cute watching Mase open them up & explain to the dogs what they got :)

Another tradition we do at our house (which we do at my parents house also) is after all the gifts are opened we grab our stockings & open them up all together. This just might be my most favorite thing about Christmas morning!

After all the gifts & stockings were opened up I made breakfast for us & Mase continued to play with all his new toys. Late morning we all got ready for the day & then headed over to Shane's mom's apartment & had a nice Christmas lunch buffet at the facility she lives in & spent some time with her.

After spending the afternoon with Shane's mom we made our way back home & spent the rest of our day assembling toys, playing with toys & putting away toys! Between us, Santa, grandparents, aunts & uncles & our friends this kid was definitely spoiled!

It was a wonderful 1st Christmas spent in our new house & we made some great memories & started some fun new traditions! I am now starting to get sad that the holiday is winding down & coming to an end :(

We hope you all were able to make some amazing memories of your own with your family this holiday season & many blessings to you in the year ahead!

 

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve everyone :)

Mason's daycare is closed, Daddy's trip to Arizona was canceled & I have the next 5 days off - YAY! We all spent the entire day in PJ's & had the BEST day together as a family!

We started our day by sleeping in & made pancakes for breakfast once we all woke up! After a lazy morning, we got out all the ingredients to make cookies to leave out for Santa tonight.

First cookie on our list to make was Peanut Butter Blossoms & we had so much fun! Mason helped by dipping the balls in sugar & by peeling the foil off of the Hershey kisses. His favorite part was smashing them into the cookies once they came out of the oven :) Daddy was standing by observing & being our taste tester!

Next we made Mason's favorite cookie - Iced Sugar cookies. He LOVES using the cookie cutter to cut out the cookies & after I ice the cookies, he does the sprinkles. I love hanging out with my little sous chef & creating these fun memories with him!

We spent the rest of the day playing, watching movies & having a fun, low-key kind of day!

Later in the evening I gave Mase a bath, put jammies on & then it was time to open his Chrismas Eve present. For the last 2 years we have made it a tradition for Mase to open one present on Christmas Eve. It always contains a new pair of Christmas jammies, a holiday movie, a snack to eat during the movie & a new book.



He loved getting to open a gift but of course wanted to open more. He was upset he couldn't open more but was quickly distracted by putting on his new jammies & wanting to watch his new Thomas the Train Christmas movie on the laptop. I popped up the popcorn that was in his gift box & set him up on the couch :)



After his movie, it was time to go to bed so Santa could come visit. We put cookies on Santa's special cookie plate, got a quick picture by the tree, set the cookies on the table by the tree with some milk & crawled into bed. We were ready for Santa's arrival!

Shane unfortunately has been sick all week with the flu & a bad cold so he went to bed with Mase & asked me to wake him to help put the presents out. So in the meantime, I opened up a bottle of wine, poured me a glass, put on the Christmas music & finished wrapping up the presents to put under the tree!

I was in heaven. The boys were asleep. The house was quiet. Soft Christmas music was playing. My most favorite holiday was in a few hours. I just LOVE wrapping presents & arranging them under the tree. I went in to wake Shane up to help me bring up Mason's big toys from the basement but he was sound asleep & I knew he didn't feel good so I just let him sleep. I got everything arranged as best as I could by myself & was up until almost 1am.

I took a step back when I was done & here was the end result:

 

So pretty! Our 1st Christmas in our new home with our new tree. LOVE ❤

It was well after 1am when I finally got to bed & I was exhausted! I was SO looking forward to seeing Mason's reaction to all his presents when he woke up in the morning & was hoping by letting Shane sleep he would be feeling better.

Sometime during the night we got a visit from Santa himself & he left a few gifts for Mase, Daddy & myself. Turns out we had been "good" & were all on his "nice" list after all :)

 

Teacher Gifts

Christmas is right around the corner & with the holidays comes Mason's school party & figuring out gifts for his teachers.

This year Mase has two male teachers & two female teachers so figuring out gift ideas is a bit more challenging. Coming up with a gift for girls is hard enough but for boys?? Even harder. So I turned to Pinterest for my gift-giving ideas & consider that website a blessing when I need a cute, crafty idea!

Unfortunately I didn't find any great ideas for teacher gifts for boys but "pinned" a whole slew of cute ideas for girls for future ideas. So unfortunately I was on my own with figuring out a boy gift.

So I ended up making a basket with gift cards from Target, Chipotle & AMC theaters & filled it with candy. What young man doesn't love to shop, eat & go to the movies?

Ideas for the girl teachers were a bit easier. I ended up recreating what I made last year for the girls in his Toddler 1 class. Same gift - different teachers = win win for HT. I got them 4 pairs of fuzzy socks, a Chipotle & AMC gift card & some candy in a little gift box with a cute little note.

Mase & I delivered the gifts this morning at drop off & his teachers loved them! They were SO appreciative & seemed surprised that they even were getting a gift. Which blows my mind. How can you not get a gift for the people in your child's life that takes care of him 9-10 hours a day, 5 days a week every single week of the year?? Those people are amazing & what they do is hard work! The very least I can do is remember them at Christmas & give them a gift!

Later that evening when I picked Mase up from daycare there was a gift bag with a gift to us from Mase & his teachers in his cubby. I was going to wait until Christmas morning to open it but Mase was SO excited & insisted I open it right when we got home. So I did.

His teacher Mr. Sean had made this for all the parents - a snow globe complete with glittered water & a picture of his entire class :)

And this cute wall hanging of his precious little hands:

This one brought tears to my eyes & is definitely a keeper :) I absolutely LOVED it! Ugh - he has the BEST teachers in his class!



Dinner & a movie

This year I hosted the annual Christmas party with my "Elite" girlfriends & enjoyed having them all over to the new house! There was lots of good food, yummy dessert, awesome Sangria was sipped on & a super fun White Elephant gift exchange occurred.

But the best part about the night was watching these two little cuties:



Miss Ava Jean & Mase had SO much fun hanging out with each other, playing together, eating together & even snuggled up on the couch watching movies together:

These little cuties have so much fun together & I just love hanging out with Miss Ava Jean & her Mama Jen. I get the feeling Mase does too ❤

Gingerbread House

It is the holiday season & we are ALL about making memories & completing our list of yearly holiday traditions! Christmas is such a fun, magical time & I want to make amazing memories for Mason to remember when he is old enough to have his own children & hopefully pass the same traditions on to them.

Next tradition up on the list is making a gingerbread house. I had gotten a Mickey Mouse gingerbread house kit from Walmart & was SO excited to sit down with Mase & put it together with him.

First, assemble the sides of the house:

Second, decorate the house & try not to eat all the candy pieces:

Third, take a cute picture of designer & finished project:

Mase is at such a fun age right now & all these fun traditions we are making are definitely something to look forward to doing each & every year!

Magic Tree



Those of you who live in the Lee's Summit, MO area may have heard of the Magic Tree or have even visited this beautiful tree. If not then you are missing out. This gorgeous tree is definitely "magical" & has become a fun family tradition for many friends & families in the area.

The tree can be seen off of I-470 & View High Drive standing all by its lonesome in the middle of a field. It contains over 12,500 LED lights of every color so you can see why it looks so magical. It has been around for 3 years now & the designer of the tree has been staying anonymous.

I pass this tree every single time I work out in Lee's Summit which is at least 1-2 times/week but have never stopped to see it up close....until this evening.

We had gotten called in to the hospital for an emergent procedure & I decided on the way in to work as I drove by the tree that when we were done with the case I would stop by & check it out up close. So when the case was over I convinced my co-workers to join me & that is what we did. Allen had his son with him when he got called in so he ended up tagging along with our group & loved seeing the tree. We ALL loved seeing the tree. It truly was magical. It was SO bright & pretty & sparkly!

People stop by to admire the tree, propose by the tree, take a selfie with the tree, make a wish at the tree or even pray at the tree - it's whatever feeling you get at the moment & feel impelled to do is what happens at the tree.

After our group photo I turned around to get one last look & quietly said a prayer at the tree. It was an amazing moment with just me, God & the tree. I was SO glad I had made the decision to stop by.

Next year if you get the chance, make the drive & go check out the Magic Tree! I can't wait to take Shane & Mason next year & add the tree to our list of yearly holiday traditions :)

Santa 2015

We went to Bass Pro again this year to make our annual visit to Santa Claus. I just love how Bass Pro decorates for this adventure. They have a huge area that is a Winter Wonderland with lots of things for kids to do & see. They have booths set up with all their toys that the kiddos can play with & test out while waiting in line which is pretty clever on their part! They really have the process of seeing Santa down to a science.

We got there 30 minutes after it opened & when we grabbed our ticket for the Santa line there was already a 1.5 hour wait. So since it was lunch time, we decided to go across the street to Jason's Deli to eat & kill some time. 

We ate & got back over to Bass Pro & proceeded to get in the Santa line. In the meantime, we got some pic's of Mase keeping busy while we waited in line:

He LOVED the mini ATV

Obsessed with the reindeer

He thought the elves stuck in the snow was hilarious

Our handsome little boy

We only stood in line for about 20 minutes & then it was our turn to sit on Santa's lap....or sit in front of his lap. Mase did NOT want to sit on Santa's lap AT ALL! He took one look at him up close & was over it. We at least managed to bribe him to sit on the step stool in front of Santa for a picture & even that was tough.

Cheeeese

On our way out we stopped to see the huge fish tank of freshwater fish:

As well as the ducks & this huge grizzly bear:

We just love the yearly holiday traditions that we are starting with Mase - especially this one! Hoping next year he isn't so scared of the big guy in red & will actually tell him what he wants for Christmas?!

Little Sous Chef

With December comes holiday baking so Mase & I decided to whip up a batch of sugar cookies this afternoon. He loves to cook & bake with me & gets such a kick out of scooping, dumping & stirring the ingredients. It definitely tests my patience at times but it is all worth it & love making these kind of memories with him.

He helped mix & roll the dough & had a blast using the cookie cutters & picking out which shape we were going to use next.

After the cookies were done baking & cooling it was time to mix up the icing & start the decorating.

We made quite the duo - I would ice the cookies & he would use the sprinkles.

And of course every good baker test-tastes the product to make sure it is edible for others :)

Our cooking baking adventure was a success! Here are all the cookies after we iced & decorated them! So much fun with my little sous chef!

Mall Play-date

Today my Mama Bestie Jen & her little girl Ava Jean met us at the mall for an afternoon play-date. We first had lunch & then made our way to the other end of the mall to meet a special visitor. Little did the kiddos know but Shrek was making an appearance & we were headed over to his village to meet him.

The kiddos loved looking at Shrek's house & when he walked out to meet the crowd Mason said "Whoa Mama, Shrek is BIG"! So stinkin' cute.

We waited anxiously for our turn to meet & get our picture taken with Shrek. Little Miss Ava Jean wasn't too sure about standing next to Shrek but managed to get a quick pic with her Mama.

Then it was our turn. Mason kept saying " I'm not scared Mama" & he definitely wasn't. He high-fived Shrek & stood next to the big ogre smiling from ear to ear.

After meeting Shrek we all stopped into the Disney store & had a ball trying on masks, costumes, & checking out all the Disney toys!

Next up was the carousel. Mason LOVES riding the carousel & everytime we go to the mall we have to ride it. 

After the carousel ride we decided it was time to go. The kiddos had asked for a snack before we left so we ended up getting a little dish of ice cream. These two are so stinkin' cute together:

I just love watching them grow up together & love having this little cuties Mama in my life to share this journey with! 

Luminary Walk

Tonight we all headed to the Arboretum for the annual Holiday Luminary Walk. It is fundraiser that the Arboretum puts on 2 weekends at the beginning of Dec that features a mile of candles, holiday lights, live entertainment, Santa Claus, horse-drawn wagon rides, hot cider around a campfire & mystical Gnome & Fairy Villages along the walk.

Last weekend they had to cancel the festivities as it was pouring down rain all weekend so we knew this weekend would be busy. We got there 30 minutes after it opened & already the place was packed with people.

Not only was it freezing out, but the lines on the walk were moving at a snails pace, Shane was sick with a bad cold & Mase kept saying he wanted to go home. So much for a fun family event :(



We managed to get a few pics despite the bad moods from my boys & we were all secretly happy to finally reach the end of the walk, get to our car & warm up!