Category: Latest & Greatest News

January 2016, Latest & Greatest News

Winter Break

casademurphy

Over the last few weeks, not only did we enjoy the Christmas & New Year holidays, but Liam & I also enjoyed some time off of school & work. I am fortunate to work for an amazing university that closes at the holidays so I pull little man out of daycare to hang out with me, too. We wish Daddy could pal around with us, but he’s got an important job to do …and at least, we had the weekends & after work to play 🙂

Liam had really enjoyed riding his new bike and getting used to this “big boy ride”. He was zooming around the sidewalk in no time.

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We hit up Sea World on Christmas weekend to check out their holiday decorations.  The park really looked festive! We spent a lot of time this season checking out Christmas decorations and lights at various venues, and just driving through local neighborhoods. So fun!! I think we found a new tradition that we’ll continue in years to come. All of us thoroughly enjoyed it.

At the time, we thought this was going to be our last visit before our annual passes expired, as well as Liam’s Preschool Pass….BUT, the park JUST announced this week that the Preschool Pass is returning for 2016 so we may be going back again. It’s such a great deal 🙂

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One of things we were most excited to see this visit was the holiday update to the Wild Artic ride — for Christmas, it becomes The Polar Express Experience! This is one of Liam’s most favorite Christmas movies, and he was over the moon to see this 🙂 …it was such a cool ride! You really felt like you were on the train & in the movie.

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Watching  a clip of the movie before we “boarded”….

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All smiles & ready to do it again….

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New Year’s week, my Orlando Mom’s Blog team gave us the awesome opportunity to hang out at the Science Center for the afternoon. We had let our annual passes lapse over the summer, so it had been almost 6 months since we last visited. It was so fun to see my team members from OMB, and we also hung out with Aunt Heather & cousin Sierra. Such a fun afternoon. I literally had to drag Liam out of there after FIVE hours! 🙂 …this mama was wore out!

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We were thrilled to see the new additions to the Nature Works exhibit. The fish tanks are beautiful, and the kiddos loved picking up the different star fish and examining them. What a great experience for sensory learning!

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New Year’s Day, we took little dude to the local carnival. He had been asking & asking to go, so we caved. This same one comes around at the holidays each year, and honestly, it was surprising that Stephen & I had never been to it, ourselves, in the past. It was super fun!

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Can you tell that Liam is used to me taking pictures? 🙂 …cheese!!

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quick selfie while little man was driving a tractor in the background…ha!

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these two….driving bumper cars!

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We met up with Aunt Heather & cousin, Sierra again…these kiddos love hanging out together. I can only imagine what this pic will look like in about 12 years from now…when they REALLY want to take the car for a drive together . Lord help us! 🙂

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baby teacups!

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Seriously, this Ferris Wheel was GINORMOUS!! …My people rode it. I did NOT. I was freaking out while they rode it. Too big & too high for me. Liam loved it (of course!).

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It was a fun & restful break from work & school. I was able to get some things done around the house that I needed to, and Liam enjoyed playing with his new Christmas presents. I do think he missed his friends from school, though, and the structure/routine that he’s used to. I know after a while we did 🙂 …haha!

Until next time, friends

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January 2016, Latest & Greatest News

Happy New Year!!

casademurphy

2015 ~ Another year gone by….

As, we all too commonly hear as we grow older, the years seem to fly by in the blink of an eye. This one definitely did for us. As I look back on last year’s New Year’s post, I can’t believe how much Liam has changed. Scrolling back through the year’s pictures reminds me how much he is growing right before our eyes ❤

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Some highlights from 2015….

We revamped the blog with a new look back in June & that was actually our busiest day of the year for page views! Thanks for all the love for me & my boys this past year. I started this little blog a few years back as a fun hobby, but also with intentions to someday turn this into a series of keepsake books for my little man. Ultimately, that is why I do what I do. Keeping track of our memories for him 🙂

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Liam turned 4 this year and started Pre-Kindergarten! Such a huge milestone. We celebrated his birthday with a wonderful splash park party with friends & family. Pre-K has been an amazing experience, thus far, and Stephen & I can’t believe how much he is learning so quickly. He can write his full name. All the letters of the alphabet and his numbers through ten by heart. He can count to 100. He knows all his colors. Just this last week, we learned he can spell numbers 1 through 10….I have to say we were blown away. I, mean, he’s 4! I don’t think either one of us were doing these things at 4. Times have definitely changed. We absolutely LOVE is Pre-K teacher, Mrs. Samar, and her assistant, Ms. Kaylee. Can’t wait to see what the 2nd half of Pre-K brings!

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We made several home improvements this year. I really believe that more you do to your house makes it feel more like a home, and makes you feel more invested in it. At least, that is the way we feel about it! We put a new roof on in late spring. It looks awesome! We changed the color of the shingles in prep for painting the house, which will be coming in the next year or so. We re-modeled our master bathroom. We actually had some mold issues in the shower, so we were SO glad to have that resolved! The finished product was beyond words. We literally felt like we had a whole new room. I will have to post pics of this sometime. In late August, we had a water leak in our office / playroom.  Anyone that has been though this knows what a mess this whole process is, but eventually, we got things cleaned up and back on track. It allowed us to completely (I mean that literally) clean that room out and re-do it. We are still getting the finishing things put back in there, and I’ll have some pics up of that up soon.

Oh, and we canNOT forgot that we moved little dude out of his nursery gear and into his big boy room in late spring / early summer! That was a pretty big undertaking, as we completely changed out his room with new furniture, decor & paint, but it was such fun!

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At the end of August, I celebrated my one-year anniversary for writing with Orlando Moms Blog. This is a great group of gals to be a part of, and I truly enjoy it. You can link over to my previous posts with them HERE.

I am proud that I was also featured in 4 issues of The Moms Magazine — Winter 2015 / Spring 2015 / Summer 2015 / Back to School 2015

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A recap of our NYE 2015….

We rang in the New Year quietly at home, but that’s the way we like it. Little man helped me make some yummy chili in the morning that we had for dinner. We put on our party hats in the evening and headed out front to play with the rest of our fireworks left over from the 4th of July. Our neighbor had some big fireworks so that was pretty cool, as well! I caught this pic above as one of them went off.

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Looking ahead to 2016….

Liam will turn FIVE this year & begin KINDERGARTEN ….hold onto your seats, this mama is gonna lose it! 🙂

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We have some more projects around the house we would like to do, so we shall see!

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I’ve declared that we are going to start eating dinner at the kitchen table with NO electronic devices (imagine that, right?!?!). Overall, I want to put down our devices & just.be.more present. I can check things when Liam’s asleep or on my lunch breaks. I can rearrange to make better choices. I read this article in The Wall Street Journal & it really struck a cord. I don’t want my little one to grow up thinking he’s less important than me checking my phone / iPad or having an attitude because of it.

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Not every part of every year is wonderful, but find the joy in each day. Focus on the positive. Don’t let negativity bring you down.

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Happy New Year!!
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December 2015, Latest & Greatest News

Our Merry Christmas

casademurphy

Our Christmas was filled with so much love & laughter. We could not have asked for a sweeter holiday. This little family of mine is blessed to have one another and those we love — both family & friends.

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On Christmas Eve, we kept things low key & hung out at home. Liam was hilarious because he took the iPad into his playhouse & watched Christmas cartoons while we were getting things ready for the day. You can’t see it in the picture, but he even had his crocs by the fireplace in there….so cute!

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We continued our tradition of baking cookies for Santa. For anyone who knows me, while I CAN cook & bake, I’m just not a huge fan & I’m all about shortcuts & time savers. So, yes, we did ready made cookies (aka, break & bake) again & I don’t feel bad about it. We have loads of fun decorating them after they bake 🙂 …Liam’s a big fan of sprinkles!

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Being silly while making food for the Santa’s reindeers

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Cheese! ….this is how we do winter in Florida….shorts & flip flops!

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It’s Santa Boo 🙂

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We went over to Mimi’s house for Christmas Eve dinner. Liam always enjoys running around (literally) with his cousin, Sierra. This was about a 2 second snap where they they both sat down together.

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When we got home, it was time to go out front & put the food on the lawn for the reindeer. This year, we did a mix of oatmeal, powdered sugar, and sprinkles 🙂

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At bedtime, of course, we put out cookies & milk for Santa. This year, we started a new tradition of leaving a magic key for Santa. Mr Elf had brought it one day for Liam, as he had been asking this year how Santa got in our house since we didn’t have a chimney (such a smart one, he is, right?!?!)

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As you can imagine, Liam was more excited than ever this for Christmas. He definitely did not want to go to sleep, but we reminded him that Santa wouldn’t come until he was asleep, so that helped. I think it was close to 10pm, when he finally drifted off. It was hilarious, though, because Daddy was up before the rest of us in the morning out of excitement to open presents and/or see little man’s excitement. Liam, though, is like his mama and loves his sleep. Thus, he slept in until about his normal wake up time & came out of his room at about 6am. When he did come out, he was wide-eyed to see the tree filled up! He came running into our room & said, “Hey guys, I made it onto the nice list!!” ….THAT was hilarious!

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Here’s a few pics of the morning. The one gift he had asked Santa for was a Bumble Bee Transformer, so he was excited to open that one up.

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Daniel Tiger!

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His face in this picture was hilarious. At some point in the month leading up to Christmas, he started to ask for the Star Wars Imaginext, and the Millennium Falcon….and mind you, he hasn’t really seen any of the movies. Daddy (being the Star Wars super fan he is) has been over joyed of little man’s interest in Star Wars. I’m not sure who was more excited when he opened the Millennium Falcon up…Daddy or Liam 🙂

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Liam had an awesome Christmas from all of his grandparents, too. He was so excited to get the Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage, Legos, a super-hero play set and a big boy bike!! I’m sure we’ll have tons more pics of him playing with all these in the weeks to come 🙂

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Happy Holiday wishes to you & yours, as well!

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December 2015, Latest & Greatest News

Happy Christmas Eve!

casademurphy

Merry Christmas Eve!

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So much excitement in the air today. You can feel it all around! We like to call it, Holiday Magic.

Today was the last day that Liam woke up to go on a hunt to find Mr Elf’s hiding spot. He had so much fun looking for him each morning this past month. He would use his little Lightening Mcqueen flash light & walk around our house shining it in every nook & cranny. I will share pics of a few fun things Mr Elf did along the way this year, next week. Today, though, on his last morning with us, he brought Liam a special goodbye letter and a Christmas Box of goodies.

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I found the letter as a free printable online & I’ll share the link next week. It was perfect, though, because it allowed Mr Elf’s magic to be lifted for a few minutes so Liam could hug him & say goodbye. We didn’t realize how big of an impact this would have until we did it this morning. He asked to take him into his room & snuggle, so we said yes. When it was time to put him back in the Christmas tree, my sweet baby had tears in his eyes because he said he would miss him so much. His Christmas spirit is strong and we love him so!

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The Christmas Box was an idea you frequently see on Pinterest boards, but surprisingly (for me, anyhow), Stephen really wanted to do this, so kudos to him because he did the whole thing! My hubby is usually not the one into Pinterest type things, so I was stoked! It has new jammies to wear tonight, a new Christmas book, and a few small toys (Star Wars themed, of course).

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….Since it’s Thursday, and we love to do #TBT on social media these days, I thought it only appropriate to share one of my MOST favorite pictures of little man from exactly 4 years ago. On 12/23/11, I took Liam to the mall to squeeze in a last minute 1st pic with Santa (which came out fantastic, by the way). He was just 5 months old. Then, while daddy worked, he & I had a great time strolling through the mall shopping. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. I snapped this pic of him while we were in Barnes & Noble. Such a happy baby 🙂

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Last, but not least, is what has become our annual ‘Christmas Jammies by the Tree’ picture. I had saved Liam’s jammies from last year’s pictures and was thrilled that they still just barely fit this year, so we used them again.

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2015 ~ Liam: 4 years, 5 months & Timber: 13 years

For a look back on our previous years pictures, click HERE.

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We are off to bake cookies for Santa & make some reindeer food ❤

Until next time!

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December 2015, Latest & Greatest News

Priceless Memories — Family Pictures 2015

casademurphy

Last month, I made the boys dress up in color-coordinated happiness, so we could update our family pics. I was so happy to be able to have our photography session, once again, with our friend & family photographer, Dawn Geraghty. She is so talented and literally, the BEST to work with!

 You can contact her at: dawngeraghtyphotography@aol.com // facebook: Dawn Geraghty Photography // http://www.dawngphoto.com/

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We were so happy to include our fur baby, Timber, this time around in the session. He is an important part of our family, and we hadn’t done pics with him since Liam’s newborn shoot. The boys were such good sports, as we’ve had an unseasonably hot winter here in Florida. I picked out these “warm” outfits for us, and we all were dripping with sweat out at the park. LOL! …oops! I promised Stephen that next year we will wear shorts 😉 …although, seriously, are you not loving little man’s tie?!?!

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I almost can’t handle the cuteness overload with this one of both boys…..

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You can check out last year’s pics HERE.

Until next time, friends!

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December 2015, Latest & Greatest News

Liam’s Pre-K Holiday Program

casademurphy

Last week, the teachers & students of the Pre-K Dept at Liam’s school performed a Holiday Program for us that was pure holiday magic. It was Liam’s very 1st school performance, so we weren’t sure how he would react to being “on stage” with so many parents & family watching him & his classmates. However, we quickly realized we had a little star on our hands, as he ate it up 🙂 …all of the kids were adorable & the teachers did a fabulous job of teaching them & choreographing these little 4 and 5 year olds.

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Each class sang two holiday songs, and then, at the end of the program, they all grouped together to sing, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”.  They had been practicing learning the songs and their ‘dance moves’ since just after Thanksgiving. I would always ask Liam on our way home from school if they practiced that day, and I think he was over it because at one point he said to me, “Mommy, why do you always ask me that?” ….hahaha! Guess, I was excited little man!  🙂

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Here’s the video of his class’s performance. Again, SO PROUD!! He did so well! As much as we asked him beforehand, he had never showed us what they were going to do or practiced at home. We’ve been singing Christmas songs together in the car, but that’s it. Everything else was all learned at school.

When we got home that night after the program, he said to me, “Mommy, was I so cute beautiful & adorable?” Ugh, my heart was in a puddle. Love this little dude so much!

Until next time, friends!

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December 2015, Latest & Greatest News

ICE at Gaylord Palms

casademurphy

Last weekend, we went to ICE at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center. This year’s theme features everyone’s favorite Christmas poem by Clement C. Moore: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. This is Liam’s favorite bedtime story to read at this time of the year, so we were really excited to check it out.

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We knew it was going to be cold in there….seriously, they keep it at a chilly NINE (9) DEGREES!!! But, oh my goodness, when we stepped inside it literally took my breath away it was SO COLD. They give you parkas to wear over any warm clothes of your own that you bring, but wow, I was still not prepared. That was absolutely the coldest temps little man had ever been in, too!

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Despite the extreme temps, everything really was so beautiful! The idea for ICE came from the Ice Festivals that take place in China, and the artisans that create the masterpieces we see here are actually flown in from over there because of their amazing talents. Each block of ice weighs 300 lbs & food coloring is used to create the brilliant colors we see 🙂

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The Stockings were hung by the chimney with care….

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I loved little dude in his parka 😉 …at the end of our walk-thru, all of our faces were honestly feeling frozen but he didn’t understand the feeling. He put his little mittens up to his face and said to Stephen, “Daddy, what’s happening to my face?” 🙂

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The details on each sculpture were so amazing!

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Daddy & Liam!

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Loved this Christmas tree. Liam just wanted to touch everything. It was hilarious because the staff member had to say to everyone as you walked into the exhibit — ‘don’t link the ice’ ….haha!

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Ice Slide Fun!!

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Nutcrackers!

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Nativity scene. Simple – white – ice ….just.beautiful.

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This picture is hilarious. This was taken after we had waited in line for an hour & were about to enter ICE. We were actually in front of a green screen. Liam was.over.it — he didn’t understand what he was about to see & the last thing he wanted to do was take a picture (can you tell?!?! …LOL!)

Until next time!

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December 2015, Latest & Greatest News

How to Host a {Stress-Free} Gingerbread Decorating Party

casademurphy

Hi Friends!

I’m sharing some holiday fun over on Orlando Moms Blog. I hope you will check it out 🙂

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You can link to the full article HERE

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I am all about having fun with my kiddo at the holidays and making memories to last a lifetime. What I am not about, however, is stressing myself out in the process. One tradition we enjoy each holiday is getting together to decorate gingerbread houses. Over the years, we’ve perfected the process to make it as simple as possible, so today, I’m sharing my tips with you!

Happy Reading!

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December 2015, Latest & Greatest News

It’s Christmas Time!

casademurphy

I just love this time of the year — the decorations, the music, the smells, the traditions ❤ ….now, if we could only talk mother nature into giving us just a tad bit cooler weather here in the sunshine state, that would be swell 😉

As soon as we got back into town from my dad’s after Thanksgiving, we broke out the decorations & got busy making the house look festive. I have to say that having an excited 4 year old as a helper this year definitely made it extra fun 😉 — I think I said his name  &  ‘careful‘  & ‘just a minute‘ at least 100 times as he helped me take things out of our storage bins. He is SO excited for Christmas this year! We had to explain what “Christmas time” meant and that we didn’t jump from Thanksgiving Day to Christmas Eve in one shot. Ha!

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Placing the star on top is his favorite 🙂

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Our tradition is to welcome back the Elf on the Shelf once our tree is up & decorated. So, Mr Elf did fly back from the North Pole last Saturday night, but more on that next time!

He also was thrilled to have his Little Peoples Nativity Scene back. He happily played with that for a majority of the afternoon. Made my mama heart happy ❤

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Early last week, Liam was over the moon to find a letter in the mail from Santa, himself! He danced all the way down the walk way & into the house!

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We headed out to Light Up UCF for an impromptu meet up with Mimi & Aunt Heather & cousin Sierra after school last week. Unfortunately, it was raining, so the lights were off…BUT, they had reindeer there that night!!! SO COOL!! — Did you know their coats are water proof??

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He also got to ride the ice slide. He thought it was the greatest thing ever. Not to shabby for our Florida boy 😉

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Saturday, we were all excited for our 5th Annual Gingerbread Decorating Party! This has become such a fun tradition for us both as a family & for all of us as friends. LOVE IT ❤

For a look back at last year’s party, click HERE

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I asked him what his favorite part of the party was afterwards. He said “the candy” …..as in, eating it! Can’t tell, right?!?! Hahaha!!!

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All done!

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And, of course, let’s not forget what happened to poor last year’s masterpiece — lol!!

After the kids wrapped things up….the “big kids” (aka, Lisa & Stephen) went to town on their house. This has become these two crazies little tradition & let me tell you they take it pretty serious 🙂

At one point, when Stephen was helping Liam, I suggested a few things to add & I was told, “no, we’re saving that for later” — wow!!!

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I am in LOVE with this!! ❤ ….We haven’t always been fans of Santa pics (it is kinda intimidating, right?!?!) but he did it this year! When he was done, he was so proud of himself & so were we for conquering something that he was kinda scared of. He even said, “that wasn’t bad at all!” Love that little dude so very much! We celebrated with hot chocolate!

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Until next time!

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