Tag: Christmas

December 2015, Latest & Greatest News

Happy Christmas Eve!

casademurphy

Merry Christmas Eve!

christmas images

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.

2015-12-24_Mr Elf

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!

2015-12-24_Mr Elf Goodbye

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).

2015-12-24_Christmas Box 2

….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 🙂

2011-12-23

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.

2015-12-18_Christmas Jammies

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

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

*****************************

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

Until next time!

Script Signature

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.

2015-12-13_GP ICE 2

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!

2015-12-13_GP ICE 3

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 🙂

2015-12-13_GP ICE 6

The Stockings were hung by the chimney with care….

2015-12-13_GP ICE 7

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?” 🙂

2015-12-13_GP ICE 9

The details on each sculpture were so amazing!

2015-12-13_GP ICE 10

Daddy & Liam!

2015-12-13_GP ICE 11

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!

2015-12-13_GP ICE 15

Ice Slide Fun!!

2015-12-13_GP ICE 18a

Nutcrackers!

2015-12-13_GP ICE 19

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

2015-12-13_GP ICE 20

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!

Script Signature

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 🙂

OMB_Logo

You can link to the full article HERE

OMB_Gingerbread

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!

Script Signature

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!

2015-11-29_Christmas Tree

Placing the star on top is his favorite 🙂

2015-11-28_Placing the Star_BW

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 ❤

****************************************************

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!

2015-11-29_Letter from Santa

****************************************************

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??

2015-12-02_LightUpUCF_Reindeer

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

2015-12-02_LightUpUCF_IceSlide

****************************************************

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

2015-12-05_Gingerbread Party 2

2015-12-05_Gingerbread Party

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!!!

2015-12-05_Gingerbread Party 1

2015-12-05_Gingerbread Party 6

All done!

2015-12-05_Gingerbread Party 3

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!!!

2015-12-05_Gingerbread Party 8

2015-12-05_Gingerbread Party 10

****************************************************

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!

2015-11-11_Santa Pic

Until next time!

Script Signature

December 2014, Latest & Greatest News

Our Winter Break {Part 1}

casademurphy

Over Christmas & New Year’s, I had off of work {so nice!! …definite perk to working in higher educ}, so I also kept Liam out of school. Stephen was fortunate to have a few days off, as well, over the actual holidays, so we enjoyed some quality family time.

We were also fortunate to have a few expeditions to surprise little man with during this winter break. Just before New Year’s, I took him for his 2nd trip to Legoland 🙂 — Our 1st trip was about a year & a half ago. This time around, it was just me & Liam, as Daddy had to work that day. However, they are currently running a fantastic deal for residents, where you can pay for a day & get admissions for the rest of the year for free — we definitely want to take advantage of this for the family this year! Liam & I were lucky to get comp passes for the day from my mom’s neighbor so that was awesome!!

I loved that we made it there in time to see all their Christmas decorations! Nothing like a Christmas tree made of Legos 😉

2014-12-30_Legoland Christmas Tree

Liam was more impressed with the snowman….of course, he asked to touch him…lol!

2014-12-30_Legoland snowman

Super excited to ride the carousel again!

2014-12-30_Legoland carosol

Santa brought Liam the Duplo My First Train Set for Christmas & it came with this conductor guy. He was amazed that this was his same little guy. He kept saying how he was as big as him! Loved it!!

2014-12-30_Legoland conductor

I was pleasantly surprised to see that a lot had changed since our last visit. Not, in any way, that the park was bad before, but there actually was so much more for us to do this time around. The Duplo Play Area really expanded, and there were several more rides for little man. This train ride was new for us & as luck would have it, when our turn came up in line, Liam got to be the conductor for the drive! He was thrilled 🙂

2014-12-30_Legoland train

Inside the Duplo Barn ….we spent a lot of time running around in here. So fun!

2014-12-30_Legoland slide

I think I was just as excited as Liam to discover all the little animals and treasures throughout the park that were made of Legos! So detailed…

2014-12-30_Legoland piggy

We had a GREAT day together!! Can’t wait to come back to visit again soon! 🙂

2014-12-30_Legoland sleigh

*******************************************************************

On New Year’s Day, we headed down to South Florida to spend the day with Stephen’s family & have dinner. It’s always a pleasure to spend time with them, and Liam has really taken to his great Uncle’s ….we love for him to spend time with family. It’s precious memories that will last a lifetime for him! ❤

2015-01-01_new years day

Having a quick music lesson with Uncle Glenn 🙂

2015-01-01_new years day 2

 *******************************************************************

Stay tuned for “Part 2” of our winter break adventures tomorrow!!

Until then…….

~H

December 2014, Latest & Greatest News

Our Merry Christmas 2014

casademurphy

How many times have I used the word “fun” in 2014? I have lost count, but I will tell you that having a 3 year old at Christmas time has been FUN 🙂

While we kept things pretty low key around here, we did enjoy ourselves by visiting some family and partaking in a few of our family traditions last week.

On Christmas Eve, we baked some yummy cookies for Santa. Liam really enjoys helping in the kitchen. We love to cook and bake with him ❤ …..look at those little hands using the cookie cutters!

2014-12-24_baking cookies for santa 012

2014-12-24_christmas eve at mimis 012

After cookie time, we headed over to Mimi & Papa D’s to have dinner and celebrate the holiday. We also got to spend some time with Aunt Heather & baby cousin, Sierra.

2014-12-24_christmas eve at mimis 003

Liam got to open some presents and it was awesome to see his excitement. He had mentioned a few times over the last few months that he would like the Mickey Mouse Club House, so he went bananas when he opened this. He actually said, “Oh, I always loved this!!” ….I mean, really….how hysterical is that?!?!

2014-12-24_christmas eve at mimis 011

Last year, he took FOR-EVER to open presents, as he very carefully unwrapped each one. This year, we explained to him how fun it is to “tear ’em open” and he quickly got it…and loved it! He was going through his presents like a champ! Opening each one with great enthusiasm! That continued on into Christmas day, so it was super fun to watch 😉

We have quickly become fans of Imaginext toys from Fisher-Price. This gift below from Mimi & Papa D, as well as the loot from Santa have given little man quite the super hero collection 😉

2014-12-24_christmas eve at mimis 009

Once we got home, it was time to get ready for bed…..but 1st, we had to sneak outside to feed the reindeer! Mr Elf had left Liam this cute bag of food on his last morning with us. We also said bye to him, as he headed back to the North Pole that night, & put out Santa’s cookies before heading off to sleep. If you recall my recap post about Mr Elf, I had mentioned I had wanted a good bye letter from him to Liam….we ran into some time difficulties & that didn’t happen this year {unfortunately}, so I’m saving that for next year.

2014-12-24_feeding reindeer 004

Christmas morning was a flurry in our house! Little dude woke up before the sun and was a joy to listen to as he snuck up to the tree to check out what Santa brought. He was so excited and happy……from our room, we could hear him whispering to himself — “Look at all the presents! I love you, Santa!” ❤

2014-12-25_Christmas 008

In the months leading up to Christmas, the only thing Liam would say he wanted for Christmas was a Mickey Choo Choo Train. Naturally, you can imagine his excitement, when he opened just that! He said, “oh, I got it! I love it!“

2014-12-25_Christmas 028

After a nap time, we headed down to Grammy & Papa Rock’s and shared Christmas dinner & celebrated the day. Santa came for little man, there, too….by that point, I would say we were on toy overload. Definitely a blessed little dude 🙂

2014-12-25_Christmas Grammys 012

We have been seeing Liam ride a trike at school & wanted to get him something he could also enjoy at home. He still has the trike Santa brought last year, but it seems to be very heavy in weight & a bit hard to pedal. It wasn’t hard for us to brainstorm on this Original Big Wheel, which has recently made a comeback.

2014-12-25_Christmas Grammys 009

It was so nice to also have my Grampy at my mom’s for a bit. Love spending quality time with him! Liam gave him a great big hug & it was so special!

2014-12-25_me grampy mom

Liam was not smiling in this pic because we made him take it before he could open presents….LOL!!

2014-12-25_Christmas 043

It was a great holiday, and I would say, our most fun with Liam, thus far! Hope you all enjoyed, yours, too! Merry Christmas!!

~H

December 2014, Latest & Greatest News

Happy Christmas Eve!

casademurphy

There is something about today, Christmas Eve, that always feels magical, right?!?!

Maybe it’s from when we were kids & knowing that it would be impossible to go to sleep that night knowing that Santa would be coming. Now, it’s so much fun for Stephen & I, as we feel like we get to relive aspects of our childhood, like these moments, through our little man’s eyes. Magical….

I have been loving to dress Liam up in his Christmas pj’s each year & put him by the tree, along with Timber, & sneak a pic or two….I guess, it’s become our little tradition in Casa de Murphy. Here’s a look back at my little collection of memories ❤

2011 ~ Baby’s 1st Christmas ~ 5 months old

2011-12-24_ready for santa

2012  ~ 17 months old

2012-12-24_2

2012-12-25_6

2013 ~ 2 years, 5 months (29 months)

2013-12-01_Christmas 2013 Buddies

bff, paci, was still around….it’s in his hands 😉

2013-12-02_Liam Claus 001

milk & cookies for Santa…

2013-12-24_Santas Cookies and Milk 001

2014 ~ 3 years, 5 months  & Timber: 12 years

2014-12-19_christmas pjs

such cute memories from these last 4 years….I love it!!

Last but not least, I wanted to share this super cute video of our little dude singing his heart out to one of his fave Christmas classics 🙂

 Happy Christmas Eve, friends!!

~H

December 2014, Latest & Greatest News

Fun With Mr Elf

casademurphy

Last year, we introduced the Elf on the Shelf to Liam & he named him, Mr Elf ❤

This year, I wanted to make Mr Elf’s return special, and also be more of a re-introduction, as I suspected, Liam wouldn’t entirely remember him due to his age. We pretty much guessed that part right, which is totally fine, and again, just like last year, we keep Mr Elf pretty light-hearted and fun. It’s not really that he’s “watching” and waiting to catch him doing anything bad. I love me some Pinterest inspiration, and found this great FREE Santa stationary here. After looking at a few different examples of peoples letters that were posted on various sites, I came up with our own. So, Liam’s letter was brought by Mr Elf on his 1st morning back to our house (the day after Thanksgiving), but it was from Santa. It basically told him why he sent Mr Elf to hang out with us until Christmas, that he knew a few things he had been telling us he wanted for Christmas & he would do his best to try to get them for him, and to remember the REAL reason for the season ❤ ….we also left the Elf on the Shelf book on his table that 1st morning so we could read it together.

2014-12_Mr Elf 005_edited

Overall, Mr Elf doesn’t get into too much mischief at our house. I particularly liked his choice to play with Liam’s Toy Story pals, but neglected to realize that Liam would immediately try to pick Mr Elf up and also try to play with him as soon as he saw him in the morning…..LOL!! Ooops! 🙂

2014-12_Mr Elf 006_edited

 Occasionally, Mr Elf is known to bring Liam a small present. Liam is LOVING Rudolph this year, so he was super excited to find them both in the tree one morning!

2014-12_Mr Elf 007_edited

They say elves love sugar, so it should be no surprise of this, right?!?! ….I was cracking up 🙂

2014-12_Mr Elf 009_edited

The next day, after the syrup incident, Mr Elf was found taking a bubble bath 🙂

2014-12_Mr Elf 014_edited

Hanging around like Spider-man….

2014-12-11_Mr Elf_edited

Liam was super excited when he found Mr Elf hanging around on the wine rack with this awesome shirt from the Incredibles!

2014-12-12_Mr Elf_edited

Again, with the sugar….

2014-12-13_Mr Elf_edited

tiny clothes line of tiny clothes……surely, he thought he could fit 😉

2014-12-14b_Mr Elf_edited

We have been having a lot of fun with Mr Elf and can’t believe it’s just 5 more days until Christmas! Since Christmas Eve is the last morning Liam will wake up to “find” Mr Elf this year, I am working on a good-bye letter for him to have with him, as he will go back to the North Pole with Santa that night. I’m working on a version that will let his magic be lifted for the day, so he can give him a hug, as he keeps asking….I think he would really like that 🙂

Until next time friends!

~H

December 2014, Latest & Greatest News

The Aftermath {A Gingerbread Tale}

casademurphy

The story I am about to tell is true. No names have been changed to protect the innocent. The guilty party is the cute, furry boy below. Perhaps, he was mad at me for putting him in the santa suit??? 😉

santa boo

Last Wednesday, I told you all about our gingerbread house decorating adventures from the weekend prior. If you didn’t get a chance to see our pics, be sure to check it out here. Let’s just say that I am SO HAPPY that we took pictures of Liam with his masterpiece that night because what transpired a few days later could NEVER have been imagined by us 😉

***************************************************************

Stephen stopped home for lunch on Tuesday…..opened the front door & saw a gingerbread masacre all over the entryway. O.M.G.!!

You see, we had to move our loveseat couch in order to put up the Christmas tree, and so it ended up underneath the bar {as you can see below}. When we came home with the gingerbread house on Saturday night, I put it on a glass plate and placed it on the corner of the bar {for decoration}. It honestly never, ever crossed my mind that our little stinker of a fur baby would literally walk up from the arm of the loveseat and PULL THE GINGERBREAD OFF THE BAR!! hahahahahahaha! I am sorry, but when Stephen texted me these pictures, I laughed so hard, I cried. I guess it just smelled too good to resist for him. Too much temptation for the little guy.

2014-12-09_Boo Strikes Ginger 2

Miraculously, the plate did NOT fall off the couch. Also, let me just tell you that Timber is FINE ….he had an upset belly and went potty A LOT that night but I am sure he thought it was totes worth it 😉

This pic below is lovely candy cane stuck to my couch. Gotta luv it!

2014-12-09_Boo Strikes Ginger 1

Stephen’s observations reported that a good majority of a wall of the house was gone. We had also put a ton of frosting on the roof and covered that with shredded coconut to make it look like snow….Timber did a number to that 😉 ….we think he also ate a half a candy cane.

2014-12-09_Boo Strikes Ginger 3

The sweetest part of the story is that Liam wasn’t even mad when he found out later that afternoon. For a very short time, we tried to not tell him, but he’s too smart { and observant} for that. He quickly asked, “and, where is my gingerbread house” ….so, we were honest and told him the truth. He was more concerned about Timber having an upset belly and wanted to give him a hug. Such a sweet boy ❤

2014-12-09_Boo Strikes Ginger 4

Oh, gingerbread house…..you were cute while you lasted!! I am sure Timber enjoyed how you tasted, though! Never a dull moment in Casademurphy, folks! We are definitely feeling the Christmas spirit around here 😉

Until next time, friends!

~H