February 2015, Latest & Greatest News

Valentine’s Wrap-Up

Last week was a lot of fun in Casa de Murphy….naturally, there was a lot of EXTRA love floating around, as we celebrated Valentine’s Day ❤

Liam was super excited to have a party at school on Friday, as well as exchange Valentine’s with his friends. I had found two different Valentine’s that I thought he would like, but this is the one he picked:

 

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I found this awesome FREE PDF to use for the Valentine card from Simply Modern Mom. I bought a 24-pk of bubble sticks from Target for $3.99 and found a fun roll of washi tape, also at Target to tape the sticks to the card. It was perfect!

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I brought back last year’s fav bag toppers from Makoodle to use for our teacher’s gifts. This, again, is another awesome FREE PDF. I am so in love with Liam’s enthusiasm of the holidays this year! He was SO into walking around all the rooms and hand-delivering these bags….it was THE cutest!! ❤

For a look back on what we were up to last year for Valentine’s, check out our post here.

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I was so tickled when I found Liam’s Valentine’s shirt from last year in his closet and realized it would still fit him this year. Ya know it’s just these little things that make us mommy’s super happy, right?!?!

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And, just for a little bit of loving  nostalgia of this heart-filled holiday, here’s a look back on our other Valentine’s with little man:

2013 vday

2012 vday

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On Friday morning, before we headed out the door, I couldn’t help myself on the cuteness overload ❤ & snagged a quick pic {thanks, Daddy!}

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After school on Friday, Liam had a ball looking at all his little Valentine’s from his friends, and a few from his teacher, Ms. Tamie. I loved that he listened very carefully, as I told him who each Valentine was from 🙂

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Valentine’s Day morning started out as  a sweet one. We had a few gifts for Liam to open when he woke up. He has really been into the Duplo Legos, lately, so he got a new set, as well as pretty cool Hulk mug that we found at Target.

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Stephen surprised me with this totally awesome black & white canvas painting of a picture of my two boys ❤ ….definitely an understatement to say that I am in love with it!

vday canvas art

This was done by a local artist, Nikki Bentley. For info on prices or how to order, you can contact her at Bentleyspawprints@yahoo.com

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I am not going to post pictures or get into much detail, but since it happened & I am about sharing our “real” life here….I will tell you that ad mist this crazy love fest of Vday, we had an unfortunate accident later in morning on Saturday. My poor sweet baby splashed very hot water on his arm in the kitchen & got a 2nd degree burn 😦 …it was a scary incident but happy to report he is okay. We have a few weeks of healing ahead of us, but he is doing great. It was heart-breaking to see him in so much pain, though. I feel horrible that it happened and so many times wish I could re-do the whole situation, but I guess that’s why we call them “accidents”. Still hurts my heart.

The funny thing is that after we left the urgent care center, and we were on our way home….I was planning an afternoon of rest {well, at least, in my head}. I {honestly} felt like we were all emotionally spent by that point and it wasn’t even noon, yet! However, when everything happened, we had been preparing to leave to go to Sea World and Liam knew this. Sooo, he actually cried so hard in the car {again} when we told him that we didn’t think Sea World was going to happen, afterall. By that point, neither of us could watch him cry anymore, so we caved 🙂 ….and decided to just go for a few hours. He was all bandaged up, and it seemed to really lift his spirits and take his mind off of what had happened. So…. win! I took a few cute pics, as this was our 1st family trip there, and will share those later this week.

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We hope you all had a fantastic Valentine’s Day weekend! Until next time, friends!

~H

February 2015, Latest & Greatest News

3.5 Years {42 Months}

As we said good-bye to January, we also said hello to 3 1/2 years old for our little man. I can hardly believe that a whole 6 months has gone by since his birthday. Seriously, where does the time keep going?!?! 🙂 — There are so many moments where I wish I could freeze time ….bottle up these memories & make them last forever….I don’t want to forget any of these little details from our everyday…even the ones that sometimes frustrate & make us tired….this little dude is such a gift & a blessing to us

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Keeping with our teddy bear picture tradition, here’s our updated version above. A look back on previous pics are here –  here – here (this link has a cool flip a gram of a series of pics!) – and,  here

{Look back soon for all these fun pics on their own page in the blog ….I think it’s time 😉 }

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AGE: 42 months // 3 1/2 years

WEIGHT: 40 lbs.

HEIGHT: 38.5 inches

CLOTHES: mostly size 4T ….some 3T depending on the brand. Also wearing a size 10 shoe. The biggest characteristic with his clothes is that he HAS to pick out his outfit. He is all into superheros, so that is definitely a preference in his everyday wardrobe…some piece usually has an Avenger on it 😉 ….I really can’t believe it, but I’m already finding it slightly harder to shop for him because I already pause to wonder if he will wear it. How is that possible?!?!

FAV FOODS: What he will eat changes with his moods. I say this is part of that “threenager” attitude….lol! Do I wish he would eat more veggies, yeap, but I am sure that will come in good time. He really loves to always eat what you’re eating so my goal is for us to eat healthy things so he will too 🙂  …of course, he still loves his chicken nuggets, mac-n-cheese, orange slices, and cereal.

FAV WORDS: I’m sure I have said this before, but we have a little person on our hands, at this point. Sometimes, it’s almost scary ….I mean, he’s not a baby anymore. You can have complete conversations with him about anything! Call us crazy, but that still amazes us 1st time parents. At this stage, it’s fascinating to watch him learn learn and grow with his vocabulary. For example, everything in the past right now is “yesterday” ….we did that yesterday or we were here yesterday ….even if it’s been a few weeks or months. I’m sure in the blink of an eye, that will all change and he’ll “get” the verb tenses and know yesterday, last week, last month, etc. For now, I just enjoy yesterday ❤

As much as we try not to laugh at times, he also enjoys ‘toilet talk’ these days. His current word of choice is nipple. He thinks that is THE most hilarious word in the world. I can only hope he is not saying it at school. He knows what it means and that he’s not supposed to just be saying it….so, that’s why keeps doing it. What a stinker!

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FAV ACTIVITES: We have been taking gymnastics lessons since September. It has been a great learning experience for Liam & so much fun! I had read this awesome blog post not too long ago about why preschoolers should do gymnastics lessons….it is so true! You can check it out here.

Liam also really likes to draw pictures now. He is getting really good at it. He is quickly moving out of just the scribbles stage, and we are starting to see actual pictures. Again, totally amazing to watch this happen! He favors his left-hand almost 100%, so I am pretty sure he’s going to be a lefty, like his mommy 🙂

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MILESTONES: At the end of this month, it will be ONE YEAR that we are diaper free! Whoo hoo! You can check back on our potty training adventures, here. I can hardly remember what it was like having a changing table in his room. He does so well with his big boy undies!

By the end of this month, Liam is also officially moving into the Preschool Department at his school! {We had still been in the Early-Preschool Dept} So exciting for him! This means that he will be moving up into a new room with a new teacher. He says that he gets to move because “he is bigger now”  His other comment about moving up was that he would get to play on the “big kids playground” 🙂

Between now & his birthday in July, we will be updating his room. That’s our next project and we are all excited about it. He is still sleeping in his toddler bed, which is his original crib that’s been converted. His room still has all the original decor from when we 1st designed it for his nursery with the jungle theme. So, this will be a BIG change for ALL of us 😉 ….I think we are moving up to a twin bed….but depending on what we find, it may possibly be a full size. We’ll see. Liam has his heart set on a super hero’s room, so that’s the plan right now! We’ll definitely be posting pics of this update when the time comes!!

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Happy Half Birthday, Little Man!! — Mommy & Daddy Love You So Very Much…. XOXO

February 2015, Latest & Greatest News

Valentine’s Fun for the Little Ones

Hi Friends! I’m sharing two super fun posts over on Orlando Mom’s Blog to get you & your little one’s ready for Valentine’s Day ❤

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The 1st one is a LOVE  Art Canvas Project that you can check out here.

Love Art Canvas_OMB

The 2nd project is cute AND magical! Definitely sure to get some giggles 🙂 …It is Growing Heart Lollipops and you can check it out here.

Heart Lollipops_OMB

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We had SO MUCH FUN with both of these projects! 🙂

Until next time!!

~H

January 2015, Latest & Greatest News

Our Winter Break {Part 2}

Good times continued during our winter break with our 2nd trip to the Magic Kingdom with little man. It, again, had been almost a year & a half since our 1st trip there {for his 2nd birthday celebration}. Just like with Legoland earlier in the week, he honestly didn’t remember being there before, so it was fun to re-introduce the park to him. This age is SO MUCH different than 2 years old, so it was a whole different experience, for us, as well.

We knew the park would still be crowded for holidays, and since I had never seen the Electrical Parade before, we decided to head out later than normal…..so, we didn’t get out to the gates till about 4, but the weather was gorgeous! Special thanks to my mom & her hubby for getting us tickets from their friend, who is a cast member….nothing beats that!

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One of the main points of our plan for visiting the Magic Kingdom that weekend was to catch their Christmas decorations before they took them down. We had actually never been to Disney to see them before….so this was a nice “1st” experience for all of us! In true Disney magic, they really do the park up extra fancy ❤

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Over in the Storybook Circus area of Fantasyland is The Barnstormer ride. This is a junior roller coaster that guests must be 35 in. or taller to ride and just has small drops. We asked him, and Liam wanted to ride it….so, he did with Daddy 🙂 ….his 1st roller coaster experience!! Oh my goodness!!

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In true fashion, they sat in the back car….Liam enjoyed it, but he did tell me afterwards, that he was “alittle bit scared” ❤

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Dumbo was a fav ride this time around, again. He rode with me last visit….so Daddy got a turn this time 😉

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Such cuteness…..

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This was on The Magic Carpets of Aladdin in Adventureland ….he loved this ride! The flash caught his eye in this pic, so he looks a bit sleepy 😉

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Pirates of the Caribbean in Adventureland ….he enjoyed this one, but wasn’t crazy about the little drop that you feel while in the dark on the boat ride. He has totally been singing the ‘Yo Ho‘ song since that night, though….hysterical!!

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Cinderella’s Castle was decorated & lit up with a Frozen theme for the holiday’s ….absolutely beautiful!

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There were a few moments that I wasn’t sure we would make it to the start of this, but YES….we held out till the 10:15 pm start of the Electrical Parade (wow, I felt old but man, that was late for us….lol!!) …poor little dude, was PASSED.OUT.COLD in his stroller by the time everything began. There literally was no waking him up….he wanted no part of it. I felt so bad, but he did wake up towards the end and managed to catch a few of the floats 🙂

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I know we kept Liam out WAY past his bedtime, but it was such a pretty show. Really glad to have finally seen this!

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….And, here we all were on the tram back to the car at 12 AM ….what a little trooper ❤

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Here are a few pics we took in front of the castle! …this 1st one is super cute — Tink is super-imposed in our hands 😉

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All in all, it was truly a MAGICAL DAY…and night ❤ ❤

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Until next time, friends!!

~H

December 2014, Latest & Greatest News

Our Winter Break {Part 1}

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 😉

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

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Super excited to ride the carousel again!

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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!!

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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 🙂

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

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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…

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

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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! ❤

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Having a quick music lesson with Uncle Glenn 🙂

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

Until then…….

~H

December 2014, Latest & Greatest News

Our Merry Christmas 2014

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!

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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.

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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?!?!

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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 😉

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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.

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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!” ❤

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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!

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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 🙂

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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.

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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!

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

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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!

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

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2012  ~ 17 months old

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2013 ~ 2 years, 5 months (29 months)

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

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milk & cookies for Santa…

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

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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

Priceless Memories — Family Pictures

Last month, we were thrilled to be able to meet up with our friend and fantastic photographer, Dawn Geraghty, for an updated family photo session. You all know that I am a photo freak, so there is nothing better than having updated family pics! For us, it had definitely been a while, and we could not have asked for a better afternoon!

She is a wonderful photographer & we are in love with these pics ❤

You can find her at: dawngeraghtyphotography@aol.com // facebook: Dawn Geraghty Photography

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Since we did this right before the holidays, we got in a few Christmas shots, too 🙂

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Until next friends!

~H

December 2014, Latest & Greatest News

Week-In-Review

Last Friday, we had the amazing opportunity to go to the Marvel Universe LIVE! show at the Amway Center.

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Don’t have to tell you that little man was pretty captivated 😉 ….full show review with fun pics coming soon on Orlando Mom’s Blog!

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Saturday, we were excited for our Annual Gingerbread House Decorating Party with our gang! I can’t believe this is the 5th year we’ve gotten together to do this. So fun!

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For a look back on last year’s festivities, check out our post here.

BEFORE the craziness
BEFORE the craziness

Lisa is AMAZING because she collects ALL the gingerbread house kits from us beforehand and works hard to build them & puts together this beautiful spread for the families. All we have to do is show up & have fun 🙂

 

the AFTERMATH :)
the AFTERMATH 🙂

Daddy & Liam kicked off the decorating.

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Someone might have been eating more candy than what was going on the house, at one point 😉

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Working hard…..

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Mommy helping out with the action

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All done & proud of his work of art ❤

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So much fun!!

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And then, peeps…..there was this 😉

Lisa & Stephen continued their crazy {yet hilarious} tradition of decorating their own house after the kids wrapped things up. Let me tell you….it was serious business. They even recruited Haven this time around to help them.

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Gettin’ crazy!! LOL! 🙂

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Ta da! ….they are not proud or anything…ha!

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The Bengel’s neighborhood has a fun tradition in December of a surprise visit by Santa. We were thrilled that he came by after the party…great timing!! Liam was SO surprised that he came all the way down from the North Pole just to say hi to them! 🙂

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After that, he discovered the Bengel’s Polar Express choo-choo train {again} & that was all she wrote, folks. If you recall, he found this last year & we couldn’t pull him away. He LOVES trains!

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It was a fantastic evening at our Gingerbread Party with friends!! We laughed that we’ll be doing this each year until at some point, the kids will be sick of it and it will be just the adults on the patio decorating the houses 😉 …

Until next time, friends!

~H