all things december

12:19 PM

my favorite month of the year started out with a weekend at the theatre. this is ryan's 3rd play with gcpa and it did not disappoint. the quality of performances this organization puts on amazes me every time. ryan is so lucky to have found them!

this year the show was one of my all time favorite christmas movies...white christmas! it was about time my girls were introduced to the 'sisters' song! ryan was cast in the ensemble but also as the understudy for "susan." this was a great experience for her. she loved the responsibility of learning all of susan's lines...just incase!

(can you find ry? front and center!)

(little one far left, here.)

it was a weakend full of pride for dan and i. ryan amazes us every single time she takes the stage.

as usual she had lots of friends come to support her.

thank you all for taking time during this busy month to watch our gal!

this was from one of the directors after the final show. i just love the encouragement they give all the kids. the entire experiences was a delight...from start to finish! ryan can't wait for the next show.

the craziness of the month continued with lilly making her first reconciliation!

she was sooo nervous...but like we always tell her doing hard things only makes us stronger...so she put on her big girl pants and confessed those sins!

we had christmas at bellerive...

ryan was apart of a little holiday dance ensemble at her dance studio and they performed at bellerive's christmas event. talk about perfect for us!! we invited everyone to come watch. it was such a fun night.

we went and saw santa. this year was such a huge success!! (well the 2nd time around) our first attempt did not go so well. after school one day i got them all dolled up and to frontenac by 4pm in order to beat the crowds. as i walk up i see one other mom in line (my pal, ryan! great minds), score one for us, right?!? not some much. as i get closer ryan gives me a look and i turn to see...no santa. (face palm) apparently he had an emergency and had to leave for the night. we couldn't believe it.

they were able to give us reservations for the express line for the following day. so we tried again...and voila!

totally worth the wait.

annie had a little christmas show at her nursery school.

talk about adorable!!

lil got her ears pierced on her 1/2 birthday!

this right here was easily my favorite gift of the season. when my nana passed away we found this little needlepoint stocking canvas in her sewing room. it was stamped 1983 and all the trees and katie's had already been stitched. i couldn't believe it. it's like she knew back when i was 3 years old, that one day i would have an entire tree filled with needlepoint christmas ornaments. over the summer my mom finished the stitching and my mother-in-law took it in to have it made into an ornament. talk about a team effort. it will forever have a very special spot on my needlepoint tree.

thanks nana!

the first day of christmas break...i slightly lost my mind and gave in to the girls request for a trip to the magic house. surprisingly it wasn't super crowded and these four were on their very best behaviors! we had a blast.

annnnd then it was time for the festivities!! christmas always begins with a trip to cessie's. the kids are loving this tradition just as much as i did when i was little.

brendan was channeling his inner pop in that chair with his tv tray!

the next morning was christmas eve! we did a little breakfast at my mom and dad's so they could give all the grandkids their gifts at once. it's so hard for everyone to be found at the same place during the holidays so this little breakfast brought us all together!

and then it was on to christmas eve night at dottie's!

the girls loooove dottie's pink tree! they help her decorate it every year. every grandmother with all granddaughters should have a pink christmas tree.

after milk and cookies and reindeer food it was off to bed...and up at 7:15 to see what santa brought. i am kicking myself for not snapping a picture of their loot, but honestly we were just in the moment watching them rip it all open. so the picture in my memory will have to do.

i was able to grab one of them in their mj original pj's!!

post-christmas movie night in their new mermaid blankets. thanks aunt mary!

the week after christmas brought us some mild temps...so we took advantage and hit the zoo! little did we know it was raja's 24th birthday. how old does that make you all feel?!?