December in pictures

Four more sleeps until Christmas! 

And we are READY for it!

We have celebrated, soaked up,

slowed down, and done everything

else in between for this Christmas season.

It's been my favorite holiday season to date.

Max is at a great age...and we've really

just been having a fun time!

 

Here's a glimpse of what we've been up

the past few weeks...

 

We've decked the halls...

We've roasted s'mores around the

fire barrels at work. Nothing says tis the

season more to me (especially at work) - than

seeing and smelling fire barrels. 

We've had nightly visits from "Jingle"our elf.

I'm not totally into the "elf on the shelf"concept...

but Max thinks he's pretty great...and he brings us

a wrapped book every night to read. 

Mama has worked multiple long nights teaching

a "Paint with Penguins" at work. The participants

create canvases, are treated to a behind the scenes

tour of Manatee Coast while they dry, and

when they come back - our resident penguin

artist Chovie (or Trout!) walk across them.

It's a super cute program - and a portion

of the proceeds goes toward African

Penguin Conservation. 

We've wrapped all the presents....

(that cactus print is probably my favorite).

We've been to Wildlights at the Zoo on multiple

occasions....and seen Max's new favorite thing-

the Sparkling Spruce. It's a super tall tree ...that

lights up to different music beats.



We've rode the "Polar Express Train" at the Zoo too!

We've eaten countless number of Pez candies

from Max's newest Pez dispensers! 

We've experienced our first snow fall of the season! 

I've never seen Max move so fast

as when I asked him if he wanted to play in the snow. 

We've scraped snow off cars...

We've tried to "shovel" just like daddy...

We've played in the snow...

We've used all the fun Snap Chat filters...

the reindeer one is our favorite!



 

We've brought out our winter boots!

Mama arranged for a special holiday tour

for our seasonals at work at the promotion building...

and we got to meet Emmett the cheetah!

We ate Christmas donuts! 

Happy December!

xoxo



Gingerbread Making

On Sunday we found ourselves invited ourselves

over to Auntie Stacy's house.  I had only planned to stay a couple 

of hours, because it seemed she had a lot to do. 

But, in true Max and Mama fashion, we 

over stayed our welcome and our car

didn't pull away until 5:30! 

However, we just had so much fun...even 

the most mundane tasks become hilarious when

you're with your best friend and your three year old.  

To start with - we went to all of Max's favorite 

places... Target, Petco, and the Post Office. 

Max usually takes a while to warm up to, 

well, most everyone. He's like a stage three clinger

(it's adorable....but also frustrating). 

However, - with Auntie Stacy - he's just a 

little ham bone. She sits in the back

with him and they talk, and joke, and 

generally just sound like they are 

having a grand time 

(while I just chauffeur them around). 

Once our errands were done - back to 

Titi's house for a late lunch and 

bathroom break for Max. 

After Paw Patrol Saves Christmas...we busted

out the gingerbread house! 

 

I made the very wise decision to purchase the 

pre-assembled house on Black Friday at Target. 

This was such a solid parenting move - because

three year olds and patience don't really

go hand in hand. So, we were able to get

the icing going pretty quick - and ....

then the decorating began!

 

 Of course, Penny had to check out the 

action in the kitchen (though, she is very 

leary of the kitchen floors...and prefers

to  jog from rug to rug).  

 The only candy Max was really interested in

eating was the m&m's and candy hearts...but 

honestly - he didn't eat much. He struggled with

why the larger candies would slide off the roof. 

He really got into decorating the "windows"

and the walkway leading up to the door. 

There were four bigger candy "trees" - and he 

placed those very quickly on either side of the doors. 

 

  

 

 

 I cannot recommend the pre-assembled route

enough - there was very minimal mess...and

the project held his attention just long enough

for him to think it was fun! So fun, that he did 

not want to leave it at Titi's house...so it 

proudly sits on our kitchen island for all 

to enjoy now. :)

 Once the house was complete - we decided 

to head over the mall. We normally don't do the 

mall at Christmas, but for some reason, it 

seemed doable. We did bring the stroller...

and he looked so squished in it (and I'm 

certain he exceeds the weight limit...but

it definitely cut down on the whining). 

I was able to do a relatively quick return 

and Titi was able to purchase some items

for her co-workers. Max was cracking us up

in his "hipster scarf". I mean, what three 

year old has a scarf adorned with fringe?

Mine. Last weekend when he wanted

to play in the snow - he asked for a scarf

and all my other ones were blanket scarves, so 

I offered him this one and he took a shine to it. 

It makes me laugh every time I see him in it.  

Our last stop - was Auntie Anne's pretzels for a 

bucket of pretzel nuggets. Max told us nearly all

day that he was hungry. I don't know if he's going 

through a growth spurt or what?? But, he ate nearly

the whole bucket of nuggets. 

The whole way back to Stacy's house he told me that he 

wanted to spend the night (which is something he 

does reguarly with my parents) but alas, 

it was a school night....so with some cajoling 

(and a packet of smarties) - we made it home 

with minimal whining and maximum praise 

from Daddy on our gingerbread house! 

Thanks again Titi for another Sunday Funday!

xoxo

Decking the Haucks Nest

I haven't been the best at staying on top of

anything blog related this December and

I just realized that I never shared the pictures

from the Saturday after Thanksgiving when

we decorated our tree.

 

It was very sweet to experience how

excited Max was to decorate the tree. 

He was super into hanging the ornaments

(which if you look closely - are all sort

of grouped on a select few branches along the

bottom)...and he enjoyed hearing the stories

behind any of the ornaments that were "his".

Papa Rob's job is to hang all of the smaller

ornaments (especially the glass ones) around

the top of the tree. We used some team work

to get the pom pom garland around the tree

and it's the first year we didn't argue about it.



I was sort of on the outskirts of the ornament

piles...managing and directing the chaos.

It's really hard for me to let go of the control

aspect that comes from decorating and wanting

things to look a certain way. But, I have to

say that Max's enthusiasm or the whole

process was completely charming. He would

put an ornament or two on, step back, and say,

"it's beautiful mommy"!



Also, I made sure everyone knew this

huge, pink glass ball was my favorite

and for the love of all things holy,

to BE CAREFUL with it.

Thankfully, no ornaments were

harmed in the decorating process :)

So, sweet to see my guys working on the tree.

 

It's funny, every November I think about all

the gorgeous Christmas home tours and perfectly

decorated houses woven throughout my Pinterest

boards. This December, I want to remember this view.

I'm reminded that I want this - more than all

the curated homes on Pinterest. I want Max to

cover our tree (house and walls for that matter)

with paper chains, hand made ornaments, and

random craft projects. 

A little later on - we made our way outside - to

put up - not one, but THREE blow molds.

My parents bought Max these holiday blow molds

and he LOVES them.  Last year, our penguin

got stolen (like, who does that?) - and they

replaced it with one from good old Ebay :)

We also have lights along the roof, fence,

and even bushes!

 

And, lest you think we only decorated the tree....

I went on to bust out the holiday pillows

(both plaid and donut varieties).

 And, for the first time - we have poinsettias!

Previously it was a no go because of

the cat - but this year - we have three!

My mom also taught me a secret for keeping

them alive - which is basically just to use

ice cubes for watering when the soil feels dry.

 The more garlands the better ....

and Rudolph (or Rutus if we're going

for the name from last year) made another appearance.

 Our trusty elf "Jingle" is always watching...

and sending his reports back to Santa :)

 I've wanted some of these vintage deer for

awhile now...and Mims found me some!

 While we don't have a fireplace or mantle...

we made sure to hang those stockings with care.

 The jolly guy himself...hanging by our front door!

 The holiday card wall - complete with a wreath

made by me :) The cards are finally starting to

roll in - and I'm loving my daily trips to the mail box!

It's the best to pull out a few cards from

friends and family. Love, love, love!!

Gimme, all the cards!

 I bought this star (which now hangs in the

front hallway) with my mom at the Dayton

flea market. It has vintage bulbs...and gives off

the coolest reddish/orange glow. 

A steal for $20!

 One more garland hangs in the kitchen!

 And...so does all Max's holiday art work!

Finally, Max has been into these cardboard

decorations that Mim's finds at - you guessed it -

the flea market :) We hung a wreath and

carolers on his door.  How jolly!

Also, Jingle has been bringing him a book

each morning (or evening...if mommy he forgets).

I love that his book shelves are full of

super cute holiday books.  And, that we can

add to the collection every year.

 

Not pictured, but still sweet - the flannel sheets

we put on Max's bed this week.  They are grey

with little green pine trees on the...and Max

refers to them as "cozy and warm" - and it makes

me smile every time.

 

Experiencing the past few weeks with Max

has been so fun - he loves every part of the holiday

season (Gingerbread, lights, decorating, bows, cozy blankets,

Christmas carols, Rudolph, and holiday movies).

Basically, everything except for Santa...but I think

 he will come around eventually.

 

I just love getting the chance to

create traditions and make memories

together based around the season.

I'm sure I will be back to share more this

week....but just in case I don't -

Merry Christmas!

~ from the Hauck's Nest

 

xoxo