Christmas 2014

This Christmas was relaxing but high-maintenance all at once. I guess that's the best way to describe the newborn phase in general, huh?

 

We originally planned on having all the family over on Christmas Eve for a little brunch (thrown by my mom and MIL), but both the boys had colds and I didn't want my niece to come over and get sick too. So, my parents and sister were the only ones to join us. It was perfect! We opened presents, ate breakfast casserole, cheesecake and cookies, played with all of Jakey's new toys, and snuggled my favorite present, Mr. Judd.

 

On Christmas Day, we just hung around the house as a family of four (EEK- still love saying that!) and played with Jacob's toys and watched movies.

Since Jacob opened all the gifts from us and grandparents on Christmas Eve, he just opened Santa's gifts on Christmas Day. It actually worked out great, and I hope we can do that every year moving forward. I think he was able to really focus on the gifts by spreading them out over two days.

Santa brought Jacob a Mack truck (from Cars) and several die cast cars to go in the hauler. It's what he's been saying he wanted for months now, and I think he was pretty happy!

 

I made chocolate monkey bread, a la Mix & Match Mama. It was delicious, but HUGE! We barely put a dent in it.

We attempted to get a picture of the boys in their matching pajamas, but Jacob was being a turd and then Judd peed on himself. This was the best we could do. :)

 

 

And then Judd had a wardrobe change, which I had to document because it's his FIRST CHRISTMAS! Those eyebrows...

 

And lastly, we finally let Jacob open his big present from his Coco (my MIL). He was totally scared of the Big Wheel at first, but warmed up to it and took a few laps around the house. He's such a crack up!

Anyways, I hope y'all had a lovely Christmas with lots of family time and yummy food! I feel so incredibly blessed this year, but can't help but look forward to next year and how much fun it'll be!

 

A Very Merry Christmas

It's almost depressing how quickly Christmas comes and go. With all the anticipation and prepping and planning, it's insane how fast it all goes by!

We had the best holiday week ever, and I'm a little sad that's its over. But alas...a Christmas recap for your reading pleasure!

We went to Cleburne on Dec 23 to celebrate Christmas with Josh's mom, sister and her husband. My MIL always prepares the best brunch and party-atmosphere. Especially for 10am! We ate some delicious food, opened gifts, and hit the road so Jacob could nap in the car. Although he only slept for 30 minutes. Ick! Jacob always has so much fun at his Coco's house, chasing the cats and playing in her backyard. Good thing because he'll be spending a few days there in the upcoming weeks, as Josh and I are going on a little vacation (more on that later!).

How stinkin' cute is he?!

My parents arrived on the 23rd as well, so pretty much as soon as we got home- they showed up and we helped move them in (ha) and cook dinner. There's something about having a packed house that makes me a little stressed and anxious, but overall everything went great.

My sister and her husband came over on Christmas Eve and we hung out for awhile while I made enchiladas (a Monroe family tradition). After Jacob woke from his nap, we headed to the Christmas Eve Family Service at our church. It was perfect- 35 minutes, involved the kids, and had a short sermon. After that, we came home and had a delicious Mexican feast complete with queso, enchiladas and tamales. Then we opened presents while watching The Sound of Music (yet another Monroe family tradition- I think we all know all the words to that movie). As soon as Jacob went to bed, we pulled out all the Santa loot and crashed. We were all exhausted!

Christmas morning was so magical. I will never forget Jacob's face when he saw his kitchen and play table. He was kinda cranky when he woke up that morning (at 9:15 I might add- Jacob's Christmas present to all of us!), but as soon as I carried him into the family room and he saw all the goodies...he quickly stopped whining, insisted I put him down, smiled and went to town! I think he played with his kitchen for a good hour before realizing there was more stuff. In the meantime, I tossed a batch of cinnamon rolls in the oven and us adults sipped on some coffee.

 

I don't really care about presents for me, which is pretty hilar because about 3 years ago- I really used to care. I really love presents. But now that I have a kid, presents for ME really aren't all that important. But, with all that said, I am thankful to have a husband that is good at gift-giving (or at least catching the hints I drop- ha!). This year he got me this beautiful monogram necklace and a pair of Hunter boots! Somehow I didn't manage to get a picture of the boots, but they will come in handy on our upcoming vacay to San Francisco! Can't wait!

Josh's dad came over that afternoon, and we had a delicious feast for dinner. I made a turkey, roast, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, macaroni and cheese and rolls. Yummmy!!! We hardly had room for the desserts- cheesecake made by my dad, and bourbon chocolate pecan pie made by my MIL! I bought Josh and his dad Moscow mule mugs, and all the ingredients for the actual drink, and let's just say- they had a FUN Christmas! Ha! The mugs were a big hit, and I will probably be gifting them to my parents for their upcoming birthdays.

Since everyone left on the 26th, we've had a bit of a Christmas hangover. Not really motivated to do much, besides devour all the leftovers and watch movies and football. We did actually take the decorations down today, which felt good.

Now, on to New Years...2014!!! Can you believe it?! I'm starting a 10-day clean eating cleanse tomorrow, to kick off the new year on the right foot. I'll post the first week's meal plan tomorrow, so be sure to stop by for that. Until then- have a lovely evening!!!

Virtual Christmas PJ Party!

Similar to Halloween, we're linking-up with a few lovely ladies for a virtual PJ party, this time its Christmas themed (obviously). How fun!



In all honesty, Jacob has been wearing the same fleece PJs for the last week (the only pair of fleece jams he owns) because its been so dang cold here (overnight lows in the 20s!). Yuck! So I had to put him in these PJs this morning and do a quick photo sesh.

He's been blinking very hard this morning, it's like he just learned that his eyes do that. Either way, the pictures are pretty hilar.

And this is my favorite...Just rocking in front of the Christmas tree... Love him!

Jacob's Christmas wish list

Hi all!! Now that the weather here in Texas is finally cold (like 30° with sleet...wowza!!), I can finally focus on Christmas!

Jacob is so much more fun to shop for this year, and its taking everything in me NOT to buy him every damn thing I find!

Josh and I are buying him 4 presents and Santa will be bringing him 1 large present. Our gifts will show up under the tree, wrapped, throughout the month, and Santa's gift won't arrive until Christmas morning (of course) and will be unwrapped. I'm hoping to continue this tradition in the future.

So, below are the items Jacob will be receiving...

ONE. Big Hugs Elmo. Honestly, this was kinda an impulse buy. Jacob watches Sesame Street daily and loves Elmo, and actually reached out and hugged this guy on a random Target trip a month ago. So I decided what the hell? It's cute and HUGE and Jacob actually picked it out! Hopefully he still likes it.

TWO. Ikea Play Tent. Jacob loooves crawling in things and "hiding", so I knew I wanted to get him a teepee or tent or something. And I love this option because it folds down and can be put away. We don't have room for something this big to be out 24/7!

THREE. Tonka Fire Engine. Y'all, Jacob is all boy. This kid loves everything that "goes", especially if it has lights and a siren. I cannot wait for him to open this, although I'm pretty sure the sirens will get old quick. Oh well!

FOUR. Ikea Play Tool Set. Jacob is also obsessed with doing whatever we do. He has a broom and loves "sweeping" with me, but I thought this would be a more manly approach to "doing what we do" instead of a vacuum or something.

FIVE. Ikea Play Kitchen and Gadgets. This is Santa's gift to Jacob. Like I said, he loooves doing what we do, and a lot of my friends with 18-month-olds to 2-year-olds say their kids LOVE their play kitchens, so this was a no-brainer for us. I didn't want another piece of plastic in our house though, so I originally started researching wooden play kitchen. Those suckers are expensive! No way I'm paying $250 on a play kitchen. Thankfully I found this awesome option! It's sleek and modern and cheap ($100!). Santa will also be giving him the pots/pans, baking set, cooking utensils and some play food. I'm hoping to give it a bit of a facelift before Christmas, too! (If I get around to that, I will definitely post a tutorial.)

For his stocking, he'll get a few new bath toys (replace the nasty ones he's been using for the last year and a half), socks, fruit/veggie melts, etc.

I also purchased a TON of new Christmas books for Jacob, which we're already reading over and over!

Jacob's first Christmas

Christmas came and went without a single blog from me. Wow!!! Josh, Jacob and I have all been sick, so we've been laying pretty low trying to recover. Thankfully, I think I'm finally 100%.

Lets see...Christmas Eve, we traveled to Cleburne (Josh's hometown) to celebrate his G-ma's birthday and Christmas with his mom, sister and her husband. Aside from Josh puking his guts out (eww), it was a great visit. Jacob spent most of his time licking and eating the wrapping paper, and I spent most of my time wrestling it out of his mouth. Haha!

We had my parents, my sister and her fiancé, and Josh's dad over Christmas Day and we had a fun time! Jacob got so many presents, we had to break it up into 2 opening sessions so he could nap. We decided to nix the big traditional Christmas dinner this year, and opted for a pizza dinner. Josh's dream come true! It was ok. Jacob's big present was a red wagon from my parents. Unfortunately its been so cold out, we haven't really gotten to use it, but we do cruise around the house.

And, to top everything off - it snowed for like 4 hours on Christmas! Jacob's first Christmas was white! How perfect!! I honestly don't think I've ever witnessed a white Christmas in Texas.  We took him out a couple times to check it out; he seemed indifferent.

Christmas!!

Christmas is in full swing at the Sokolewicz house. It's hard to believe I almost cancelled it last weekend!

I'm almost done with my shopping, I've started wrapping (my least favorite part), the stockings are hung, I've started making (and consuming) my fudge, and best of all - Jacob has begun to wear his Christmas clothes! I personally think Christmas is the only holiday that can be celebrated weeks in advance.

Here's a few adorable photos of Jacob in his Christmas clothes.

Jacob Meets Santa

One of the moms in my play group had a play date at her parents' gorgeous home in Melissa. Gorgeous is really an understatement, especially this time of year. Her mom starts decorating for Christmas the day after Halloween and literally has thousands of Santas and decorations. I couldn't believe it!

Anyways, her dad dressed up as Santa and we all got to take pictures in front of their 15-foot tree. No lines, no germs, and free! And so much cuter than the mall!

Jacob was intrigued by Santa's beard, and then just kinda stared at the camera. Thankfully he didn't scream bloody murder. Here are some cute pics.