Hello, friends, and welcome 2013! I’m not quite ready to launch into resolutions and the New Year, so I thought I’d wrap up Christmas today. Here are a few shots from the last few weeks. If you follow me on Instagram, you know the past week was full of bars, restaurants and beach trips, but the week of Christmas was much slower and more kid-friendly!
Norah really enjoyed wrapping “gifts” for friends and family made up of things she found around the house and thought they would enjoy.
My dad’s tree. Mac did not pee on this one.
My sister and her husband with me. A good reminder that the flash is not your friend. I was too lazy to dry my hair at all the entire vacation so it was very curly!
Taken one second before he tore those antlers off his head.
Aunt Cassie helping Gabe decorate the tree at my mom’s house. Mac did indeed pee on this one.
Norah’s Barbie campfire. Clearly this was the year of the Barbie, as this is only a fraction of the Barbies she received.
Aunt Erika reads to the kids.
Grandma and Norah did quite a bit of art.
Clementines in my mom’s garden.
Gabe playing the piano. He does wear underwear most of the time!
We bundled up and spent as much time in the garden as possible.
Gabe and his buddy Flora.
I can honestly say this was one of the best Christmases we’ve had in years. I’m normally pretty on edge over the holidays, between the gift overload, the shuttling back and forth across Los Angeles, the food/drink coma and my inability to sleep when not in my own bed. But this year, I just stopped sweating the small stuff. Sure, there were still minor irritations, but there were also terrific surprises. And because I felt mellow and relaxed, everything just seemed easier. Even the massive amount of presents the kids got didn’t bother me too much; I just reframed it by thinking of how many people truly love my sweet kids. Plus, I was able to put so many new toys into our garage that I will be pulling out fun new things for them to play with all year long 
I won’t lie…the dog gave me an excuse to escape with J twice a day for long walks, and there was a fair amount of wine consumed. We also traveled with our own memory foam mattress cover, which I was ceaselessly mocked for. But still…I’m going to chalk this great holiday up to my ability to let go and just roll with it!
I hope your holidays were happy and relaxing as well, and the transition back to work and reality isn’t too much of a shock!
Sounds like the perfect holiday. Let’s try and get together soon to recap and ring in the new year! xx
omg the barbie campfire – I die! so cute.