It's that time of the year again, and thankfully the fall weather finally decided to join us!! It was the most perfect morning at Justus Orchard, besides the fact that we didn't get to take any apples home! haha!! The trees were pretty bare already since last weekend was very busy at the orchard. Then ,while we were there, it was packed inside with the longest line for apples. We decided to just enjoy our time with family and eat some apple cider doughnuts!!

Our two new apples this year!! I remember last year like it was yesterday, walking around with my big belly, and wondering what it would be like to have two boys to love the next time we came to the orchard. It really is so wonderful!! Both, Sophie and Asher, really loved taking it all in!

Our babies!! 

So thankful for these guys!! I'm definitely one lucky lady!

Enjoying the best doughnuts ever!!! They are so fluffy and yummy!

Not really understanding the point of the ruler quite yet... but he's cute!

Such a beautiful morning, and a perfect way to kick off the fall season!!! 

easter eggs.

I was excited to try dying Easter eggs with Solomon for the first time. I knew that it was going to be tricky, and truly test my patience (something I pray for very often!), but I also knew it was going to be a lot of fun. We are fighting a pretty awful cold in our house. Solomon has been sick for about a week now, and yesterday was really rough. He fell asleep in my arms around 3:30 which meant he didn't wake up till almost 6pm. I knew it was going to be a late night, so I thought dying eggs would be a fun thing to do. He really enjoyed it, even with the cold. 

I had hopes to make some of the natural homemade dies, but then I realized that I had a toddler and a newborn. ha, realistic ideas, right? So, instead I went to Target and picked up the traditional egg dyes. Honestly, it was super sweet to use them, since that's what I grew up using. I didn't expect the nostalgic sweetness to happen for some reason, but it totally did.  Watching Solomon's face when I put the little tabs in the vinegar was priceless. He was so excited as he saw the magic happening before his eyes.  And since we were dealing with dyes that could stain his shirt, I thought it would be wise to keep on his very dirty shirt from the day. It was covered in his lunch, a PB & honey sandwich, and then pasta from Gigi's house at dinner. Surprisingly, he didn't get any dye on his shirt though! 

One of the funnier moments from last night. Peter used the chalk crayon to write on an egg and I saw the JE. I instantly thought he was writing Jesus and I thought it was so sweet.  As the egg started to turn in the bowl, I realized he wrote JETS. HAHAHA, it was funny, and definitely made me laugh. I decided to draw a heart on my purple egg! 

The crusty, runny nose.... the very dirty shirt.... and that sweet face. 

All of it is such an image of a growing boy, it kind of kills me sometimes when I watch him. But then I see bits and pieces of my baby that has grown into such a sweet boy and I'm thankful to create these memories and new traditions with him. 

Keeping CHRIST in Christmas.

Throughout the month of December I tried my best to keep our home and hearts focused on Christ because I know it is so easy to get distracted. Especially this year with Solomon becoming more aware and active in our traditions, I knew I wanted to make an effort to create some sweet memories. I thought it would be nice to share a little bit of what we did, since I had several people enquirer about some of the things I had shared on Instagram and Facebook this month. I love having this space for that reason, sharing my heart and little bits of our life for my memory sake, and also to share my heart for Christ. 

1 // birthday cake for Jesus

Making the cake was definitely my favorite part of our traditions this year! I had hopes to make a cake for baby Jesus last year but Solomon was still pretty small and it was completely over his head. After seeing how much he has grown to love birthdays and birthday cakes, I knew he'd love making one for Jesus. And eating it, of course!

On Christmas Eve, after the morning Christmas Eve service at our church, we came home to make the cake before lunch. He was so excited and I bought him an adorable apron set from Pottery Barn that he was even more excited to wear while baking with mommy. It was all so cute. 

Then Christmas morning, after the gifts were opened and we had our breakfast we got to light the candle on the cake and sing  happy birthday to baby Jesus. It was sweet, and I can tell that it will be a very sweet tradition to keep up in the future. 

2 // three wisemen gifts

When I was growing up I knew a family that did this so I always thought it would be a sweet thing to do with my family one day. One thing I love most about this is how the living room and Christmas tree isn't consumed with gifts. I personally never liked the idea of over giving when it comes to Christmas or Birthdays. Less is more in my book, and most of the time kids get so many things from other family members and friends, anyways. So, having just three gifts that represent three gifts like Jesus got is a great way to keep it simple and also tell the story behind it. 

We have also agreed to "do Santa" but not enforce it. It's pretty easy for a kid to believe in Santa with all the Christmas happening around us on tv, in the mall, and all the songs on the radio. I also grew up believing in Santa and I had so many wonderful and fun memories from that time. It is magical and a kids imagination is such a beautiful thing, so it's only natural for Santa to be a part of that. I did want to tweak a few things and not do the naughty or nice part. We plan to tell our kids that Santa is a nice guy that brings gifts but he doesn't see you when you are sleeping, and he can't know if you are good or bad, only God can do that. I believe it's very important for our children to know the difference between a story about Kris Kringle, and the truth about Christ. I would never want them to confuse the two. 

When picking out the gifts I decided to do something they want (typically the BIG thing they ask Santa for each year), something they need & something to read. I also like to try and keep the three gifts faith based as much as possible so we can continue to point the gifts back to the true reason for the season. This also helps you keep Santa at a low cost and not go overboard, which is also nice once you have multiple children, which we hope to have one day. 

Solomon's big WANT this year was his bike, that was easy because he never stopped talking about wanting a big boy bike anytime anyone mentioned Santa to him. The NEED was a new puzzle for his room since he has outgrown the simple ones he plays with every night. I ended up buying him this New Testament Puzzle which I thought was so cute. The second he opened it he exclaimed JESUS, which made my heart so happy. The READ was this First Bible Basics book which I loved because of the beautiful images and how it explains the theology of the bible. 

3 // advent cards

I was so excited when I found these Crew and Co Advent Cards because they went along with the Jesus Story Book Bible which is a big favorite in our house. It would be so simple to add in these cards to our bedtime routine with Solomon and read the bible verse on the card and then read the story as a family every night. Don't get me wrong, we definitely missed some nights, but 90% of the cards were read and finished. I couldn't help but think about how sweet it would be to pull out the cards each year and reread the story of baby Jesus as a family. I love traditions and this one will definitely be a big part of our Christmas season for a long time. 

So there are a few of the things that I have tried to do this year to keep our eye on the real reason for the season! I have heard and seen a few things that I love that I might try to add to the mix next year, but we'll see. Are there any special things you do with your family?? I'd love to hear them! 

slumber parties at Gigi's.

My mom and I have always loved traditions. She has definitely has taught me to love making traditions and keeping them for our family, and I"m so thankful for that. I decided to spend the night at my mom's house after the girls night Christmas hang out and it was so much fun! Solomon slept so well all night and it was so sweet to wake up and have some fun with Gigi. Christmas movies, a fire and some yummy breakfast!! It's definitely a tradition that we will keep up in the years to come.