my family twelve times | december

december at a glance.

-- This is the last photo of the year, and I still wasn't able to get one of all four of us. That was part of the purpose of these posts! Oh well. I'm just going to let that one go...

-- Caleb has developed a new love for bath-time. Tim and I have taken to bathing he and Maggie at the same time, and we both need to be there because Caleb is CRAZY as soon as he hits the water. His favorite part is splashing as hard as he can and watching as we scream and laugh and get soaking wet. The whole scene just makes me smile. Caleb hysterically laughing and Maggie laughing and then pausing to say, "Are you ok, Mom? Are you ok? Are you ok, Dad? Dad?" Seriously, this happens every time.

-- Maggie fell in love with "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and watched it almost every day in December. At our church's Christmas Eve service, we started to sing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and Maggie screamed (I kid you not), "Mommy! It's from Charlie Brown!"

-- We took Maggie and Caleb to see Santa with two of their cousins. Of all four kids, Caleb was the only one brave enough to sit on Santa's lap. (In all fairness, my niece Suki did sit for about two seconds, but she cried the whole time.) The two oldest? They practically ran out of Santa's workshop!

-- Christmas morning was a new kind of magical. This was the first year that Maggie felt a great deal of anticipation, and it was so much fun. (Caleb could have cared less, but watching the two of them together was adorable nonetheless.) Maggie very diligently made cookies with her cousins to leave out for Santa and wanted to know every detail about his visit. "Will he only come if I'm asleep?... Will he come into my room?... Will he like the cookies?... Will he leave something for Caleb?... Is he nice?... Does Santa know Jesus?" Santa brought Maggie a tricycle. She squealed and clapped and rode that thing all over our living room. It's a mental picture that I'll never forget.

-- On Christmas morning, Caleb was more interested in eating breakfast and playing with the box that his new blocks came in. :)

-- A few days after Christmas, Tim and I left the kids and headed to Williamsburg for an amazing dinner at "A Chef's Kitchen" with some of our dear friends. This was my second trip to A.C.K. and I can't wait to go back! If you enjoy food and you like being entertained, I would seriously suggest checking it out. Amazing!

-- Caleb said "Mama"! But he only says it on occasion... and he makes me work for it. :)

-- Thank you so much for hanging with me this year! While I probably will not continue with these monthly posts, I do plan on posting much more about my family this year. More on that very soon!