Holidays 2015

What a fun year this was! Every year, the excitement for the holidays just gets better and better as the girls get older. Juliet understood who Santa ("Ho Ho") was and could tell us that he would bring her "Elmo toy," but she's still a little young to really grasp the whole concept. Libby, on the other hand, is officially all in. She was so excited this year which made things that much more fun for the grown-ups involved. Big gifts this year were an Elmo toy, a bouncy horse and a football for Juliet and an Easy Bake oven, Barbie stuff and a stuffed unicorn for Libby. 

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at home with my parents, sister and Scot, and then we headed to Cleveland to spend the rest of Christmas day and with Tom's family. We stayed there for a couple days before heading to my parents' house for a couple days. By day three, the girls were exhausted (and so were we!) and every year, as we're unloading the van and dealing with crabby kids, its easy to think, "Let's just stay home next year." Because traveling over the holidays is hard work, no lie. But I really feel that it is so worth it. When I was a kid, we traveled over the holidays, and I wouldn't trade those memories of being with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins for the world. I am so grateful that my parents were willing to make the sacrifice every year so that we could celebrate with family, and I want to make sure that we do the same for our kids, even if it is hard on us.

While in Cleveland, Libby celebrated her FIFTH birthday. I say it every year, but I really can't believe that she is five. She was a little melancholy about turning five (she's a girl after my own heart and doesn't always love change) but she's learning to embrace it. She chose to go ice skating on her actual birthday (in lieu of a party, we did a trip to Great Wolf Lodge the week prior) and we were all pleasantly surprised at how well she did and how much she really enjoyed skating. 

We're a week into 2016 and are already feeling confident that this is going to be a good year! Happy new year!