Celebrating Our December Birthdays

This was the first year that we celebrated everyone's December birthday on their actual birthdays, plus a small family party, complete with hot cocoa bar, one of our favorite things about cold-weather birthdays. And it was fun, but it was also kind of rough. On me anyway. I think I'm going back to spacing things out a bit. Plus, I really dislike how certain family members are getting too comfortable in omitting their birthday celebrations and gifts and instead "lumping them altogether" on Christmas. I know gifts are not the most important things, of course, but it's the idea that they aren't worth the trouble of celebrating just because their birthdays fall close to Christmas. Birthdays are for celebrating!

Things never get wild or loud at our house. No, never. ;)

With a big snow storm, the first of several since then!, in the forecast, and basketball practices and work, we opted to do Caleb's cocoa pajama lights drive a little early. This was a great year in terms of pretty decorations. It seemed like everyone was in the spirit to make Christmas even more magical. That said, it was probably one of my least favorite rides through town. Now that they're all older, I'm thinking this is one tradition that has run its course. The hard part of parenting, for sure, giving up those things we've held dear for so many years.

Tradition is that Dad carries you out to the warm car so your feet don't get cold touching the ground. Levi is the last one, and possibly the only one we can actually carry anymore. 

And another Snow Day for his birthday! We had lots of fun sledding and playing in the snow all morning long.

My parents surprised us with donuts!

That night we celebrated fifteen years with ice cream cake...well... someone thought that our three season room would double as a freezer while someone else thought that that someone had simply put the darn thing outside. You know, in the actual freezing cold. So there really was nothing to salvage for cake. It will probably be a funny memory one day, but I don't think it's funny yet.

Then, on Friday, we had fancy birthday pancakes for Isabelle!

It was a balmy 6 degrees, way warmer than the -20 it's been all week now. We brought in homemade lollipops like usual for her class.

That night, we had a few of her friends over for pizza and a movie. Boys are loud, but girls are LOUDER. :)

Levi didn't quite know what to do when he wasn't Isabelle's usual center of the universe, so I let him help me with snacks. His pant legs and tippy toes kill me.

He kept grabbing the veggies and taking bites out of them, then putting them back. HA He held onto half a cucumber like a microphone and kept gnawing on it. It was pretty funny.

And now I'm getting everything ready for NYE. It's been a crummy day, my attitude is poor, and I'm really not in the mood for any festivities. Praying for a renewed spirit to salvage this day and the hope of a brand new year. Happy New Year to you!