Excuse to take a picture

   One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is creating our annual Christmas card! I'm not going to lie, we don't go too crazy on our cards. (We go through Walgreens online photo center.) But we do go through each themed card and plan out our Christmas photos! We were very lucky this year as one of my sorority sisters was able to take our pictures. Jessie was awesome and Harrison lasted longer than we thought! Below is a sampling of the pictures Jessie took.

We're just pretty as a picture!

   My other favorite part of the holiday season is getting the mail. I know, that sounds pretty lame. But, I like getting everyone else's holiday cards. I LOVE seeing how my friends' families are changing. It's the one time of the year that the junk mail doesn't outnumber the good mail!

~Emily

'Tis the season to be....jolly??

   This time of the year is hard. I want to enjoy getting ready for Christmas and enjoy the change in the weather, but it's easier to say than do.
   First of all let's talk about putting Christmas up. I'm the type of person that likes to clean before putting decorations up. Seriously, since Harrison's been born, I bet we've dusted maybe 5 times. I hate dusting because I hate moving everything off the shelf to get everything clean. So I have avoided a lot of our Christmas decorations because I don't want to clean.
   Next is the tree. I don't mind putting the tree up but I'm very OCD about fluffing the branches and spacing the ornaments out just so and adjusting the garland... you get the idea. Thank god Adam isn't like me and he just throws that thing up and can decorate it at Superman speed. We used to put up 2-3 trees but that was also when I hosted a cookie exchange so I wanted the house to look nice. We haven't hosted the party in 2 years, so needless to say I've lost all my motivation to decorate.
   On to shopping. Adam and I take our Christmas shopping very seriously. We have 3 sides of our family to plan for - the Monahans, the Thieles and the Peaks. Adam is very good at researching what all 5 of his siblings are into. Together we tackle the parents and my brother. And, we don't mind shopping. We're good at shopping actually. What we do mind is the insane amount of other people shopping too. I'm not fond of lines or crowds. I like to get in and get out. I don't like stalking people in the parking lot for a parking spot. Above all, I hate waiting at restaurants that normally do not have a wait at 8:30 at night!
   Lastly, finals. Of course if it's December that means finals are close at hand. The week before finals is the worst at school. The kids just want to be done (so do I for that matter). For the past two weeks, I have stayed at school until 4:30pm. I know that doesn't sound late, but normally I'm outta there at 3:45pm on the dot! Reviewing for finals is painful and boring but it's dumb to start a new chapter 1 week before finals. While the kids praying for a snow day, I'm praying that the snow can wait. If there's a snow day, my plans are down the toilet. (Yes I'm OCD about my beloved school plans too.)

   The good news is finals are over and I have completed all of my grading. We have had no snow days. Adam put up our tree and I have actually pulled out a few decorations. We are two people away from finishing our family Christmas shopping. We are trying to avoid the mall during the weekends at all costs and well, the restaurant thing still sucks but I'm trying to make sure I have a granola bar for those annoying waits. Hopefully with school being out, I will be able to finally relax with my boys and enjoy the Christmas season! I'm excited to spend my 2 free weeks with Harrison and the doggies!

How can you not be happy with me? I'm a bundle of fun!

~Emily
  

  

A mouth full of teeth

   It's been too long and I'm sorry. I keep meaning to write a post but I haven't had the corresponding pictures. Let's face it, we're in it for the pictures:0)

   As I have mentioned before Harrison has teeth, plural, more than one. The easiest ones to find/see are the bottom two. I swear every time I look at them they keep getting bigger. It's weird. Here's this little baby (he's still little to me) and he has these gigantic teeth. Harrison has also started to get in his top two teeth. About two weeks ago Adam and I noticed that his top gums were beginning to get blistered. Then one week ago, you could actually see the white tooth still under the gum. Now at least one of them has just started to break through. Sounds terrible, doesn't it? It's funny to watch him because you can actually see him running his tongue over his teeth. He LOVES chewing on everything and can cry at a whim when he bites on something wrong. The best part about getting teeth? Harrison takes some really good naps. Growing teeth must really take it out of you!

All I want for Christmas is my top two teeth!

   I can't believe my baby boy has teeth. Before I know it he'll be driving! Oh god.

~Emily