New Years Eve

December 31st is David's sister Amy's birthday (Happy Birthday Amy!) and most years we throw a big party and celebrate with her - which we love. However, this year for New Years Eve things worked out a little bit differently and we ended up having a relaxing stay-home day with just our little family. It was exactly what the doctor ordered for this pregnant, tired, slightly overwhelmed mama. My only regret from the whole day is that I didn't get a family selfie picture to end the year with. (Honestly, I was sad enough about it that as I sat down to write this post I legitimately thought about going upstairs and waking both of my children up so I could take a picture. Thank goodness I came to my senses quickly.) 

We started the day with a yummy breakfast of aebleskivers and yogurt. Reading books, playing with Christmas toys, enjoying a slow day together. Also- Tacos. This is the favorite thing for the kids to do with David. He rolls them up in a blanket (usually together, but I only got a picture of Austin) then pulls one end and rolls them out. The kids love this. Austin seriously said some version of "I wanna taco/wanna be a taco/taco" like 200 times. It was a good morning. 

We asked Lydia what she wanted to do in the afternoon and she said that she wanted to go to Walmart and bring her quarters so she could get a prize. She counted out all of the quarters in her money bag (where she stores her money) and put all three of them in a smaller bag in her pocket. We took the opportunity to buy a massive amount of storage bins to aid us in our quest to organize our basement. Austin had brought a quarter that he had earned, and had insisted that he hold it in his hand the whole time. I'd been impressed with how well he was holding onto it but by the time we stopped at the much anticipated quarter machines, he'd lost it. We took a quick walk retracing our steps but couldn't find it. My sweet Lydia, without any hesitation at all, piped up and said "I'll give him one of my quarters!" Later, when I was telling her how proud I was that she'd decided to give him one of her hard-earned (and saved) quarters, she responded with "I gave him one of my quarters because I didn't want him to be sad." Melt. My. Heart. This girl has the biggest, giving heart and I'm absolutely in awe of how wonderful she is. Austin got some skittles and Lydia got two-quarters worth of a tiny sticky frog. Ha. But the lesson and example of my sweet girl was a perfect way to end 2016. (Also, those bins - although expensive - are going to be awesome for our basement!) 

When we got home we put together a last minute "New Years Eve" countdown with a balloon for 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Inside we put papers like "make ice-cream Sundays together as a family" and "play with a new Christmas toy", ending with "write one thing you want to do in 2017, watch a New Years Countdown, and get ready for bed". It was so awesome. It was everything that I could have hoped it to be. Both kids were so excited to pop the balloons, and we all had fun with the little activities. Our neighbors started shooting off fireworks while I was making dinner (little pizzas, chips and dip, and apple cider). It was SO fun. The kids loved watching them from the window, and at one point Lydia said "New Years Eve is so much fun! This is the best holiday." 

As soon as the kids were in bed, David and I popped some frozen pizzas in the oven and sat down to our big New Years Eve Plans: 

Catch-Up Blogging!

I know that this doesn't sound like the most exciting thing to most people, but I've been looking forward to it all week. It's easy to get behind on the blog posts that we want to do, and it's always so nice when we can sit down together and make sure that we record the events of our lives. (Or at least caption most of the pictures that we've taken.) There isn't anything I'd rather be doing tonight.

Catching up on 2016 blog posts. Pizza. Dr. Pepper. Hallmark Christmas Movie that we ditched in lieu of While You Were Sleeping, which is SOOO much better. Cozying up on the couch. Talking about events and life and our little family. The best of the best. 

Happy New Years Eve!