My Once Upon a Time...

What can I say...we had great intentions to send out Christmas cards like we do every year and even had three different photo shoots that would've worked for cards, but somehow I couldn't pull it together this year. And yes, I feel bad and guilty about that, but it is what it is. We had a busy few months, had lots of adventures and made memories and if we would've sent out cards, they would've looked something like this... I will always remember this last picture, because in the 30 seconds it took to take it, Finn touched a cactus and had hundreds of tiny spikes in his hands. 45 minutes and a visit to the First Aid office later, he was as good as new. Fox told me "Mama, you should really watch Finn better!" Yes. Yes, I should. 

Finn is 17 months old and suddenly turned into this big kid who has all kinds of words and opinions. But he's also still a cuddler and Mama's boy for sure. I love this age!

We've been seeing the same Santa since Fox was three, it's a mini session that our photographer offers and she always makes it a magical experience.  Fox was a pro of course, but Finn was a different story. I was hoping for a crying picture, and if I couldn't get that, a smiling picture, but Mr. Finn had a different idea and just had a very stern face the entire time we were there. He could not care less...haha. At the end they were decorating cookies with Santa, but even that couldn't make him smile. I don't think Santa wanted to eat the cookie, but Finn kept trying. When we pulled up to the house, our good friends were just leaving. Not only didn't I know that she had the time slot before us, but the boys were also all wearing the exact same pajamas, so we had to get a picture with all three of them. Of course that was the one and only picture where Finn was semi smiling......

Zoolights...always a favorite! We love to go during their member only nights, which are two days before it opens to the general public, because it's a little less crowded. One day he'll be too heavy for me to carry him! We met up with two other friends and their kids, which made it a crazy night, but I absolutely loved it. It was way past Finn's bedtime, but you would never know because he was so happy the entire time and loved to look at the lights. Our crazy crew...the kids were literally running around like they were on a sugar high. Waiting for their camel ride! My friend Tilly lost her phone and wallet somewhere, so while she and Becky were looking for it (they ended up finding them...hallelujah!), I watched these four crazies by myself (they took the two little ones). I was sweating after...haha!    Mr. Independent All the kids always want to interact and cuddle with Finn...I...

My little Elf is 16 Months old and mischievous as ever! He found his voice lately and will protest very loudly when something doesn't go his way. But he is still the sweetest little boy ever, loves his Mama, loves to cuddle and loves his big brother. He is still very chill and easy going, he just goes with the flow and is always happy to be along for the ride.  Growing up way too fast though, so I'm enjoying the last few months of him being a "baby" as much as I can.