A String of Purls: December recap

Since I am so behind, I will do a short recap of December....although when you throw Christmas in and travels....there's a lot to cover!

Merritt loves when her daddy comes home - and to be honest, we all LOVE when daddy gets home!!!

We went to Floyd, VA to get our tree - an annual tradition for over 25 years!

Dinnertime is the most chaotic, messy, annoying, frantic, wine guzzling time of the day. But every once in awhile, I get a moment like this and all is well.

Tree decorating - Merritt was super pumped to wake up from her nap and see trinkets and ornaments all over for her to destroy/play with.

Emma loves to do the star....wonder how we will do this next year when little sis wants in on the fun??!!!

Emma had her bi-annual cardiologist appointment.

They decided they would do an ultrasound and if all seemed fine, release her completely! She did really well - asked lots of questions, which helped calm her nerves. She was scared but did really good.

We got the all clear! No more visits for Emma!

[Merritt....however, has her first visit in January]

Fitch Lumber did a Halloween thing back on October, so I thought the Santa event was a great one to do as well. Merritt ate an entire piece of pizza by herself, so her night was made.

And we got a Santa visit and picture - BOOM!

I really love their business model of supporting the community - it's a model that Brent and I both really admire.

My sweet friend, Kelsie, took our card photos this year, and I actually sent them out before Christmas!! I did forget some people, and sadly....they haven't been sent yet. Oh well...Happy MLK day maybe???

We weren't sure what to expect with Merritt and the tree...but she didn't destroy it too much. There were always a small sprinkling of ornaments on the floor....but she never really attacked it or tried to eat it...so....SUCCESS!

We went to Bath to visit Brent's family and had a great time. It was cold and we did a oyster roast and celebrated birthdays. We tried for a kid picture, but sadly this was the best we got.

My nieces introduced my to snapchat....[eye roll] and I spent way too much time playing with it....as did Emma.

Brent and I did our obligatory dock picture.....complete with new hair styles.

Again...snap chat....

I took the girls to Nordstrom Bistro one night for dinner and some shopping. Did I mention how much I LOVE this place? They have the best food, great kid food, and a good atmosphere.

Merritt tried to escape and run away but quickly remembered that she's a mama's girl through and through.

I helped Emma compose her letter to Santa - she spoke it to me, I wrote it down, then she copied it. She was super proud of herself, and I was too:)

Merritt found a newfound love of avocadoes...

Brent and I had a day date of errands and Christmas shopping, while these sweet sisters watched the girls.

Emma got to hang with Ariel at her good friend, Brooklyn's, birthday party.

Then our small group had a farewell dinner for some dear friends that are spending 6 months in London (rough life!). We are missing 2 awesome couples in our group...but here are most of us. I love, love, love our small group!!

The day that school got out, Emma had her singalong at the church. She wasn't into it, which is so weird because she LOVES to sing and dance and act and pretend. Oh well...