ready for the first

I wanted to start a Christmas tradition for Logan that would allow for her to better understand the true meaning of Christmas-- as much as an almost three year old can. One where she could take in all the fun and beauty that the month of December holds. A means for her to be creative, giving, and thoughtful of others. I had a few ideas in mind, but couldn't decide exactly which route I wanted to take. So with a little research [thank you pinterest and blog world] I found something pretty exact to my vision here.

Starting December 1st, each day Logan will have a "gift" to open as we count down the days till Christmas. Gifts include both new and used items, crafts to complete, and things to go out and do in the community. 

Gifts

-A trip to go see Santa 

-Materials for homemade gifts

-Ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies for friends

-Holiday Books

-A trip to the light show

-Tin-can craft and a wooden ornament to paint

-Christmas movies

-A trip to the store to buy our yearly ornament.

-Supplies to make Reindeer food

-Santa candy-- Pez

-A new christmas coloring book and crayons

-A trip to 'Color Me Mine' to paint a gift for Grammy

 We tried to plan her gifts according to our schedule and by what we had planned for the days so far. So, since we are going to NYC on the 9th, we made that her gift then. 'The Night Before Christmas' book, we have her opening [wait for it...wait for it...] the night before Christmas :D We got her a Santa grass pet similar to this, which will be her first gift. We hope he will have "hair" by Christmas. Fingers crossed! 

We're storing the gifts in our cedar chest to avoid temptation. Logan is on the cusp of age that this concept ideally is comprehensible for. Although Lo seems to understand the concept thus far, I think this idea will be more of an actual learning experience when she is a little older. But still, we will absolutely take everything possible from this experience for sure. I am hopeful and excited. 

We are all excited. Excited to be making sweet family traditions. Excited for Christmas. And, excited for the new year.

I hope to post about theses gifts more in depth of how they worked out :]

it's the most wonderful time of the year

The holiday season has offically arrived in all its glory-- or fury. <--This would depend upon your perspective ;] For us, we could not be happier. We are soaking up as much as we possibly can. Yesterday we went to Shady Brook Farm [our favorite local farm/market] to look at the fresh trees and explore their little side shop-- such pretty sights to say the least. We watched christmas movies, drank peppermint mocha coffee, and sung way too many christmas songs. And although we haven't purchased a single gift yet, we feel ahead of the game.

six

Today Scott and I celebrated six years together-- six beautiful/challenging/unforgettable years. We celebrated by hanging christmas lights, drinking hot beverages, and loving on our baby girl [who we decided is by far our greatest accomplishment as a couple to date.] We watched holiday movies and added a few new ornaments to our tree. Today was perfect. Thanks for the past six years, Sco. I love you more than sea otters, #2 pencils, and paper-airplanes.

more than thankful

  

We are more than thankful and more than blessed for this life, for each other, and for the love that binds us. Despite Logan being slightly under the weather with a cold, we had a lovely holiday with family, food, football...and some wine :] We are incredibly excited for this holiday season and ready for creating new traditions and taking part in old. Happy holidays!

logan says.. [smurfs, christmas, and being responsible]

Logan's vocabulary grows by the day and her sentences too. They are smart, funny, and impressive. Her little brain amazes me everyday. 

Here are a few of her recent one [or two] liners:

Logan's older cousin asked her "do you want some soda?"

Logan replied: "I'm not allowed to have soda." This was a definite first. I was so proud of my sweet girl. Still am.

At a baby she heard crying, she said: "I think that baby needs advil to feel better." Ha...realistically, all that baby needed was sleep. But, not a bad educational guess, Lo.

"It's okay mommy, I will be nice to pop pop." I wasn't concerned otherwise, but the assurance was nice. Haha. What a nut.

Current favorite songs that she belts out with all of her little heart:

Up on the House-top

12 Days of Christmas

Caillou theme song

...and most christmas tunes [as we have begun listening in our house now.]

But her favorite song to sings, mostly when she gets caught doing something she shouldn't be and wants to make light of the situation, is the smurfs song. 

Such a creative one is she.

insta-random

We heart instagram. It's the p e r f e c t means to capturing sweet and fun moments and making them insta-beautiful. 

Here's what we've been up to:

    

    

   

    

Logan at Camden Waterfront//In the car on our way to the aquarium//Lo in front of the shark tank//Mama & baby bundled//Starbucks for two//Sco and Steven on a Saturday night//Lo's dollhouse in the making. Deets to come!//Friday night fattening feast//Logan and her baby "Maddie Gilbert"//Lo bundled again [tis the season]//winter family phone photo//"Two braids" her request//Getting rid of stuff we no longer need [or fit into]//Lo and daddy--cute as ever//Coloring-- we can't get enough.

getting our fix

To say I love aquariums would be an understatement. Any time we travel, visiting the local aquarium is pretty much an unsaid stop. We've been to some of the pretty big name ones including: Monterey Bay Aquarium in San Francisco, The Mote Aquarium [and research lab] in Florida, and New England Aquarium in Boston to name a few. Next on our list is the Baltimore Aquarium [which we put off since Lo was born b/c they don't allow strollers in the building...odd i know] which we have heard nothing but good things about. But our semi local aquarium that we try to visit at least once, sometimes twice a year in is New Jersey, right across the river from Philly, Adventure Aquarium and it's really great! Our last visit to the aquarium was last july, so we were definitely overdue. We had won tickets earlier this year at my sisters block party, so this trip was compliments of Rolling Lane. Thanks again. You have made us very happy people :] 

We were happy to see that the African Black-footed Penguins were still out. This sweet girl loved to entertain just as much as we enjoyed being entertained by her. Logan wanted to take her home. I kind of did too. All of the fish and animals were willing to please-- even the hippos! A great eventful trip for sure!

 These hippos, who I have never seen do anything but sleep were so, so very active. I was completely amazed. No joke. Any time I have ever visited this aquarium, I always leave disappointed with the hippos. Today changed all of that. These hippos were swimming, flipping, and literally running around. The kids loved running across the huge wall-to-ceiling tank along side them. It was the cutest thing. Here is one of the pictures I caught of them admiring their giant hippo friend. Logan was stoked to have made fleshy friends during the visit as well. These kids are who I thank for Lo's instant nap as soon as we left the parking lot.

     

So aside from poor lighting [sigh,] little [camera and phone-- epic fail] battery, and a little girl that wouldn't sit still, I am happy with our experience and the photos I have to remember it :]

Can't wait to go back!

thredUp

Just recently, I stumbled across a blog post about an online consignment shop for kids where you can search by size and product. I loved the concept, and was instantly intrigued. I love consignment shops and thrift stores, but I lack the patience to rummage through rack after rack to find what I'm looking for, and, to find it in good condition [especially with children's clothes.] This company is the answer to my neglected thrift god prayers. ThredUp is the name. They have a huge selection of gently used name brand children's clothes in like new condition. You can both shop and sell. I'm a big Ebay-er [mostly for selling] but I find with Ebay I don't necessarily save much money, unless it's a big ticket item. So for buying, I totally choose thredUp.

If you're interested in thredUp, click here to get $10 towards your first order and we get a credit for referring you. Double win! :]

Here are our newest finds:

Like really, how sweet is the box?

Brands: Gap, Children's place, Guess, and Old Navy

The jeans were our Lo's favorite. Not pictured well, but they have a small jewel embellishment on each pocket that Logan went nuts over. I can't wait to buy [and maybe even sell] more. 

the highly anticipated snow

Our first official snow of the season has arrived, and boy did it. We are happy people. This is the first year where Logan can actually enjoy playing in the snow-- actually, playing in the snow. So we didn't waste a minute to begin. We grabbed our hats, gloves, boots, and winter coats and ventured out. With wet gloves and all, my girl was in her glory. Her white, slushy, cold, and magical glory. We both made snowmen. Lo had to make her own, simply because, she can now. She did a wonderful job, I can hardly take it. This first snow of ours was perfect for "packing" [to quote the weather men and testify first hand.] Our snowmen came out better than I had imagined, Lo's especially :]

Mama and baby snow people.

Logan's finished snow baby. 

Move over Picasso. 

: ]

today is wednesday

I am doing laundry. Lots of laundry.

Lo is waiting for the [[predicted]] snow to arrive.

 Scott is in the city all day getting his learn on.

Not a bad day.