December seemed to fly by! Hank had a great time launching the rocket he built with Tyler over Thanksgiving break. His Scout pack had a rocket launch day at a local park and Hank loved getting to send his high into the air! We didn’t host much this month as we were having work done at our house. We decided to replace half of our flooring and said goodbye to the laminate in the kitchen and the carpet downstairs. It took some time (and mess) for the new tile to be laid so we ate a lot of convenience food and had playdates and adventures outside of our home as much as possible this month. Hank had fun celebrating his good friend, Nathalie’s birthday at her roller-skating party. He enjoyed baking and decorating a big gingerbread man with his friends, Andrew and Marylin and he had fun choosing restaurants to check out with Mom and Dad since our kitchen was out of commission much of the month.
While half of our house was in complete disarray most of the month, we still enjoyed decorating for Christmas and we still made a point to hang our stockings by the chimney on Christmas Eve. Hank hung most of the decorations on the tree and as usual, he selected some Star Wars friends to “visit baby Jesus” in our Nativity creche. He chose quite a few visitors this year so we had to snap a photo of the party.
Tyler took some time off work, Hank and Sarah’s schools were closed and our family had some special time together without any of those responsibilities. We went to the metroplex for a few days to celebrate Christmas with GG and Grandad and Granny and Traci, Geoff, Ainsley and Dalton. Grandad and GG surprised Hank, Ainsley and Dalton with a short trip to Great Wolf Lodge – without their parents (thanks GG & Grandad)! The kids had a blast and, thanks to Aunt Traci, they also got special wristbands that enabled them to get free icecream. Needless to say between swimming, pajama story-time, bunk beds and a good supply of ice cream, the kids were very very happy and had an awesome time. We enjoyed visiting with family there and Caesar loved that he got to go with us. He really likes road trips and he also likes that GG & Grandad don’t have as many places in their yard for squirrels to hide as we do at home. Grandad took Tyler skeet shooting, which he really enjoyed, and we all enjoyed each other’s company very much.
We came home in time for baking cookies (for Santa) and peeling carrots (for the reindeer), Christmas Eve church with Grandpa & Grandma and hanging stockings and a good bed time. Hank had a thoroughly satisfying Christmas celebration with our little family and the very next day we went over to Grandma and Grandpa’s house to celebrate with them and all the aunts and uncles and cousins on that side of the family. It was full of joy and chaos and laughter. Hank loved getting to see his grandparents and his Aunt Donna, his Uncle Dick and Aunt Becky, his Aunt Laura, Uncle Jon, cousins, Alyssa, Megan and Christopher (who live out of town and he doesn’t get to see very often). He loved seeing his Uncle Josh, Aunt Dayna, and cousins, Michael, Tori and David. His Uncle Ben, Aunt Nancy, cousins, James and Paul, and his Uncle Amos, Aunt Shannon and cousins, Kai, Connor, Mia and Riley. We all loved seeing each other and having fun together and eating lots of treats. Hank kept sneaking pieces of Aunt Donna’s fudge and our meringues. It was a good time.
Hank’s Uncle Josh and Aunt Dayna hosted a very fun New Year’s Eve party at their house. Hank had a great time playing with his cousins and Tyler and Sarah enjoyed spending time with everyone too. We all ate delicious food, had fun conversations and interactions and then all together, we counted down and watched the ball drop (on TV) and then we took Hank home and tucked him into bed, greeting the new year at home. Here are some photos from various fun times in December in no particular order.
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