A Look Back at December

Earlier this month I posted about our holiday bucket list.  I printed this out and hung it on our fridge and it was a fun reminder of things we could do over the month!   Let's see how we did on our Family Holiday Bucket List for the "12 Days of Christmas".  In case you forgot, here is a copy of the bucket list I made:

I'm happy to say we did ALL of this!  Here are some highlights:

1. We made holiday ornaments:

2. We went to the zoo lights!

3. We watched holiday movies!  Carson wasn't super into this activity (at all), but I turned some on during play time anyway.  I also watched one with the hubster.  Here is some of what we watched:

4. We sent out a ton of holiday cards and got a ton back, too!  Here's our card from this year:

5. I used one of my favorite recipes for peanut butter fudge to take to a cookie exchange!  Unfortunately my fudge didn't turn out right this time.  I think I boiled it too long in the beginning.  It's the thought that counts though, right?  :)

6. We decorated our tree very plain this year.  Lights and probably only 20-30 ornaments!  All of our ornaments are homemade or have some sentimental reason behind them except for some snowflake ornaments from Target.  My goal this year was no hooks since Carson was really into exploring the tree and ornaments!

7. We were able to get out and play in the snow a few times!  I'm not a huge fan of the cold but it's so much fun to see Carson exploring something new.  I think he prefers the beach like his Momma! :)

8. We read TONS of Christmas stories!  I keep a stash of "holiday/seasonal" books in Carson's room that I get out at different times throughout the year.  (Can you tell I'm a teacher at heart?!)  I was so excited to get out his stash of Christmas/winter books this year and we also got some from the library!  Here are some of his favorites (click on the picture to find where to purchase):
 

9. I definitely baked a lot of cookies this month!  I made hot cocoa cookies, M&M bars, and peanut butter meltaways. I also made peanut butter fudge and candy buckeyes!  (Click links for recipes!)  The recipes for the two pictured below are coming SOON!

10. We visited Santa and Carson just loved it (insert sarcasm font).

11. We "built" a fire by flipping the switch on our gas fireplace.  I know some people think that's lame but I LOVE it.  It's so convenient and I can turn it on/off whenever I need to!  We never need to worry about having wood and we don't have to worry about letting the fire burn out (I remember that from when I was little).

12. Obviously I wrapped our gifts!  I didn't do the best job this year because I usually wrapped during Carson's nap time so I was a bit rushed.  Next year I want to use some cute paper and add more ribbons and bows!

Merry Christmas! {Our 2013 Card}

Merry Christmas, Friends!

Here's a look at our 2013 holiday card:

Chip and Dixie had to have a card, too!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday full of love!

Christmas Arts & Crafts for Toddlers

With Thanksgiving being so late this year, Christmas really came quickly!  I realized last week that the only Christmas craft I had done with Carson was our hand print Santa ornament!  {clickable link}

Last year I made this cute little reindeer foot print craft.  I love how it turned out, but I wanted to do something a little different this year.

{DIY instructions}

I checked Pinterest (where else?!) and found a lot of cute inspiration for some holiday crafts.  Here is what we came up with....

Hand Print Reindeer:

My husband already informed me how this is "incorrect" because Clarice has a black nose and no antlers.  Men!

Thumb Print Christmas Lights:

Holiday Card Display

Every year I try to figure out a way to display all of the holiday cards we get.  I love hanging them up and seeing all of the cute kids and babies (and pets, too)!  The last few years I hung a "garland" of twine across our dinette window and hung the cards with mini clothespins.  I liked how it looked but it was hard to get the cards to hang evenly AND it was directly over an air vent so the "garland" was always moving a bit.  Oh, and I usually had to get on a chair to add a card.

I don't even have those curtains anymore!

This year since our house is on the market (and because it's not ideal for a pregnant lady to be getting up on chairs every day), I decided to revamp our card display!  I've seen card displays all over Pinterest and really liked the ribbon + sign method.  I didn't want to spend a ton so I found this cute snowflake sign at Target for $5.  I used ribbon I already had at home and voila - easy peasy!  (I also re-used my adorable mini clothespins from last year...I love those things!)

I like this display because it's easy to reach and it's something I can easily flip to the backside of the door for any showings we may have.

Here's a close-up of the mini clothespins and how I attach the cards:

Just last year I decided I wanted to start saving my holiday cards.  I love looking at them and it's so sad to throw them away!  If you want to see how I saved my cards last year, check out my blog post/tutorial!  I plan on making it again this year!  Here's a sneak peak:

Here's an updated picture of our card display now that the cards have started rolling in!

Toddler Christmas Wish List

Our family members are always asking what Carson wants for Christmas.  Last year he got some great gifts that he's still playing with an entire year later!  I wanted to share some of the items from Carson's wish list. We've purchased some ourselves, and given some of the other ideas to Santa and the grandparents!  :)
Note: All products listed below are clickable links!

1.) B. Meowsic Keyboard.  I heard about this through my mommy group and everyone's tots seemed to be addicted.  I'm not a huge cat person (no offense, I'm just allergic) so I wasn't really excited about this keyboard.  It's B. brand which I LOVE so I decided to check it out while it was on sale at Target.  Carson was an instant addict!  As in, I gave him the keyboard to test out and he scream-cried when I tried to put it back on the shelf!  Needless to say it went into our cart and is now "hidden" in his closet until Christmas!

2.) Melissa & Doug Play Food.  This is something we haven't purchased.  I'm not really picky about what type of play food Carson gets, but I've heard such great things about the Melissa and Doug food.  A few of the play cafes we visit have this kind and it seems really sturdy.  I don't want something that's going to crack in half after a few months!

3.)  Baby Einstein Alphabooks.  This is just something I know Carson will love.  It combines his love of books with his love for letters.  (Teacher mom's dream anyone?)  You're probably wondering why I think my 18 month old "loves" letters.  He really does.  I'm not sure why, but one of his favorite toys right now is the LeapFrog Letter Factory Phonics.  He also loves the Phonics Radio and some good old magnetic letters I have from my teaching days.  I'm so excited to give him these books!

4.) Fisher-Price Doodle Pro.  We have a little travel version of this that I found in the Target dollar spot and Carson loves it!  I thought the big version would be fun and would give him a bigger canvas.

5.) Toy Kitchen.  This is our "big gift" for Carson this year.  I got an AMAZING deal.  Ready for me to brag for a second?  I got this kitchen for $38 shipped.  Brand new!  I was on the fence about whether or not I wanted a kitchen for my son.  Not because of gender stereotypes, but because I didn't know if he'd be interested.  I saw this deal and couldn't pass it up.  I figured if he didn't like it, we could sell it.  Well my mom set up my old vintage play kitchen and he's obsessed!  Every time we go over there that's what he runs to first.  I'm so excited for him to have a kitchen of his own!

6.) Contigo Kids Water Bottle.  I have a Contigo water bottle for myself and Carson steals it all. the. time.  I love my own bottle so I figured I would get one for Carson in his own size (and a little less pink than mine)!  ;)  The bottle is great because it doesn't leak (at all) and it has a nice little handle on the top so he can carry it around with one hand.  This will make a great stocking stuffer!

7.) Step2 Little Helper Grocery Cart.  Once we got the deal on the kitchen, I started to envision our playroom.  A kitchen, some play food....then I realized Carson NEEDS a shopping cart!  This is one I passed on to his Grandma.  I gave her links to two: this one and this one.  I know she'll pick a great one!

8.) Little People Lil' Movers School Bus.  This is something I bought a long time ago on Amazon when there was a really random good deal.  Carson LOVES watching the school buses drive by our house to drop off kids every day after school.  Believe it or not, this will be his first ever "Little People" toy.

I'm linking up today: