Baby's First Christmas

Family Photos

Here are a few of our favorites from the other day.

Handsome Couple

Bryan and I have VERY few good shots together. Mostly because I'm typically the one taking the pictures. This week we had a photo shoot with another that mom I "met" through a photography website. She took tons of great family shots (more on those later), but I was particularly pleased with this photograph of me and Bryan.

SOLD!

I've been hesitant to post this because I didn't want to jinx the situation. I had this weird phobia that something might go wrong. BUT ... we have officially SOLD our NC home. We went under contract several weeks ago. The closing was today, and we've just been informed that everything went well. We couldn't be more thrilled!

The timing was perfect since it means we can avoid having multiple mortgage payments at once. We were prepared for the possibility of carrying both mortgages for several months, but just because we could do so didn't mean we wanted to. It's our special Christmas blessing!

Reindeer Run

Bryan, Brick and I attempted our first family 5K a few weeks ago.



We did awesome until about the second mile where Brick decided he'd had enough of the stroller, forcing me to walk and carry him while Bryan pushed an empty stoller to the finish line.

Christmas Ham

Brick's childcare center hosted a Christmas pageant this evening. Brick got to ride in a wagon with his friend Aiden. This is how Brick spent a good part of his time on stage - cheering on the audience and encouraging them to laugh and clap.

Christmas Cheer

I thought I'd share a few pictures of our Christmas decorations. We wish we would have more visitors to our new home in Austin, but at least you can be here in spirit.

This is our new wreath hanger from Pottery Barn.

This is my brilliant idea for displaying Christmas card in our new home. I'm stringing them from garland that runs the length of the stair banister. We don't have many cards yet, so please keep 'em coming!

A pretty good view of the decorated living room. Note the new furniture - Hooray! It fits in perfectly.

A close-up view of our new stockings - Also from Pottery Barn. Are you noticing a trend here?

Our newest Christmas ornament. Bryan picked it up for me. The significance for me is two-fold. One, we've unofficially made it a tradition to pick up Krispy Kreme doughnuts while enjoying our city's holiday parade, and two, Krispy Kreme doughnuts originated in North Carolina, so it's a nice tribute to our old home state. Plus, Bryan likes it 'cause it blinks.

Better Not Pout

Needless to say, Brick was less than thrilled about having to pose for Christmas pictures.

Furnishings

We've spent the last couple of days shopping for new furniture for some key spots in our new home. We're trying to phase out some of the odds-and-ends pieces that have been with us since college.

We picked up this sofa, plus the matching loveseat and chair for a steal at Macy's. Who knew they carried such great furniture?!



The couches will arrive early next week, but we found the true pièce de résistance this evening. Wanting to balance all that leather, we purchased this ottoman in Cardinal Red Jacquard fabric from Pottery Barn.




It's so fabulously large, our feet will be able to reach it from just about any seat in the living room, AND it makes for a kid-friendly (no sharp corners) alternative to a coffee table.

I'll be sure to post some pictures next week once we've pulled it all together.

Lunch

Brick really loves eating table foods. Today he enjoyed some cheese ravoli.