December 2015

We made it! This will be the last picture collage for 2015.  It was so fun to do one each month and served as a wonderful way to recap the year.

December 2015 was filled with the magic of the Christmas season.  Our family was touched to be involved in the celebration of Advent with our Church community, we embraced new Toronto traditions and enjoyed wonderful time with Family in D.C. It was the perfect end cap to a particularly memorable year. 

James Robert's Preschool Christmas Party

James Robert's school had an adorable Christmas party this year.  The children spent weeks creating artwork that told the story of Christmas around the world. He was so excited to show off his work, visit with Santa and have Daddy come to his school! 

Christmas 2015

Please forgive me for being so behind on posting.  I had every intention of getting these Christmas pictures posted before the New Year and now we're well into February!  The best part about getting caught up is remembering all the wonderful memories made in the past month or two.

Christmas this year was spent in Washington, D.C. We celebrated with extended family from near and far- 7 kids in total this year made it especially fun!

The weather was unseasonably warm, so we enjoyed dressing up for Church without jackets this year. How nice!

Christmas morning was magical watching these three discover all the goodies Santa brought them.  The looks on their faces when they saw the tree was priceless.  I think they all wished that the trampoline was theirs, but Lena was such a nice sport and let everyone have fun with her new toy.

We also enjoyed the most delicious Christmas breakfast.  I think a new tradition has been born- Eggnog Overnight French Toast with all the fixings was delicious! 

The kids table was full this year- I can only imagine next time with another baby in the mix.

And here's one of the whole gang! 

Big Brother + Baby's first picture

I can't believe I neglected to update our family blog with the wonderful news that James Robert will be a big brother in June of next year!  We are so very grateful for our growing family and can't wait to welcome another baby into our lives. 

We have had two ultrasounds so far and the most recent one at 12 weeks was especially exciting. Baby Leanderson was full of movement and the ultrasound tech even caught the baby sucking it's thumb.  

Santa Picture 2015

While it may not be our best, it certainly is our funniest Santa picture yet! 

previous picture here!

Sugar High

I'm not sure if there was more icing on our gingerbread house or in his belly by the end of the project, but it was sure fun! 

Oh Christmas Tree

The magic of Christmas grows each year as James Robert begins to partake and help create new traditions.  This year, he was especially excited to help decorate our Christmas tree.  Although 90% of our ornaments were left in storage back home, we had a great time making homemade ornaments and decking the halls. 

We made applesauce and cinnamon ornaments and they made our entire home smell like Christmas all month long.  (So I can remember for next year, I used this recipe!)

November 2015

We had one jacket-free day in the park at the beginning of November, but then winter came to stay.  We had our first dusting of snow, which we managed to get out and enjoy.  And we had a wonderful trip to Chicago to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Bring on the holidays! 

Family Photos

We hadn't taken any professional family photos since James Robert was a baby.  To commemorate our time in Canada, we thought it would be special to have some pictures of our family here, at one of our favorite parks, to remember the experience.

It was a cold morning after a very rainy day, so we were thankful to be able to sneak in our shoot. We worked with Jeff and Diane photography, a husband and wife team, who couldn't be more kind. They wrote us a very sweet handwritten note and baked us cookies as a thank you! I couldn't recommend them more if you're in the area.

Between a toddler and a hyper dog, things were chaotic, but Jeff and Diane were miracle workers!  I am so thankful to have these memories captured. 

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