A First for Eden, Antics of Harry Boy, and a Few Dancing Elves

This post is so no one forgets just how random this blog can be. :) 

One of the traditions we have at Christmas time is to go see our local School of the Arts' production of the Nutcracker. Grammy bought tickets for all who wanted to go every year and it is one of my favorite things. This year was Eden's first year! 

Here she is all dressed up and ready to go:

This year our group consisted of Grammy, Kellan, Sarabeth, Eden and me. 

We had a great time, as always. Thank you, Grammy, for taking us every year!

Harry boy has been up to his normal tricks, entertaining us with his antics:

(wearing Daddy's shoes)

(he likes to use the slide as a pillow)

(caught him on our bed - guess he figured out how to climb up)

(Harry is the king of lounge)

(one of my faves!)

And seriously, these kids have a really tough life. :) 

Lastly, I know these have been around for ages, but it is the first time I've done one for our family. I CANNOT stop laughing! Jason's face looks all gangsta cool and seeing myself move like that is so improbable I can hardly stand it. Be on the lookout for Harry, he only pops in a couple of times. :) 

Eden's 3rd Birthday

Jason and I have always been of the mind that there is no need to throw big parties for the kiddos when they are really young for their birthdays. But this year, since Eden was going to be 3, I wanted her to feel special on her birthday especially since it is so close to Christmas. We still only had mostly family (plus our friends Shawna, Greg, and their two daughters, Clara and Zoe), but we did some extra special things for her. The first was to decorate her door:

Jason and I stayed up the night before her birthday and blew up balloons, hung them from her door as well as decorated the dining room. 

She loves balloons, so she was thrilled!

Eden and Harry spent most of the day playing with all of the decor.

Grammy came with us to pick up her cupcakes and take her for a birthday lunch at Wendy's:

Harry was ready for a nap by the time lunch was over:

We had the family come over that night for pizza and cupcakes. Uncle Ken, Clara, Poppie, Grumps, Harry and Eden:

Greg and Zoe:

Eden and Kellan:

Grammy with Harry:

(typical Harry - wants to be held for all of a millisecond)

Shawna and Clara:

The birthday girl with her double chocolate cupcake:

After supper we went downstairs for gifts:

She loved all of her gifts and has been playing with all of them:

She was also given a special birthday party dress (I didn't manage to catch a picture of her in it, but here it is on the hanger!):

All in all, a good birthday for our sweetie. We are so thankful that God blessed us with a precious little girl. She warms our hearts and reminds us of God's great love for us. 

Christmas at the Caranci's

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Christmas. I love the home-y, warm, cozy atmosphere, time with friends and family, decorating the house, thoughtfully thinking of gifts for those I love, baking and cooking traditional recipes, the lights, everything! So here's a little look into our home after putting up some decor. My normal rules of neutral colors and clean lines go out the window and instead anything goes for this festive season. 

(please excuse the pile of dishes/clutter on the counter)

This is one of my favorites - it has a light bulb behind it that shines through but I couldn't get a good shot of it with the light on. 

Printable with song lyrics courtesy of pinterest and Christmas magnets are for the kiddos from Auntie Sarabeth; the manger scene is from Germany.

This is the dog tree - all of the ornaments on this tree are specifically for the pups, and they even have their own personalized stockings. 

I got this advent calendar the first year Jason and I were married - it is one of my favorites too!

I'm not a huge Santa fan, but this one reminds me more of the traditional St. Nick, very rustic and natural-looking.

Even Neiman Marcus got in the holiday spirit! He is hanging out with two snowman smokers. If you don't know what a smoker is, it is basically an incense burner. My Grammy always used to have balsam fir incense cones burning in a smoker when we would come see her at Christmas time (the smoke billows out the mouths). It is a tradition that smells like home to me!

If you can't tell, I love anything with reindeer on it. Got this pillow with a gift card this year at Target.

Jingle bells on the front door! I am thinking I need a wreath on here too...

Yet another pinterest idea. I know you can't see it in this picture, but the white paper is old sheet music of classic Christmas carols. I stenciled the letters on top and tied with a ribbon to hang it. You can see a close up of the music here (and print some for yourself!). 

The tree! We decided to put it downstairs in the man cave this year and I love it there. 

Another favorite every year, found at Hobby Lobby with my Mom a few years ago. 

Each of the kids have their own tree in their rooms, too. Pink for our princess and blue for our prince.

We don't have much going on outside, but simple is sometimes best. Next year I would love to swoop garland and ribbons from the fence in the backyard. The little trees in the front have lights but for some reason are not working (and we haven't taken the time to fix it yet). 

Snowflakes were hung throughout the house.

Centerpiece for the table. 

This was added a week or so after the lighted garland on top of the cabinets (forgot to turn the lights on for this picture). Once again on pinterest I saw the idea of hanging Christmas cards on velvet ribbon on kitchen cabinets. We usually tape them around a door post, so I thought this was a nice change. 

And there you have it! There are all sorts of little knick knacky things around the house, but I decided to spare you from seeing each one. Almost all of them have a special story or were from someone dear to us. It is fun to pull them out every year and enjoy them!