The Taffs

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Christmas Part 1

Christmas part 1 for us took place on Christmas Day at our house with the Taffs.

Our traditional picture on the stairs picture before going to find what Santa has left. Eli wasn't 100% awake, so Mommy (and Landon) had to be in the picture with him this year.

I love this picture. Eli was in shock walking in to find all of his toys. It was quiet delight! I loved this moment. So sweet!

Sweet boy hasn't even played with his toys yet. He just hugged Mommy and Daddy and smiled/stared at his toys! Love that boy!

Superheroes were a big theme this year....Don't be fooled. This isn't Captain America. It's the blue Spiderman!

And here's the "red Spiderman" as we call it.

What's Christmas without a truck for a little boy?!

Wesley's parents brought our stockings from their house and we did stockings/presents at our house on Christmas morning.

Trying to figure out this yo-yo thing.

Puzzles were a big hit this year too. Eli got several. The boy LOVES him some puzzles. I'm hoping this means he'll be a great critical thinker! : )

And just to prove Daddy was there too....

Wesley's family is full of FSU grads/fans. Wesley actually grew up cheering for FSU (and still does...UNLESS they're playing Auburn for a National Championship title!). It's a fun time for our family! I think we're all looking forward to January 6. : )

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a busy day for us! I have LOVED every minute of Christmas this year with my little man. He's at an age that he's REALLY getting into the excitement and anticipation of it all. Fun for all!

The night of Christmas Eve Eve (the 23rd) we made our sugar cookie dough, used cookie cutters, and baked our cookies.

We used everything from Christmas cookie cutters, to Valentines Day, to Auburn cookie cutters!

After breakfast on Christmas Eve we iced and decorated cookies for Santa. There also may or may not have been some taste testing involved....

Eli was very serious about this cookie decorating business!

After lunch, we got ready and went with my in-laws to do Christmas with some more family. We got back after dinner, just in time to make our reindeer food and lay out cookies and milk for Santa!

Our last Christmas as a family of 3!

Making reindeer food. We mixed oatmeal and lots of sprinkles! Pinterest said to add glitter too, but that's messy and I wasn't into it! : )

Sprinkling the food on the yard so Santa's reindeer will be sure they don't miss our house!

You can see I'm up for mom of the year here. Wesley and I are bundled up with big jackets. Eli, on the other hand, has no jacket and no shoes or socks.

Excited for Santa to come!

Eli found it hilarious that Santa would be eating these cookies!

Such a fun day filled with lots of memories!

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

From Our Family...

...to yours,
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Holiday Home Tour

Welcome to our home at Christmas!

Pregnant girl was too tired to get out the real camera this year. The iPhone seemed like a good idea, so excuse the phone-quality pics!

These three Santas are new to us this year. They belonged to Wesley's grandmother and I have always loved them. Now they sit on our shelves.

Love this little reindeer I found this year. Although, I'm not sure how long he'll last. A certain three year old thinks it's his horse to play with.

We went with our fake tree this year since we all had a stomach virus, and then Wesley got the flu. We took the easy way out. It's beautiful either way though!

Love our stockings up there. I can't believe that next year we'll have FOUR hanging from the mantle.

Throughout the year my letters spell "LOVE", but I switch it up to "NOEL" at Christmas. We got a new china hutch this fall, and I finally have a really good spot for my Willow Tree nativity set.

This nativity is probably my favorite decoration!

Love looking at our Christmas cards. We've got some beautiful friends and family!

I made this felt tree for Eli last year. He loves to take things off the tree and rearrange them. Thanks, Pinterest!

Love my chalkboard and Christmas swag (which my husband finds it hilarious that it's called a swag). Obviously I didn't get the teacher/chalkboard handwriting gene!

Love our Auburn tree. Eli helped decorate this one, if you can't tell from looking at the bottom, but I don't have the heart to rearrange it! : ) He's so proud that he could fit four ornaments on one branch, ha!!

Eli's tree

This was a few weeks ago. I heard something going on in his room, so I went to check. Eli had gotten Wesley's tripod and his Big Bird camera, and was taking pictures of the Christmas decorations in his room. Melted my heart! I love that boy so much!

Wesley's grandmother bought him a fire house Christmas village set years ago. She was famous for ordering things and they KEPT COMING. We were receiving Christmas village pieces for the better part of a year. We always got a good laugh over that with her. Eli's so proud to have this village in his room. Next year I may create some "snow" to put down around it, but for now it's perfect. It has the softest glow at night. Perfect for my little man's room!