Our Christmas

 Christmastime is my absolute favorite time of the year!  There is nothing better than the sights, smells, and activities that come with the Holiday season.  We made crafts, decorated many batches of cookies, baked, went on Christmas light sighting adventures...including one at our very own splash park which was amazing, and spent so much quality time together as a family.  I couldn't have asked for a more perfect 2 1/2 weeks (except when John woke up on Christmas morning with Strep Throat.)  I actually hated sending them back off to school January 6th.  That one line from "It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas" which says, "and mom and dad could hardly wait for school to start again," did not apply to me.  I'm happiest when my whole family is together.  Here's a glimpse of our most wonderful time of the year:













(Christmas Eve at Coach and Gigi's)



(Seeing The Real Santa while caroling at Ponte Vedra)



(The best moment of all...)





















(The scene all morning...loved every second)



(Snow ball fight)













A Very Merry Christmas!

Life

Saturday, 1/4

1. Sewing a pillow for new baby boy's nursery.

2. Finally finding the right color paint for the guest room/Leo's room, 7 samples later.

3. Roasting marshmallows and playing games around the neighbor's fire pit.

Sunday, 1/5

1. A family trip to St. Augustine (exploring the fort. Lunch at a mermaid cafe, a stop for treasures at the pirate store, and ice cream cones)

2. Patting my little 6 yr old Isla's back to sleep for a nap. (Love that she asked me to)

3. Sunday night dinner with the whole Shea clan.

Monday, 1/6

1. Breakfast at Gigi's.

2. Finding a coffee table for our study.

3. Snuggling under the warm covers and watching tv on such a cold night.

Tuesday, 1/7

1. Looking in the rear view mirror at Palmer who was sitting in the backseat waving at me.

2. Having my Isla give my pregnant self a foot massage. She calls it playing Salon, I call it heaven!

3. Realizing new baby boy will be here in less than 89 days!

Wednesday, 1/8

1. Mopping my floor at nap time to some great tunes.

2. Getting Isla ready for ballet...especially braiding her hair! I'm so blessed to have a little girl!

3. Talking with John after all the kids were put to bed. Love the chats with my best friend!

Thursday, 1/9

1. Hart's lil giggle when I chase him.

2. Leo saying "I love you Mommy," and "I'm having so much fun playing with you today!" Also, every time he says the words "yestertime" or "yesteryear"....one meaning yesterday and the other meaning last week.

3. Playing laser guns with Palmer and Leo. So many times when I was little I wanted to join in on my brother's game if laser tag with the neighbors but was never allowed. Now I'm going to get to play whenever I want with my four boys!

Friday, 1/10

1. While buying paint samples at Home Depot, Palmer and Hart were waiting patiently in the "car cart." I was waiting for one of them to start picking on the other but instead Palmer leaned over and gave Hart a big kiss on his forehead!

2. Blowing bubbles in the driveway with boy #2 and boy #3.

3. Cereal and crackers and cheese for dinner.

Life

Thursday, 1/2
1. Isla felt baby 5 kick for the first time! She gasped and said, "oh my gosh!"
2. Palmer's drooly kisses on my cheek.
3. The sound of raindrops on our roof at nap time.

Friday, 1/3
1.  Palmer brushing my hair this morning in the playroom.
2.  My mom knocking on our door at 3:00 p.m.  She played with the kids while I lay on the couch fireside and enjoyed a nap.
3.  Leo asking me at bedtime if I would play superheroes with him in the morning.  When I said, of course, he then asked worriedly if I was able to talk like a boy? :)

2014

I've been pretty bad about updating the blog in 2013. I guess raising 4 children, maintaining a home, and being a wife to the greatest husband ever are to blame! I mean, I still have all of our christmas pictures to edit not to mention writing a post about our new baby on the way...  So in 2014 I've decided to do something new.
Each day I will jot down 3 things that I was thankful for and "that gave me life" that day.  I read about this in a magazine and fell in love with the idea.  "The point is that saying thank you actually makes us grateful. Writing down gifts means we notice them, re-live them, and absorb them. Our days are breaking open with goodness, splitting little seams and cracks where light leaks out. You can give these moments a glance and move on, or you can dwell on them, collect them, savor them and say thank you. It is in choosing to recognize the light that we are changed. Beyond feeling thankful, our whole person becomes oriented toward gratitude."  
This will be my way of taking my crazy days and putting them into perspective. At the end of each day I will reflect back and remember the moments that made me smile and these memories will be written down for me to remember always.   Let's just hope I can keep up with it!  I'll probably post them every Friday but I'll go ahead and do today's, the first day of 2014!

1.  All 4 of my babies joined me and John in bed this morning.  Isla, Leo and Palmer walked downstairs and crawled into our bed while John carried Hart down to snuggle up with us as well.  The first seconds of 2014 were filled with what means the most to me, my family!

2.  Sitting in the rain in 50 degree weather while watching Georgia play Nebraska in the Gator Bowl is not what I'm saying thank you for, but sitting there in the company of John, my Dad, and my brother is!

3.  Having Isla, Leo, Palmer, and Hart greet us at the front door with huge hugs and smiles and chants of "we're so glad you are home" topped off the day! 

Happy New Year!!!!

Hart First Birthday!

A year has passed since this little boy was placed in my arms for the first time.  His year was filled with “firsts” and I’ve documented them all in his baby book but nothing is as sweet as a First Birthday!  We celebrated Hart’s first year of life on Sunday, November 17.  It was a day spent with our family, the ones we love so very much.  The morning was spent opening his present from Mommy and Daddy, playing with balloons, and going to breakfast at the Beach Diner.  The crawl around Fisher Price Car was a hit and he has loved it every day since. 

And then it was time to get ready for his Winnie The Pooh themed Party.  Although it was just our family who came to celebrate, I still wanted to do it up big!  After all, you only have one First Birthday….

(The Spread)

(The cake, from Cinotti’s, chocolate cake with buttercream frosting, Heaven!)

(Favors)

He knew this was his day!  He soaked up all the attention but had a nervous grin on his face during the party.  I mean, he’s the fourth baby, he isn’t used to being the center of attention the entire day.  :)

And then it was time for cake!  Hart did not know what to do when his sister and brothers were singing Happy Birthday to him, and he definitely didn’t know what to do with the candle or the giant mound of frosting before him.  He eventually caught on and nibbled a bit, but he was our cleanest baby post-cake to date. 

(With the exception of his hand)

He opened presents, got in his PJs, had a warm bottle, and passed out.  It was quite a day for our little boy!

(5 minutes of fame)

Happy First Birthday, Harty Hart!  We love the little baby boy you have grown to be in your first year.  Your smile is the sweetest, you have the most infectious giggle, and the way you snuggle is heart melting.  You are pure joy and make all of us happier each and every day.  I love you, love you, love you, Sweet Hart!!!

Hart at One

He is talking so very much and reminds us of Isla, verbally.  Some favorites are Dada, mama, hot, dye-dye (while waving bye), quack quack, dottle for bottle, ca ca for Cauliflower the Elf, boooo for Balloon, and more. 

He started walking a week before his first birthday and now he is all over the place with no more time to crawl.  He climbs anything he can and even tries to scooter on Palmer and Leo’s three wheeled ones. 

He still takes 2 naps.  One in the morning around 8:30 and another at noon.  He goes down for the night at 7 and wakes up at 5:45.  First one awake!

His favorite foods consist of Buddy Fruit pouches, Sprout pouches, fresh strawberries and raspberries, yogurt drinks, yogurt, applesauce, ham, chicken, rice, pb and j’s, gerber cheese puffs, warm milk bottles, and ice cold water. 

He loves to be outside and especially likes to be pushed around on ride on toys.  Feeding the ducks in our backyard is always a treat and playing chase with his sister and brothers in the house fills his little belly with laughter.