Christmas-ing

It's hard to even know how to begin these Christmas posts, over three months after the Christmas season and already about to celebrate Easter, with so many events that happened in between...

While time has certainly been getting away from me lately, a big part of me just hasn't wanted to start the Christmas blog-posting given the reality that I've lost one of the most special people to me in my holiday memories... And with my sweet Too-Daddy in the hospital for a lot of December, I was definitely feeling a lot less merry & bright this year, so being able to introduce Ollie to all of our Christmas festivities and traditions brought some much needed jolly and joy!

We loved being able to share so many of our favorite holiday activities with our sweet boy, and one of the best parts was having my brother back for almost 2 weeks to join in!

So without further ado, here's a slew of pictures from some of our pre-Christmas holiday fun!

Starting with the Shirlington Tree Lighting!

We enjoyed hot cocoa and a horse and carriage ride with friends, and even got to see Santa!

Lilee asked for some "ice skaters" for her doll, Camille; Ollie asked for a digger (thus his digger- themed birthday celebration!); and Maelee asked for a pet dog for her dolls. :)

Decorating the tree!

My little goofballs:)

Another favorite holiday tradition:

Zoo Lights!

And even better this year spent with our closest pals!

Ollie especially loved the carousel and train ride!

 Advent candle!

Finishing up a delicious malva pudding dessert with our supper club for our South African themed dinner!

Snowman pancakes for the snowy day!

Somebody liked the snow flurries:)

Adorable Christmas sing-along at Lilee's preschool!

Fun day that contained cookie baking, gingerbread house making, and watching a real house decked out in lights set to music!

Uncle Dan's back!!!

So fun introducing him to Ollie.

The girls wasted no time getting silly with him.

After Ollie's eye surgery, he was very ready for the playground!

Since Maelee and I weren't able to make our live Nutcracker performance this year, we found a beautiful production to watch in our pjs while Ollie was in surgery.

On Daniel's birthday, we enjoyed one of our favorite holiday traditions of lunch at Old Ebbitt Grill in DC, followed by a stroll around the National Tree. Ollie was absolutely memorized by the trains and villages surrounding the tree, and Maelee even landed a coin in one of the moving trains! It was a pretty special day.

And that pretty much sums up some of our activities leading up to Christmas Day! I'll have another post up soon with all of our Christmas celebrations. Despite the heartaches this year, there was also lots of sweetness and merriment. It was a season where we were especially grateful for what Advent represents and the HOPE in Jesus!