2015 Year in Review

It's almost a wrap on another fun, crazy and memorable year.

Cole turned 1 in January and reached many milestones throughout the year, including his first haircut, walking, no more bottles, talking, and letting his silly personality shine, which is always good for a laugh.  Beginning next month, Cole will transition to the early preschool class a few months early.

Jackson turned 4 in April and has continued to impress us with how quickly he learns and eagerness and excitement about it. He's adding and subtracting, telling time on analog clocks and reading beginning reader books.  He's loved continuing to attend mini break dance classes periodically throughout the year, and he attended his first Mariner's game with Corey, Alex and Wyatt.  He'll start kindergarten next year (what?!).

The boys took swimming lessons last winter and soccer this fall. We're looking forward to picking swimming back up in a few weeks.

We took several trips including an adults weekend away in Vegas with the Reeders; a family trip to Chelan with my parents, grandma and Joan; a trip to Seabrook with the Shawvers; and several trips to Yakima.  I enjoyed a girls' weekend away with Kelsey and Sara in Denver to visit Gina, and an overnight trip to the casino/outlets with my mom.  We spent time outdoors on a few hikes and Corey and my dad took Jackson on his first camping trip.

The boys changed schools at the beginning of September, moving to a Montessori school just a few minutes from home and though we worried about how it would go, the actual transition to the new school went really well.  Both boys are doing great, and we're loving the new school and all the opportunities and activities it provides for the boys. 

We determined Cole is allergic to nuts back in June and we had a bit of scare in September, when some breathing difficulties landed him in the hospital for a few days, but we're happy to report he's doing great and is has been as healthy as a 1-year old in daycare can be (read: he's had a few colds, pink eye, and hand, foot & mouth in the last few months).

We enjoyed out-of-state visitors, including Grampa Curtis, Great Aunt Karen (all the way from The Netherlands!), and the Gordens. 

And 2015 included lots of other fun and memorable moments like time spent outside enjoying our amazing summer, riding bikes/scooters/cars; park trips; play dates with friends; splash pad fun; numerous games/puzzles; lots of dancing/songs/singing; froyo runs; and enjoying local attractions (Remlinger, Fox Hollow, Cougar Mountain Zoo). 

While we're all ready to ring in 2016 and see what the new year holds for our little fam, I wanted to spend a few minutes looking back all of our fun in 2015 with photos from throughout the year.

Enjoy!

Previous Year in Reviews: 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009

Christmas 2015

We had a great time celebrating Christmas (several times!) this past weekend.

Festivities kicked off on Christmas Eve, with time at home together, followed by Joan and Elliott arriving for gifts and dinner (which they provided, leaving me responsible for nothing...they seriously spoiled me!).  The boys enjoyed opening their first round of gifts and stockings (as did we), and we enjoyed the delicious pizza Elliott made.

Jackson was so excited to leave snacks out for Santa (sugar cookies and milk) and the reindeer (crackers, baby carrots and water). Santa loved the cookies, and the reindeer enjoyed their snack but made quite a mess.

(Not sure why Santa is spelled with a Z...it's not like Jackson doesn't ever write the letter S, considering it's in his name and he normally writes it properly!)

Santa came!

It was so much fun to watch Jackson open all his gifts from Santa and us. and to see Cole so excited not only about opening his gifts but also seeing what was inside.  He couldn't wait to play with things as he opened them.  

At one point, as we were just about done opening presents, Jackson turned to me and said "This is the best Christmas EVER! I love all my gifts!"  They spent a lot of time that day going from toy to toy playing together and solo.  

Cole loves his digger books.

Santa brought Cole a scooter, which he was excited about until...

We tried to make him wear a helmet.

That afternoon, my family arrived for round #3 and we were all completely spoiled.  Jackson has especially loved his Monopoly Jr. game, and Cole was so excited to open a "GAR-BAGE truck" full of legos and both boys have had a blast with a glow-in-the-dark race track from Scott and Anya.

Joan and Elliott joined us all for dinner (again, dinner was provided (by my mom this time)!) and we had a nice evening catching up.

The following day, Cole helped make coffee cake for breakfast, which neither boy would try (not sure how they could pass anything with the word "cake" in it up).  Then the boys enjoyed more play time and bathing with their new bath toys and paint.

Another Christmas in the books - can't believe it's come and gone so quickly, but we had a wonderful time and are looking forward to lots of family time this week.

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

I love this time of year.  Not only are there tons of activities planned to celebrate, it's so fun to watch Jackson (and Cole soon, I'm sure) get really excited for Christmas.  I remember how excited I'd get for Santa to come and the magic of it everything that comes with the season, and I love seeing him experience that.

We've enjoyed lots activities over the last few weeks to get us into the holiday spirit. 

Things kicked off right after Thanksgiving with some Black Friday/holiday shopping.

Corey put up out outdoor lights, with the help of some cute little elves.

 

We decorated the inside of the house and the Christmas tree.

 

The boys went to see Santa and we didn't have to wait in any lines, since we happened to show up during his break. With just a few minutes before he returned, we grabbed some hot chocolate and prepared for our visit.  Jackson loved sitting on Santa's lap (and had extra time, since there was still no line), and chatting with him while we got situated. Cole started screaming the second I set him down, which is exactly what happened with Jackson when he was this age.  Santa was great though, and even took a few shots pretending to cry along with Cole.

Elvis returned this year, to keep tabs on both boys for Santa.  The boys love waking up and seeing what he's up to, and then eating their advent calendar chocolate.  (Cole can't get enough chocolate these days, often asking for more of his advent chocolate in the evening.)

 

We ordered our holiday cards super early since we planned to use photos from our family photo session, but it was fun to address them near the tree.  And the boys loved riding around, delivering them to our neighbors.

 

The boys have enjoyed more than their fair share of hot chocolate, and especially loved when Aunt Anya sent them snow globes and hot chocolate fixin's of their own. 

J was so excited to return to Snowflake Lane again this year and Cole enjoyed his first experience.  We went on a rainy weeknight but it worked out perfectly as it kept the crowds to a minimum, leaving us with a great view and access to many of the characters.  Cole especially loved the drummers we saw at the end, and both boys loved their Wendy's frostie on our way back to the car.

 

 

The boys enjoyed their first time watching one of the best holiday movies ever - Christmas vacation.

 

The Gossetts invited us over for dinner and Christmas cookie decorating. Cole could hard wait to get the cookie in his mouth so decorating didn't last long for him. Jackson had such a blast decorating, he wanted to do it again at home the following weekend. 

 

Don't mind Cole - just using the selfie function on my phone to clean sprinkles off his face.

Last night, we enjoyed the holiday party at Hot Stove Society. It was nice to get out on a date night, and to catch up with Corey's co-workers.

 

With a few more fun plans over the next few days, Christmas will be here before we know it!