christmas day 2016!

Christmas morning! At 8:00am, we opened up the kids' doors and said, "does anyone think Santa came!?" 

Cooper said, "no, I don't think so." But about halfway down the stairs he remembered how we left out cookies and milk, and how the stockings were empty and Santa might have put presents in them. He ran downstairs into the living room and discovered his first gift from Santa: a big red snow shovel! 

Jilly was low-key excited about her Peppa Pig couch and little pony with purple hair. 

Who knew PEZ would be such a huge hit?! Good job, Santa. 

Ryan in the kitchen and mama on kid duty while the preparations were made for the annual Christmas brunch. 

I can't believe this is a tradition that's been going on for five years! Christmas brunch with both sides of our family was a wonderful success yet again. 

This year we mixed it up with low key beverage options (AKA no signature cocktail or punch), and 3 different styles of breakfast sandwiches. More and more we're appreciating being able to get out of the kitchen and ENJOY the morning with our families, so food options that are ready to grab are ideal. 

The "McChristmas," "Ho-Ho-Opa!" and the "Mexi-Christmas" were all devoured. Shaun Kelly ate 5 of them. 

And again, the rockets were launched. This time they were headed upstairs to the kids in the playroom... 

And Jilly wore legwarmers. Just something we all want to remember ;)

Merry Christmas! Hope it was as magical as the Kelly family home today <3 

christmas with the hurrens

Christmas with the Hurren side came one week before the real event. We opened presents, had brunch, opened presents, had snacks, opened presents, and had dinner. Basically your big Christmas-fest of eating delicious food and seeing the kids get spoiled with toys. 

A gift basket made of all things teal -- had to be for me :)

The kiddos were obsessed with the rocket launchers that Cooper opened!

a bedroom makeover

The master bedroom was the room that got the least TLC after moving in. We were so excited to create a homey living room, dining room, and kitchen, and after painting the kids rooms and getting them all set up, the energy levels started to go down. I think everyone can relate to losing steam about 3 months after moving into their new home. 

Slowly but surely, we picked away with a master bedroom makeover. It started with painting the black furniture white, and ultimately we decided it would be a good time to upgrade from a Queen to a King. So glad we did!! I took a few photos today because the light was pretty and the bed was made. This is now one of my favourite rooms in the house :) 

Everyone loves a before and after, right? Ah! It looks like a totally different room: 

A coat of white paint has magic powers, I'm sure of it. 

Other stops on the home tour:

The Client Meeting Space

The Temporary "Mom-Office"

Jillian's Nursery

coop and jilly make cookies!

You're fun to do things with, children of ours. Your eyes light up and you remind us how the world is full of wonderful things, like cookies and stand mixers and eating chocolate chips right out of the jar. 

Years and years ago, your father and I dreamed of what our life would be like. One boy and one girl, we thought. Your dad's vision involved a baseball or a campsite, whereas mine involved flour and sugar and measuring cups on the kitchen island. One boy, one girl, and a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Apparently it all came true and on a sunny Saturday afternoon in December at that. I wonder if you'll remember it, kiddos. But just in case you won't, I took a few photos...

I think this was your favourite part, Snoozer. You loved turning the mixer on and off. I was worried you would turn it all the way up to 8, but like the reasonable little man you are, you stuck to 1, 2, or 3. 

Testing the chocolate chips. You know...just to make sure they were still good. 

Little Miss, you loved picking out the chocolate chips and eating them.

Quality control. I told you that Dad wouldn't let you eat the cookie dough, and you thought Mom was pretty cool. 

My little loves. Nine minutes later and the cookies were out. With full bellies and flour on your shirts, it was time for a rest. Coop, just in case you won't remember, this is what you said on your way up to bed: 

"Thank you mommy for the cookies. I eat more cookies after rest? Haha! Monkeys eat cookies! And bananas!" 

And then you made monkey noises and climbed into your bed.