December’s weather was not typical… most days were 60s, so we spent a good bit of time outside.
Rylie being in our town parade was so much fun. she absolutely loved it and man, if you
need a girl to walk in a parade, wave, smile & say “Merry Christmas” a thousand times and feel so filled by it at the end? Get Rylie!!! 🤩 at the end I asked if she was tired, & she said, “no, but I’m unrested.” 😂 same girl, same.
Aaron & I got to attend our church’s Christmas party for those who serve and it was so fun. We got to dress up and feel fancy, which I enjoyed, but Aaron did not ;P
Rylie started gymnastics (& is loving it). Emmaline, who I was worried might be upset that big sisters got in on HER activity, has loved having Rylie a part of her activity and they enjoy practicing at home together.
We got to meet up with our homeschool group and do an ornament craft, which was fun and I enjoyed seeing the girls creativity (including a rattle made from a pinecone).
We unfortunately had to take a trip to Illinois for Aaron’s grandmother’s funeral.
We took our weekly trips to the library & Spencer got more involved this month.
Martial arts was still going strong, including Rylie getting another belt (the last one before black!).
We visited our traditional Christmas Lights at the falls and rode the train – a beautiful tradition we’ve come to look forward to and love.
Aaron & I got a date night – dinner AND we got to see the new Spiderman movie. One of the best movies ever made and our new favorite.
Emmaline’s dream came true and we went to a library in our next door town and had story time with Elsa, made cardboard gingerbread houses (with stickers), ate cookies and hot chocolate and truly had a magical afternoon. Emmaline had multiple conversations with Else and she was a beam of light radiating with joy. It was adorable.
We were extremely & unexpectedly blessed with extra money and were able to take the girls Christmas shopping. They each got to shop the toy section one-on-one with Daddy and purchase three gifts (one for each of their siblings). It was a beautiful experience and even on Christmas Day it was awesome to see the joy on their face as they watched their siblings open the gifts they picked out. My mama heart was proud!
Tragically, our family was struck with food poisoning or a 24/hour bug (all of us! Rylie & Spencer were the only two spared). It was terrible but gave us an opprotunity to rest, snuggle and binge-watch Christmas movies.
Rylie failed her hearing test at her 5year old checkup at the beginning of the month (she failed at 4years old too), so we were sent to Children’s Hospital to their ear specialist. She did some more in depth hearing tests and they told me she had fluid trapped behind her ears so she cannot hear low frequencies. She can hear, but not nearly as well as she could. I asked, but unfortunately, they said we were passed natural remedies and she needed surgery to put tubes in. I was hesitant at first, but the nurses were excellent and answered all my questions and really put my mind and heart at rest. Her procedure is scheduled for mid-January…
We also had Aaron’s work Christmas party, which was actually a lot of fun. Aaron MCed the whole event and it was great. The theme was “all jeans” which was a sight because Aaron hasn’t worn jeans since we met 10 years ago hahaha
Our favorite holiday finally came – Christmas… and it sucked haha Aaron got a fever and was absent most of the day. I was honestly pretty cranky about it for the majority of the day, but by dinner time, my attitude shifted and I had a really sweet evening with the kids.
Spencer also turned 7 months on Christmas Day.
Aaron’s fever unfortunately traveled and hit Emmaline, Rylie and then Emmaline again (each lasting about 2 days).
To wrap up the month, I’ve been using every spare moment I have (which isn’t much thanks to taking care of all the sick people in addition to keeping a house) to put together all my 2021 round ups. Work (reflecting on growth and updates of the new year), personal (asking and answering all these questions) and making my year in review blog post, video and photo book.
I know I jumped on this “month in review” thing mid-year, but I’ve really enjoyed it and definitely plan on doing it more consistently in 2022.