Beauty Out of Chaos

Let's face it, there is an obvious dichotomy to the holiday season. Black Friday customers are being tasered and grandpas are being arrested for shoplifting. The consumers are irritable and the traffic is a bear. My commute for the past three weeks has been awful. I have to drive by three malls to get home.

Even though it's a joyful time and we get to celebrate with family and friends, it's also a tough time for those who have lost loved ones. The memories may be laced with humor and nostalgia, but it's still hard to have empty chairs at the dinner table.

I must accept that our holiday season has become even more hectic since the arrival of our son. Besides the obvious changes that go along with the holidays and having a child, we now have a number of significant milestones to celebrate and a few just happen to fall in November and December. I have decided that I will just have to power through these months and sleep in January.

My brother, his wife and three girls bravely took a red-eye out here to celebrate Christmas and we had the chance to meet their baby girl for the first time. In turn, they got to meet our little bubs and Zoebug for the first time. We also found a way to throw a surprise party for our mom's bday and retirement while everyone was in town.

It's been a whirlwind over the past seven weeks, but totally worth it.

Merry Christmas!

O Toddler Friendly Christmas Tree

Here's to the myriad small changes that we continue to embrace as parents.

I used to think table top trees were for boutiques and nursing homes.

Loving our little fir and the fact that we are not spending every other minute redirecting behavior.

Celebration #3

Mr. Nisa is getting comfortable (perhaps a bit too?) with the spotlight, opening gifts and stuffing his face with cake.

I think he's ready for Christmas. Are we?

Mr. Nisa is 2

Thank you to Aunt Kelly, Uncle Mike, Tyler and Hailey for a special birthday surprise!

Celebrating at home with us and some gifts from some very thoughtful peeps:




This cool train set is not in our home, but at a great family restaurant in Cambridge called Full Moon. We will definitely retun to that spot!

This past weekend, we were up in Saratoga celebrating the holidays with Mike's family. Keni loved seeing everyone and was not at all stingy with his hugs and kisses. He enjoyed hanging with a new furry friend:



I can't believe our boy is 2! Seriously...where did 2011 go?