Hollen Holidays 2017 | Visiting Santa Claus

I debated posting most of these photographs but here we are. I want to document this season of our lives and during this season, we have a chicken in our midst. 

This week, we went to see Santa Claus. I always go back and forth on where we stand with good ol' St. Nick but Marin's preschool offered a time to see him sans crowds at a local nursery in town. Some of the proceeds for photographs go to her preschool. 

I spent most of the week talking up the visit...."It's going to be so cool! You get to see Santa and tell him what you would like for Christmas. Also...his reindeer will be there!" It was going to be awesome. 

Marin spent the better part of the week talking about Santa Claus. She even made him a little Santa to give to him when we saw him. She was super stoked about the reindeer and kept asking if Rudolph and his infamous red nose would be present. 

Luckily, Grammy came with us. I pushed the stroller with Sully and my mom held Marin's hand. As we walked in, my mom mentioned that Marin was starting to squeeze her hand tighter and tighter. Sometimes Marin can be a bit of a chicken. New situations are hard for her sometimes. I always try to prepare her as much as possible. 

Sullivan did great with Santa Claus. He liked his beard and his big belt buckle. Needless to say, Marin was pretty traumatized, even to the point where I had to sit on his lap as well to get her to calm down. Sure Santa, let me awkwardly sit on your lap next to my freaked out kid. Lovely.  Luckily, most of her preschool class weren't there yet to see the situation. I am thankful for that. 

She did eventually tell him what she wanted for Christmas...a Barbie House. Do you know how pricey those puppies are!? Not cheap. She also gave him the little Santa she had made. 

I paid WAY too much money for a bunch of photos of my daughter crying but I'm sure someday I will be able to look back on these photos and laugh or use them for some sort of blackmail. Sorry kid.  I'm proud of her for trying it. Hopefully next year goes a bit better. Also...this was kind of a not so smiley St. Nick but I'm sure he has had his share of fun days and fun kiddos lately. 

But, we survived and I don't think Marin is scarred for life. 

See you next year, Santa Claus. 

Baby Sullivan | Week Twenty-Two

I feel like we are all finally slowly on the mend with all of the sickness that has been going around. Our coughs still remain a bit but we have actually been able to leave the house and go out in public without the fear of getting everyone around us sick as well. Both kiddos went to church on Sunday for the first time in weeks. Marin finally went back to school today. She has missed three classes now in the past two weeks. I'm feeling way better than I was a few days ago and I'm hoping we all stay well through the New Year. Fingers crossed and prayers lifted up. Having sick kids is no joke. Being sick while your kids are also sick is one of my least favorite things, especially when the kind of sick you are isn't enough to warrant you staying in bed all day but you just kind of walk around like a zombie, sniffling and coughing you way through the day. I also can't take super intense medicine to kick it to the curb because I'm still breastfeeding. 

On Sunday, Sully turned 5 months old! Sully is currently closing in on the 20 pound mark. He's going to outgrow his carseat any day now and we will have to figure out the next option. I'm thinking of using the convertible car seats that Marin sits in for him now and get her a little less expensive toddler convertible seat. None of them are cheap, at least the good ones. I'm going to miss having just the one carseat that just clips into the bases in our cars. Now we need multiple seats for multiple vehicles, including the grandparent's cars. I'm in the process of researching what our best options are. He will still be rear facing for a long time, but little dude isn't so little anymore. 

I went and got adjusted at the chiropractor last week because I've been having a lot of pain in my wrist, all the way up my arm, and to my back. I hadn't been in since right before I had Sullivan. Ouch.  Lugging around our huge baby is giving me great arm muscles but my body sure is taking a beating. I need to get in more often and really watch how I carry Sullivan around. He's just an adorable lug right now. 

I believe he also starting to teethe. As you will notice in most of these photos, the bibs have arrived. I get so sick and tired of changing his outfit every few hours because he drools all over himself. These bibs are super cute and stylish though and I love them. Now he can drool away in style. I have a feeling he will get teeth a lot earlier than Marin but we will see. Now we wait and I just pray that he isn't a biter.

The next few weeks are going to be filled with a lot of fun Christmas stuff with the kids and I am loving it. Experiencing this season through the eyes of a child is one of my very favorite things. This Friday, Marin's preschool gets to see Santa and his reindeer. Saturday evening, we are going to a Christmas light show at a local garden area. We are going to a light thing at a sculpture park next week. I plan on drinking lots of hot chocolate and bundling everyone up to see Santa and soak it all in. I also love that we get to do all of these things with our families. 

Week Twenty Two. 

Here's Marin at week twenty two.