Last weekend, because of everything going on in Connecticut, was an important weekend to spend lots of time with our loved ones. While our hearts were hurting, eyes crying, and our heads praying, we tried to enjoy ourselves.
Jessie, Katie O. and I went and saw the Atlanta Ballet perform The Nutcracker and the Fabulous Fox.
I had not seen The Nutcracker, probably since I was in elementary school and we would go on field trips. It was a beautiful performance. The dancers make everything look so effortless and graceful, and of course, the music was amazing. Watching the ballet definitely made me want to put Elodie in dance, at least for a couple of years.
This was quite the treat, as we even splurged a little bit on our tickets and had really good seats. I’m definitely not going to let that much time pass before I see it again. I will also be taking Elodie to experience the beautiful Christmas Magic that is The Nutcracker.
Saturday morning is always fun, family time.
Elodie painting sans shirt. She knows if she wants to paint, that shirt comes off… She’s going to have to learn not to do that before she starts school
Saturday night, we wanted to do a White Elephant/Dirty Santa gift exchange, so we had some friends come over with a present & food to share. I didn’t get a ton of pictures of the food or gifts, but it was a fun evening.
We made some cranberry holiday sangria, recipe here.
Cranberry Holiday Sangria
I made some tomato caprese skewers: grape tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil & drizzled in balsamic vinaigrette.
And we ate, listened to Christmas music and exchanged gifts. Some people brought silly things like an Obama Chia pet, an ant farm, a toilet bowl coffee mug, Nerf gun & etc.
Ben modeling the ugly sweater coozie he got as a gift.
Fun times with great friends 🙂
On Sunday, we had a birthday party to attend. With 6 babies at Elodie’s babysitters + lots of other friends with kids, it seems like we are going birthday parties all the time lately.
This particular party was at a place called, Catch Air. It is an awesome place for kids, and I’d say it is geared towards those 5 and under. Parents are allowed to get on all the equipment with the kids, so I think Chris and I had just as much fun as Elodie.
A panorama shot of the place
Dance party + light-up floor
Mommy + Elodie posing while making our way through the GIANT play tower
Some of the cute (blurry) babies spinning around at the party
Dora even stopped by!
The birthday girl!
Action Shot
Little cutie on a big chair
Two cuties on a big chair “hey.. whatcha lookin’ at there?!”
So as you can see, that place was pretty awesome! It will probably become our favorite hangout over the summer to escape those dreadfully hot temperatures.
Fun weekend in spite of everything going on around us. Please spend some extra time with your loved ones this Holiday Season!
xoxo
Ash
PS: if you’ve not seen this video from The Voice the other night, please watch. It’s a tribute to those who lost their lives in the Newtown tragedy. All the coaches & contestants sing “Halleluiah,” and hold up signs with the names of the victims & their ages. Mascara alert is high for this one!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-SeKsVm7YE