We extended our stay at the coast through Easter and were joined by Nana, Grauntie and Gruncle. Our relaxing weekend together consisted of beach walks, movies, yummy food and some Easter fun.

The forecast called for lots of rain on Easter Sunday (it was right) and so I had the kiddos put on their Easter best on Saturday for a few photos.

We spent a little time outside in the sunshine and stumbled across the Easter Bunny! What luck!

Then we made our way down to the beach for a sunset stroll…

We came across a HUGE flock of sandpipers during our walk and they were just fascinating to observe. They scuttled up and down the sand, perfectly in sync with the ebb and flow of the tide. Isla made several enthusiastic attempts to make friends (as in, she ran full speed at them), but the sandpipers were a bit on the shy side.

As soon as we got home that evening we watched the Pixar Sandpiper short film- and then on repeat countless times over the next few days. Isla was so inspired she started drawing sandpipers.

Just as she was heading off to bed, Isla casually mentioned how excited she was to find the eggs the Easter Bunny hid (Huh? We’ve never done this before!). Good thing she shared that expectation, as it ensured the magic could live on a little longer! The next morning she was thrilled to discover her Easter basket and absolutely tickled to find the Easter bunny’s attempt at camouflaging many of her eggs.

The Easter Bunny came to the cottage! He left only a few nibbles of his carrots behind, along with some wonderful goodies! Bugs and gardens were the theme of Isla and Cole’s baskets this year- all inspired by this darling book! It is our favorite spring book and we will share more about it in a separate post soon. Both baskets were filled with new books, as the Easter Bunny is an avid reader, you know. He also left some darling new bunny baskets for both kiddos. He included a cute little Easter sign, some jelly beans and a baby chick for Isla. For Cole, he gifted a fun new dragonfly toy and some linking rings.

Isla had been asking for a tiny realistic toy chick for months, and she was absolutely certain the Easter Bunny would deliver. When Isla saw the baskets she raced straight to her chick, scooped it up, and covered it with hugs and kisses. She named her Little Peep Peep and they were inseparable all day.

Little Peep Peep even assisted Isla with her Easter Egg hunt.

I wasn’t sure how aware Cole would be about his Easter basket, but he was actually quite excited! He pulled each item out one by one and gummed them a bit. He was very interested in his books and watched each page intently as I read them to him.

His dragonfly was (and still is) a big hit!

Easter morning snuggles with Gruncle.

After all the Easter basket and egg hunt fun, we enjoyed a very leisurely morning together. Jammies stayed on for hours! A lovely little Easter feast rounded out our day, leaving our hearts and bellies very full.

We spent Spring Break at our cottage, and it was a week of festivities, family time, and fun!

The kids were so excited about their crafty Easter baskets from Nana and Papa.

We started out the week with an early Easter and birthday celebration for Nana. We organized an egg hunt on the beach and the girls had a ball! They raced around collecting eggs so quickly it was nearly impossible for me to take photos of their faces! I think we need to quadruple the egg count next year to slow them down a bit.

Isla shared her Easter eggs with Cole. I love this sweet girl’s heart!

Cole enjoyed watching his first Easter Egg hunt, and my heart is already overflowing imagining him toddling around next year, with his pudgy hands wrapped around colorful eggs! After all the eggs had been found, Cole practiced his newest trick in the sand for us all. It’s so exciting to see him sitting up on his own. He’s clearly feeling pretty proud of himself too.

There were lots of bald eagle sightings this week. We also spotted seals, lots of whales (super exciting!), deer, heron, pelicans, sandpipers (adorable!), and hummingbirds!

The weather was mild enough our first evening to spend on the beach without coats. It was lovely!

Isla and Wavy helped bake Nana’s lemon cake. Their favorite part was “cleaning up” the leftover batter. Obviously.

We spent a good chunk of time working on spring crafts. These thumbprint lambs were a favorite!

We also painted bright Easter Egg inspired nails.

We gave peeps to the girls to make s’mores with for a true beachy Easter experience. The weather wasn’t cooperating, so we brought the roasting indoors!

After enjoying the s’mores we dyed Easter Eggs.

On March 28, our sweet niece, Selah, made an early entrance into the world at just 34 weeks. I drove into Salem to photograph her birth story, but Leah progressed so fast that everyone missed the birth! Thankfully, Selah only had to stay in the NICU a few weeks while she learned to nurse, and she is now at home.The boys shucked oysters on the front porch one evening. Only mild injuries were reported.

We used the remaining peeps to make rice crispies treats. I mean, we wouldn’t want to be wasteful…

We enjoyed lots of beautiful walks on the beach.

Dying eggs, round 2.

It didn’t take long for the creativity to spiral out of control…

Because I just can’t bring myself to post current happenings without sharing some of our favorite 2017 moments… and only a few more “catch up” posts before we’re up to date. Yay!

Per annual tradition, we kicked off the holiday season by opening our annual Christmas jammies on Thanksgiving night. I went with an Elf theme this year, and I’d say the quotes were pretty darn perfect for each of us.

As much as I love our matching family jammies I could not get enough of Cole in this sweet nutcracker sleeper!

We continued with our holiday advent activities this tradition and I think it was our best year yet! As we were still learning to navigate life as a family of 4 (on very little sleep, I might add) I tried to keep our activities fairly simple and incorporated quite a few events we were already planning on attending.

We bought Isla her own little tree for her room, so the first advent activity was to decorate her tree. Throughout the month, she kept asking to borrow ornaments off our trees so that she could add them to hers. She also added various bobbles, collections, ribbons, and toys that she found. We’d often find Isla in her room, quietly re-arranging the ornaments to her liking. We loved to watch as her tree evolved and grew a little fuller each day. By the end of the season it was quite a masterpiece!

Isla was kind enough to share her festive Christmas tree headband with Cole for part of the decorating. He loved watching all the lights on the tree.

Visiting holiday bazaars has always been one of my favorite ways to get in the Christmas spirit. We participated in the Laurelhurst Winter Bazaar this year, and sold Isla’s collection cards, prints, and collection bags. This was our first event working as vendors and it was such a great experience. We loved having the opportunity to collaborate creatively as a family, and the positive response from the shoppers was so rewarding! Isla was eager to talk about her collections and modeled how to use the collection bags (so adorable!) to interested buyers.

The “official new Christmas books” of the season we unwrapped on Day 3 of our advent calendar… though I am such a sucker for good holiday books I purchased some others too!
Isla’s new book, And Then Comes Christmas, is beautifully descriptive and poetic as it describes familiar seasonal changes that inspire people take part in Christmas traditions. We also have And Then Comes Summer as well as And Then Comes Halloween, and we love them all!
Cole’s new (and first!) Christmas book is called S is for Santa, and it is absolutely adorable! The detailed illustrations are fabulous, and we love how they display cultural diversity and emphasize togetherness and the spirit of giving.

Isla was SO excited to mail her letter to Santa. She marched up to the mailbox with the biggest grin on her face. Then, on tippy toes, she proudly dropped her letter inside.

It was such a beautiful day we enjoyed a winter walk and a little collecting.

Best Gift Ever. Definitely!

I love putting together a Christmas Craft Box for Isla to enjoy throughout December. I tried to be really purposeful this year by planning for some cute holiday crafting projects I knew Isla would enjoy (thanks for the inspiration, Pinterest!) and then filling the craft box with supplies for those specific projects. When planning, I chose several projects that used the same supplies, such as popsicle sticks, to minimize the number of things I’d need to purchase. I also printed a page with photos of each project to keep in the box for reference.

I filled Isla’s Christmas craft box with all sorts of magical, glittery art supplies, and what was her favorite? Her very own roll of scotch tape! Go figure! The paint-your-own Christmas tree ornament was also a big hit.

Christmas nails!

Admiring the Christmas tree with Daddo. We treasure quiet holiday moments like this!

Christmas crafts “wif” Mom. I can hear Isla’s little voice as I read these words. Love, love, love Daddo’s creative advent notes!

Our advent activity was the annual cousins gingerbread decorating day, but Santa stopped by for a surprise visit! This “unexpected twist” in the plans was ever so magical for us all and such a great way to start the day. Isla and Santa chatted up a storm, and she made him promise to stop by her room to see her Christmas tree when he delivers presents on Christmas Eve. Cole was just as happy as ever, and his first photo with Santa seriously melts my heart!!!

Santa even joined in for a family sing along before heading back to the North Pole!

Nana and Papa got the girls matching jammies and they wore them to decorate their gingerbread houses.

Snowflake crafts and Santa hat snuggles with Piper!

Entertaining Cole with her sweet, sweet dance moves!

They’ve already built such a strong bond. When I see the two of them together giggling like this I cannot help but think of all the fun they will share in the years to come. My heart overflows!

We visited the grotto for the first time for their Festival of Lights, and it was simply gorgeous! The light display was truly incredible; every inch of the grounds was colorful and twinkling. Uncle Chris, Aunt Cheryl and cousin Wavy joined us, and the girls had an absolute ball running around, exploring, and soaking in the wonder of their surroundings.

Love these two together so much! A few days earlier, Isla and I were playing with Cole. She was looking at him and said, “I just didn’t know he’d be like this to me.” Then she turned to me as her eyes filled with tears. She smiled and said, “Sometimes I have happy cries.” Oh, my precious baby girl, so do I. So do I.

We had a crazy few days where we missed the advent activities, so we made up for it by bundling the activities together one morning. First, Isla opened a present to discover a new Santa mug, which she loved and immediately started cradling like a baby. She was eager to give the mug a test run, so we treated her to a little hot cocoa with her breakfast.

Next we made reindeer pancakes. This was a relatively simple, super fun, and tasty activity! Isla had such a great time assembling her reindeer, and eating all of the extra “Rudolf noses” once we were done decorating.

Daddo and Mommy reindeer pancakes! Notice Daddo reindeer’s beard? Was Isaac going for actual likeness or did he just find a clever way to get more bacon? Hmmm…

We spent a magical evening looking at Christmas lights! First we picked up some peppermint hot cocoa and then made our way over to Peacock Lane for the pedestrian night. The streets were closed to cars and packed with people enjoying all the wondrous twinkly homes. After walking the length of the street and back we drove around our neighborhood with Christmas music blasting in search of more wonderful light displays. I already cannot wait to repeat this evening next Christmas!

When Isla spotted these jumbo Christmas lights lining one of the yards on Peacock Lane she could hardly contain her excitement! She was completely enchanted and immediately began pretending each bulb was filled with magic- the imagination on this kid never ceases to amaze us!

Madelyn came over and we made bird seed ornaments. It was a simple project (also just messy enough to be fun) and a lovely way to encourage the spirit of giving to all creatures great and small.

We waited for a sunny afternoon to place our feeders in the trees around our house. They looked so sweet hanging in the branches!

Isla had been asking us to go ice skating non-stop and you should have heard the hooting and cheering that went on when she opened her advent calendar and found out it was skating day. Some of her cousins joined us and made it even more fun! Isla was pretty nervous at first, but pushed one of those little plastic seals around for balance and before we knew it she was skating on her own!

Cole enjoyed lots of auntie snuggles while the big kids skated.

Another advent combo: making puppy chow and Christmas music dance party. In that order, of course, to help wear off the sugar rush! Puppy chow is one of my favorite holiday treats and it’s so fun and easy to make. Shaking the bag to coat all the cereal in powdered sugar was Isla’s favorite part. Clearly.

We enjoyed Isla’s tree so much throughout the season! She and Daddo crafted the cardboard star for the topper and spray painted it gold. Every night we left the lights on while we’d read and snuggle before bed.

Merry Christmas Eve! We stayed the night at my Aunt and Uncle’s house after our annual prawns and champagne night on the 23rd. We opened presents and enjoyed a lovely brunch before heading to Salem for the Christmas Eve service and dinner. A little dusting of snow fell in the morning as well which made the day even more magical.

Around 6:30am on Christmas morning we heard Isla moving around her room and so we checked her monitor. She had climbed out of bed and was just discovering the letter and present Santa left for her under her little tree. She looked at the letter and picked up the present, absolutely BEAMING! She then checked her nightlight and realized it hadn’t changed colors yet (her signal that it is okay to get out of bed) so she put the present down and scampered back up into her bed and under the covers. It was truly one of the sweetest moments we’ve ever experienced and such a highlight of our wonderful day!
After sleeping for another hour, she came to us to open presents, and was quick to discover the strawberry gum in her stocking.

Our Christmas morning as a family of four was such a happy, cozy experience. Isla is just the perfect age to enjoy the magic of the season and her excitement just melted our hearts! She LOVED the gum in her stocking, and was thrilled when she opened her gifts from Santa and discovered he brought the baby doll and Elsa dress she had asked for. Isla also helped Cole unwrap his gifts and he was super excited about his new pacifier clip that doubles as a teether!

Our best present this year, and Isla with her new baby that she named Little Neenee. I still giggle every time I hear her say it!

Later in the morning we met up with Nana, Papa, and all the aunts, uncles and cousins for the big Disneyland trip reveal for the girls.

So this is the reaction we were expecting to get when we told Isla that we are taking her to Disneyland… only this is the reaction to the rock kit stocking stuffer her auntie got her. Total blank stare and crickets for the big Disney reveal. Ha!

In November we got together with all of Isaac’s siblings and their families to take new family portraits. We kept the whole event a secret so that we could surprise Nana and Papa with new wall art. Their reactions were so wonderful. Further proof, it is so important to print your photos!

Isla made Nana a necklace for Christmas. She chose beads that made her think of the colors of Hawaii to remind Nana of our trip. Love this girl and her thoughtful heart!

Later on Christmas Day we returned to my Aunt and Uncle’s and there was still a bit of snow on the ground! Isla was absolutely thrilled to get out and play in it. She didn’t have to work too hard to convince Uncle Tristan to join her in a snowball fight.

We didn’t have any gloves with us for Isla, but her socks did the trick!

After their snowball fight, Isla and Tristan collected just enough snow to build a little snowman. Isla named him Little Hugger.

Official mistletoe tester, indeed!

It was a holiday season filled with love, laughter, and so much joy. We are so very, very grateful for these special times with our loved ones. Is it wrong that it’s only April and now I’m ready for Christmas again???