christmas recap

Happy New Year! I hope your 2017 is off to a bright start.

I thought I'd do a quick holiday recap before we get too far into January. Plus, I need to share all of the adorable photos I took over Christmas, right?

Are you ready for photo overload? Here we go.

The kids met the big guy at a Breakfast with Santa this year. One of them was more interested than the other.

holiday cheer: christmas brunch

This holiday season we are blessed to have almost all of our family coming to town. My brother, sister-in-law, and sweet nephew arrived this week from Cairo (yes, THAT Cairo), and my brother and sister who both live in Seattle got in yesterday. Todd's brother, our sister-in-law, and niece and nephew will be in from Denver next week and we cannot wait. The only ones missing will be my brother-in-law and sister-in-law-to-be and we will miss them dearly but can't blame them for wanting to enjoy a sunny vacation this year.

Needless to say, all of the family in town means that we get to spend a ton of time with them and these two weeks are going to be family packed and the best kind of busy.

two favorites

We are enjoying the most wonderful convergence of seasons right now. It's a fall that keeps delivering days that can only be described as splendid, perfectly fall-like without being too cold and bursting with sunshine. Being that it's November, I can already feel the excitement and warmth of the holiday season approaching.

With the holiday season beginning in just over a week, I thought it would be fun to share a pair of favorites. The first can even help you through Thanksgiving if football isn't your thing.

The Crown

This new Netflix series chronicles the early reign of Queen Elizabeth II and I. Am. Hooked. I L-O-V-E all things royals and just about anything British so this series is right up my alley plus it's so well done. The costumes and sets and scenery are stunning, as you can imagine. There's everything from tragedy and scandal to complete pomp and it's just a wonderful show. If you liked Downton Abbey, you will love this.

Queen Elizabeth was only 25 when she ascended to the throne and watching her grow into her role as queen is just fascinating to watch. She comes across as surprisingly relatable. I felt like I was getting to know her. I also love a series that makes me feel like I'm learning something and, while surely dramatically interpreted, the events depicted in the series are all based on history.

We flew through this ten episode series and the second season cannot get here soon enough.

Kids Read Truth Advent Table Cards

If you're not familiar with She Reads Truth and are interested in exploring the Bible more deeply you should definitely check it out. They offer Bible studies for women through their website, their app, and beautifully designed publications as well - there's also He Reads Truth for men.

Anyway, back to the cards. The set includes a card for each day of Advent with a verse and questions to discuss with your kids at the dinner table (or wherever works for you). There are three questions on each card, each geared to different age levels.

Our set just arrived today and even though Advent isn't here yet we decided to try out the first card. The simplest of the questions was just right for Elia and she took to the cards right away. I explained that Advent is the season when we anticipate ("What does anticipate mean, Mommy?") and prepare for Jesus' birthday and she lit right up since, you know, she loves birthdays and she loves Jesus. I am so excited to try these table cards out this Advent season as a family.

Those are my two favorites for today. I hope you enjoy and find it useful, even if it is just for finding a new series to binge watch.

halloween at hess

Today was the most beautiful Michigan fall day. The weather was gorgeous and the sun was shining and it was just perfect.

After church we took Wells for his first haircut. We had very mixed emotions about this as we had grown to love his sweet, curly little mullet. We knew that cut would mean a farewell to his baby curls and we weren't entirely ready but, alas, it was time. Please enjoy the photos below, documenting Wells' before and during experience. They show the mullet in full force and his very not mixed emotions during the haircut.

galentine's fun

We had a lovely weekend celebrating love with our family and friends. On Saturday, Elia and I hosted a little "galentine's" play date. A group of my mom friends and their kids came over in the morning and we drank mimosas, made some Valentine crafts, and enjoyed more than our share of sweet treats (thank you to Jennie, Maddie, Sarah, Parker, and Anya for bringing the delicious and adorable cookies and cupcakes!).

Elia loved having her little friends over to play and she especially enjoyed sneaking doughnut holes while I wasn't looking.

a holiday recap

With my mind on all of the possibilities of a new year, I never took the time to reflect on our holiday season on the blog. We ran into a lot of snags the week of Christmas to the point that it was starting to feel comical but despite that we still had a lovely holiday season.

We enjoyed Wells' first Christmas and we think he did too.

holiday cheer: christmas playlist

As you look forward to Christmas, I hope that it's a joyful season for you and your family. If you need help getting into the holiday spirit, I guarantee that these songs will help.

1. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing by Sufjan Stevens
2. Patapan/O Come, O Come Emmanuel by Mindy Gledhill
3. Winter Song by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson
4. Christmas Song by Dave Matthews Band
5. Hark the Herald Angels Sing by Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors
6. Silent Night by Priscilla Ahn
7. Auld Lang Syne by Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis
8. This Holiday by Brooke Annibale
9. Angels We Have Heard on High by Sixpence None The Richer
10. Another December by Holley Maher

These songs will be a great backdrop to any upcoming gathering you might be hosting and I've put them together in this handy Spotify playlist for you in order to make it really easy for you to enjoy them. I hope you enjoy!

P.S. If this playlist doesn't help, listen to Do You Hear What I Hear? by Whitney Houston. That song is a quintessential favorite and if it doesn't get you into the Christmas spirit, you're destined to be a Scrooge all season. Just sayin'.

holiday cheer: stocking stuffers

Everyone, it is Christmas week! Can you believe it? I have had so much fun shopping for the kids this year. Elia is at a great age where she is starting to understand the true story of Christmas and that this is a very special season. We went to visit Santa a few weeks ago and before that visit I asked her what she was going to ask Santa to bring her. She told me, "Angels and... Baby Jesuses." Sweet girl, that just warmed my heart.

Throughout the season, we will continue to share the good news that Baby Jesus has already come and that he wouldn't have fit in her stocking anyway. A few years ago, we went back and forth about whether or not we would be a family who "does" Santa and in the end decided we would. Opening stockings is one of my favorite traditions and I just love shopping for them. The best part is that you can fit great, inexpensive gifts for kids in their stockings.

If you're still looking for a few suggestions for your kids, here's a peek at what our kids are getting in their stockings this year. Thankfully, they're still too little to read the blog so no surprises ruined here! Many of these stocking stuffers are available on Amazon so if take advantage of your Prime account they can still get here before Christmas Eve.

holiday photo outfits

Last week we had our family photos taken for our annual Christmas card. Our photos will be back to us soon but in the meantime, I wanted to share our photo outfits with you.

Over the years we've played with different styles, some more formal and some less. These days, we're feeling pretty casual, as necessitated by life with two young kids. I also love the idea of coordinating all the time but alas, when Elia picks her own outfits and Wells spits up on his and Todd and I throw on whatever is clean and readily available, coordination is not our strongest game. Family pictures gives us a chance to step out of that and do something a little more thoughtful.

This year, I wanted to go with more looks with more traditional colors that weren't a huge departure from our everyday style but still a little special. Our looks are pictured below and you can see them in the sidebar photo as well - a special sneak peek.

holiday photo outfits 

My best tips for picking photo shoot outfits are:

spooky fun

I decided a while back that I wanted to make a big deal out of holidays for my kids. It's fun to do and holiday themes are a nice way to pepper the day to day with something to get excited about. Elia couldn't have been more excited about Halloween and Wells just thought it had something to do with playing peekaBOO all day long so he was pleased.

Our parents came over to go to a trunk or treat with us then hang out while we passed out candy to trick-or-treaters. Elia was so pumped about her party and practiced trick-or-treating for a week ahead of it. She kept asking when the trick-or-treaters were going to come to her house. Soon enough, Guapa, soon enough.

finds: halloween picks for tots

Happy October, Everyone!

October might the most universally loved month of the year. The crisp air and promise of cozy sweaters and those pumpkin lattes that everyone is talking about just get people in a good mood.

Of course, in addition to all of the other fall fun, October always brings to mind Halloween so I thought we'd kick off the month with a roundup of some of my favorite Halloween finds for kids.

Books:

one / two / three

four / five

six / seven / eight

Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin holds a special place in my heart - we read it hundreds of times last fall without getting tired of it. We always love Llama Llama and Little Blue Truck books and the Baby Lit series is awesome. We own Peek-A-Who? and I'm sure this Halloween version is just as fun.

For Girls:

one / two / three

That cat dress is so sweet and it has the cutest little cat tail on the back side. I wish it came in toddler sizes for Elia. Thankfully, the Boo pajamas do and she especially loves that the little stars glow in the dark. And that monster sweater, that puffy little monster is so charming!

For Boys:

one / two / three

Both pairs of pajamas are darling and could be worn by boys or girls. Wells will be rocking his Peek-A-Booo bodysuit this month for his first Halloween.

What are your favorite picks for Halloween? 

memorial day weekend

We spent this Memorial Day weekend as we've spent the past several years, at my in-laws' lake house, ringing in the official start of summer. We have been blessed with great weather this May and were excited to kick back at the lake before baby two comes along to shake things up.

I've been trying to spend time doing special things with Elia over the last few weeks since my attention will be divided soon so we went up to Rockford after I worked for a few hours on Frida morning and shopped, checked out the dam and river, played in the park, and then enjoyed lunch outside together. I swear, she's the best lunch date and, if not always the most patient or well-behaved, certainly the cutest. I'd take her to lunch every day if it were an option.

We spent the rest of the day napping, playing in the sand, and then I headed out for my sprinkle.

Saturday marked our first trip of the season to the farmer's market, something I always enjoy. Though the selection at Michigan farmer's markets are limited in the early season, there's still plenty to see and buy. We settled on asparagus, cinnamon bread, and fresh flowers.

After naps (for both Elia and I), we spent the afternoon and evening boating and enjoying the beautiful day with friends who were visiting us at the lake.

On Sunday we spent a leisurely morning on a walk and then decided to give the paddleboard its first spin on the lake. Elia loved riding along with her dad.

More friends came to visit before lunch and Elia had a great timing playing with her friend on the beach. I wish I had taken pictures of the girls holding hands as they walked down the dock together but alas, some sweet moments are just meant to be experienced, not documented.

We headed home before lunch today to regroup after so many days away and get ready for a busy week. Afternoon rainstorms also set the stage for some great naps again. Summer is definitely here and we are so ready for it. Happy Memorial Day to all!

egg hunts and easter morning

Happy Easter from the Neckers family!

We continued our Easter celebrations yesterday by attending a community Easter egg hunt with friends.

Elia had a great time and was a surprisingly good egg hunter.

She even got to explore a fire truck while she was there.

Her enthusiasm for Easter activities and eggs reassured me that a full Easter morning would be worth investing in. Since our church offers two services on Easter Sunday so we were able to pack in lots of Easter fun before the main event began.

Elia woke up to bunny prints outside of her bedroom.

She followed the trail and found that the Easter bunny had filled her Easter basket with some goodies, which she opened while I made a special Easter breakfast.

 I have to admit, I was pretty proud of my first attempt at a bunny pancake.

 After breakfast we stayed in our jammies and reprised the Easter egg hunt.

Elia found all of the eggs and made sure to eat the bunny graham found in each before depositing the eggs into her basket.

We got ready for church after that and Elia proudly sported her new shoes from "Hop Hop" aka the Easter Bunny. He did a really nice job of picking something to complement her new dress.

Our church service was really lovely and we headed over to Todd's parents for a wonderful brunch with both sets of grandparents. Elia was spoiled by an Easter basket from each set of grandparents as well as an early birthday gift from Todd's parents who will be out of town on her big day. This little girl is beyond blessed and we are so thankful that she has such loving grandparents on both sides.

I hope you all are enjoying a wonderful Easter. He is risen, indeed!