...life as we know it: home for the holidays . . .

After a busy November, the time finally came for our month-long trip home to Atlanta. We were a little nervous about how the plane trip would go considering how awful it was when we traveled in August! This time however we booked Liam his own seat and brought on his carseat. I also bought Liam some new toys and wrapped them up so that Liam had something new to unwrap throughout the flight when he was getting antsy. These two things SAVED our trip. Liam was a dream during the whole flight! I think having him in his carseat tricked him into thinking he had to stay in it. He only got up twice during the flight to walk around and play in the back with the flight attendants (who loved him of course). Amazingly, he took a one-hour nap at the very beginning of the flight, and was awake for the next eight hours -- no joke. And he STILL was awesome.

However, that lack of sleep came back to bite us . . . we flew in the same night as a birthday dinner for my mom's 50th and we literally went straight to dinner from the airport. We all looked awful and Liam was a pill during most of dinner. He finally started to warm up when we put him and Bailey next to each other -- they kept each other entertained and Bailey would not stop trying to kiss and hug him! She was so excited to see her cousin!

Since I am just now taking time to write this all down, it is amazing how quickly the month flew by! We had play dates with friends, Santa sightings, lots of shopping, road trip to Alabama, a baby shower . . . the list goes on and on! We were also so happy to witness my brother getting married the week after we arrived, and then go to my cousin's wedding right before Christmas. There were so many awesome things to celebrate while we were there!

So here is a picture dump of our time with a few comments here and there . . .

Fun with cousins!

Liam had so much fun playing with Bailey this time around . . . they definitely have a love-hate relationship though! They were either kissing and hugging each other or hitting and stealing toys. Fun times. And Liam got to meet cousin Rowen for the first time! He was scared of her for a while at first, but by the end of the trip had warmed up to her and would even give her kisses and hugs! :)

Fun with family!

We had so much fun spending time with my brothers, sister, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. Liam quickly learned two new words: Mimi and Pop Pop! It made me so happy to think that when we move home he will quickly fall back into spending time with his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. My parents watched Liam a lot for us so that Keith and I could have time with friends or to ourselves, which was so nice and much needed! When we went to Alabama Keith's mom did the same -- she practically begged for us to leave him at home with her so she could love on him all she wanted! The plan was for her to come back and spend Christmas in Atlanta with us, but we ended up getting her sick and she couldn't make the trip when it was time to leave. :(

Fun with friends!

Liam had such a great time playing with friends this trip too! First we had a play date with Courtney and Casey, and the boys had a blast! They are only five months apart and get along great, so it makes for such a nice visit when we're together. Then we planned to spend the weekend with the Ramseys, but Mason got sick with the flu after our first night there, so we had to head to Alabama early. We were bummed, but it was definitely for the best. It didn't stop us from getting some adorable pictures of Liam and Mason though! :)

Casey and Liam driving the Jeep!

Celebrating my 30th with two of my bests :)

Keith having a little too much fun!

Liam, Mason, and Keith watching Toy Story

Happy Wedding!

My brother and his fiancé decided to get married on 12-12-12 and we were lucky enough to be in Atlanta for the wedding! Here is a picture I snapped of them that day . . . too cute! My bro is so funny. :)

My bro and sis-in-law

Then at the end of the month my cousin Jenna married her fiancé Brandon -- they had a beautiful wedding in downtown Atlanta and we had an incredible time dancing the night away and spending lots of quality time with family -- and I owe our night out to my best friend Jennifer who babysat Liam for us so that we could enjoy the wedding!

The happy couple during their first dance -- sorry for the blurry cell phone pic!

Merry Christmas Eve with friends!

Right before we moved, our other friends moved to Montana and we've only gotten to see them at Christmas. We make it a priority to see them and eat lunch at our favorite Mexican place, Tara Humata. It's amazing to see the difference in the kids since last year!