I am pretty big on traditions. Especially Christmas ones! There is something comforting and nostalgic in doing the same things year after year. Some family traditions have lasted the test of time and others have changed as we have lost family members and added new ones. Mason and I have a few traditions that we stick to... his favorite being watching Home Alone 384 times during the month of December. Seriously... we quote this movie all year long! "Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal"! 

Now that we are parents, I feel even more urgency to create lasting family memories. And yes, I'm WELL aware that Hadley will not remember a single thing about this Christmas, but you know who will!? ME! Me and my trusty camera that will be there to document every adorable second! :) 

So in an effort to start our very own holiday traditions this year, we have been busy engaging in lots of festive activities to help get us in the Christmas spirit!

This year our traditions include: 

MISTLETOE & MAGIC
Hadley & I drove to Tyler before Thanksgiving to go to Mistletoe & Magic for some early Christmas shopping! This hasn't always been a tradition of mine, but my mom, aunts, and grandmother had a tradition of going every year - so hopefully this will be one that Hadley & I will add to our list, as well. 

SANTA'S VILLAGE

The lights in HPV are absolutely breath taking! We like to go to dinner at Mi Cocina at least once in December to take in the magical scenery and a margarita or two! :) 

LUNCH AT NEIMANS

The ultimate "ladies who lunch" destination. I LOVE going to lunch at Neimans! The consommé soup starter and the popovers with strawberry butter! To die. This place, just screams special occasion to me! This past weekend we had a family lunch there. Another tradition worth keeping! 

And these are all just pre-Christmas activities. We will still make the drive to Tyler to celebrate Christmas Eve and Morning as usual, followed by our annual road trip to Houston to celebrate with the Guinn side of the family!

Before Mason and I were married, however, we had lots of special traditions of our own. As a child, my family always celebrated Christmas at my Grandmother's house. She was creative, crafty, and loved the holidays and had a way of making them magical. From her magnificent snow village to her Christmas tree made up only of angel ornaments that she collected over her whole life - I so vividly remember all of the tiny details that she put into making the season so memorable. When she died in 2005, it was definitely a major loss to our family and forced us to change the way we did a lot of things. 

One tradition, however, has lasted. My Grandmother's handmade stockings.

These stockings were nothing fancy. Just felt pieces sewn together with sequins and festive holiday cutouts, hand stitched and glued onto the front. Every member of our entire family had their own and every Christmas Eve she spent nearly the whole night stuffing them. I can not even imagine how much time it would take to shop for and stuff nearly 15 stockings, but she did it every year without fail. 

We absolutely love these stockings and I'm sure my family would all agree that they are among our most cherished possession. Sadly, Mason and Hadley do not have their own. 

For my birthday, Mason gave me a sewing machine which I had every intent on using to make stockings for this Christmas. Time was unfortunately a luxury that I did not quite have enough of during Hadley's first 7 months. So I decided to take a few short cuts with a pre-made stocking for this year. (I still plan to make and sew stockings for next year). *Also, not pictured: Mason's stocking which I am still working on.

Isn't Hadley's just the cutest!? The best part of her stocking (other than it being PINK) are the angels. I had a bag of scrap felt pieces that my Grandmother had made and decorated yet never used for the stockings. When looking through the bag, I found these two angels. 

Absolutely perfect for Hadley's stocking! Sometimes you can't help but smile at God's timing. How strange that my Grandmother made these two angels and never used them. And that I happen to have a bag of all of her old scrap pieces, that I came across the day that I decided to make Hadley her own stocking. And that angels were my Grandmother's most favorite thing.

It may not be much, but I feel like this is such a wonderful tribute to her. Hadley may have never gotten to meet my sweet Grandmother who influenced me in so many ways, but I hope that over the years I will be able to warm her heart with the magic of Christmas in the same way that my family has always done for me. 

We are so excited that Christmas week has finally arrived! I know that this one will be our very merriest one yet... 

The Christmas season is magical, but even more so now that we are experiencing it through Hadley's eyes! With all the shopping, wrapping, and holiday events  it's been tough to keep up with the blog, but I had to share Hadley's first Santa visits - yes, we saw the Big Guy twice! :) 

Hadley Meets Santa (Round 1) - Biscuit - Houston, TX: 
Hadley's Godmother, Lauren, works at the cutest little design boutique/gift shop in Houston, called Biscuit. When we were in town visiting last month, Santa and Mrs. Claus were at Biscuit making a special appearance so we decided to swing by for a little impromptu Santa trial run! I'll let the pictures tell the tale of how it went...

Started out being her normal photogenic self, UNTIL she saw who was holding her!!! Who the HELL is this guy!?!?!?!!?!??!?!? MOMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Photography gold. We were so pleased to have a smiling Santa pic, as well as a crying one. Hadley sure knows how to deliver. :) 

Hadley Meets Santa (Round 2) - Northpark Mall  - Dallas, TX:
Even though Hadley already met Santa and we got some great pics. I wanted her to have her picture taken in a more traditional setting and in her fancy smocked Santa dress that I had purchased just for the occasion. The Northpark Santa is legit. He has been working at Northpark Mall for like the last 30 years. People my age had their Santa pictures taken with him. Now, having your picture taken with the most popular Santa in town is quite the process... you can't just waltz up and decide you want to meet the guy, HA!

Mason had to go up to the mall Sunday morning, one hour before the tickets to meet Santa were scheduled to begin being passed out and 3 hours before the mall even opens for business. Even getting there an hour early only scores you #93 for the day. (The people who got #1 were there at 4AM - INSANITY!) The good news is once you know what number you have, you can show up later in the day. We went back up there after Santa's break at 3:30PM and thankfully made the cut with our number to be in the first group to line up to see him. We weren't sure how Hadley would do with this Santa, but again she did not disappoint.

Haha! The same happy beginning and tearful end. But aren't the pictures of Hadley touching Santa's beard and then looking up at him just the sweetest ever!? She at least gave this guy a chance - which is saying a lot, since she has a pretty strict "No One Holds Me Except Mom or Dad" policy. 

I'd say Hadley's Santa visits were about as perfect as we could have hoped for! 

Hadley, you have been a very good girl this year and I have no doubt that Santa will be visiting you with lots of goodies next week! :) 

Having a child at Christmas is the absolute BEST!! 

Well... here we are again. Guess I better just get used to blinking and another month passing by. And I know I ALWAYS say this... but this was the BEST month yet! : ) Lots of new tricks learned and changes that kept us on our toes. There is a never a dull moment with Miss Hadley these days. 

Happy 7 Months Hadley!

Sitting up all by herself now, like a big girl! With quite the personality, as well! 

Clothing/Diapers: 
3-6 month clothing and size 2 diapers! 

Sleeping: 
This is still a struggle. This month with new teeth pushing through, our sleep patterns were all over the board. Hadley still takes two good naps a day and goes to bed around 7:30 or 8pm. However, we had lots of wake ups through out the night this month that could have been attributed to teething or perhaps just waking up and realizing that she wasn't with Mommy & Daddy. Anytime we bring her up to our bedroom, however, she happily goes to sleep and will stay asleep until morning. She sleeps best cozied up between Mom & Dad. Definitely not a habit we want to start, but sometimes lack of sleep makes you bend the rules a little. :) Hadley has probably figured this out... 

Favorite Toys: 
Stacking Rings, Sophie the Giraffe, Measuring Spoons, and lots of things that aren't meant to be toys that she is intrigued by (remote controls, cell phones, headbands, etc)

Things Hadley Hates: 
Being away (or out of eyesight) from Mommy. She is very much a Mama's girl, obviously because we spend just about every waking moment together. She's pretty tight with Daddy too. But she does NOT like to be without at least one of us, which makes leaving her for the occasional evening outing very difficult. At the moment, we can't even leave her in the church nursery to go to the Sunday morning service without a complete meltdown.  While it is very flattering to have such an enthusiastic Mom and Dad's #1 Fan Club member for life, it can definitely be frustrating at times. 

It's so fun to watch you grow up, Hadley! As much as you are a fan of Mommy & Daddy (at least for now...), we are your biggest fans, as well (and always will be)! We cheer you on, applaud, and get so excited with every new milestone that you achieve, no matter how small. Watching you notice things in the world is pretty much the coolest thing ever. 

We are SOOOO very excited for your 1st Christmas this year and have so many things planned. Mainly because you have a ridiculous amount of Christmas/Winter outfits that you need to show off! :)

We love you sweet girl!!! Looking forward to another BEST MONTH EVER!

Being a girl mom is as perfect as I ever imagined it to be and it's only just begun.

The clothes, the bows, the shoes, the PINK... she is my childhood baby doll come to life.

Mason asked me how I even remembered that it was exactly one year ago today that we found out... 

Easy. It was the day my dreams came true. 

Another first holiday for Miss Hadley is in the books... Turkey Day! Gobble, Gobble! 

We had lots of family in town to help celebrate. Gigi, Pops, Cameron & Keisha came in from Houston and Lissie, Laura, Martin, & Hayden drove up from Tyler!

We spent the first half of the day celebrating in Carrollton with Daddy's extended family and the second half back at our house, followed by a trip to a local bar to watch the Texas Football game! Yes, we took our baby to a bar on Thanksgiving! Parents of the year! :)  

​Here is a little glimpse of Hadley's 1st Thanksgiving: 

This year it is pretty obvious what we are most thankful for...our precious blessing of a daughter. She has brought an abundance of joy and laughter into our house. We have also felt the support of family as they have surrounded us in love these first six months as we began our own little family. Oh how lucky we are to have you all as ours. So many reasons to give thanks!  

Happy first Thanksgiving Hadley! XOXO