2014: A Year in Review

Similar to last year, I decided to review the highlights from this last year:

January - Tyler grew big enough to wear socks!

February - Two years and going strong

March - Tyler learned to roll over

April - Holzgraf family reunion

May - Kylee graduated from preschool

June - My baby had surgery

July - Cornwall Fourth of July Celebration/Family Reunion

August - Kylee started kindergarten!

September - Tyler started crawling

October - Canning, canning, and more canning!

November - Kylee turned six and Tyler celebrated his first birthday

December - Family ride on the Santa Express

Looking forward to an equally awesome 2015!

Freezer Meal Group

For months I have been wanting to start a freezer meal group, and I am beyond excited that I finally bit the bullet and put one together! There are four of us in the group (me, Jen, Jaclyn, and Sally) and we all have small families (3-4 people). Each month (starting in November) we quadruple two different recipes, and then on a designated day each month, we swap meals. That means each month I end up with 8 different freezer meals. I know it sounds silly, but I get almost giddy looking in my freezer and seeing all those beautifully prepared meals :-) And it's fun to try different recipes! Here are some of the meals we've had so far:

• Chili
• Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole
• Saucy Pork Chops
• Minestrone Soup
• Beef Stroganoff
• Chicken Tacos
• Pot Roast
• Baked Rigatoni
• Funeral Potatoes and Ham
• Chicken Soup
• White Chicken Chili
• Cilantro Lime Chicken
• Loaded Baked Potato Soup
• Chicken Alfredo

Hooray for easy dinners!

Tyler - 13 Months

Just a few highlights from this past month.

Tyler:

• now has four teeth
• loves eating yogurt and cinnamon toast for breakfast
• still not walking, but loves walking with support
• loves rubbing his face on my faux fur blankets... he thinks they are "so soft"
• eats almost anything we eat, including roast, eggplant, pasta, soup, and more!
• likes to climb on things to try and get taller (i.e. the base of his activity center, Kylee's bathroom stool, etc)
• misses his sister when she isn't here
• will now (sometimes) give his dad kisses
• is getting more cuddly

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

I can't believe Christmas is less than a week away! I have most of the shopping and wrapping done and am looking forward to spending time with my family.

We started celebrating Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving and haven't stopped!

• We got the Christmas lights up on the house and decorated the tree. Unlike last year, we just put lights up on the bottom peaks... although we did add lights around our pillars and trees! We only put up one Christmas tree this year... and it is in the sitting room so the door can be closed. Kind of sad not to have it in our family room, but it would make me really stressed out to try and keep Tyler away from the tree all day long!

• We put out the other Christmas decorations, including our nativity sets and this beautiful canvas print.

• I made (and mailed) our Christmas cards. Aren't they so cute!?

• We took the Santa Express and visited Santa's Village. It was Kylee's first train ride and she thought it was "awesome". She especially enjoyed coloring in her coloring book on the way to visit Santa.

• Of course we decorated gingerbread houses! Looking forward to next year when all four of us kids will be living in the same town so we can all enjoy this tradition together (missed you Beki and Bryce!).

• We attended the ward Christmas party where we enjoyed a short program, including a 17-piece orchestra of people just from my ward... they sounded amazing! Tyler tried visiting Santa. He wasn't impressed.

• We made a Christmas countdown chain, have watched some Christmas movies, drove around looking at Christmas lights, delivered Christmas gifts to neighbors, and have been enjoying Christmas music on Pandora. We have also been enjoying this beautiful video that reminds us about why we celebrate Christmas. I am so thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ!