Christmas in Cincinnati

 We traveled to Cincinnati the day after Christmas to celebrate the holidays with Matt's family!  We had a great time seeing family and seeing so many of our friends we miss so much!  

We stayed with Matt's dad and step mom.  The boys loved getting to see so much of Papau and YaiYai!  

The boys having fun at Uncle Steve and Aunt Teresa's house.  

We got to have lunch with our dear friends the Gleason's.  Ryan was thrilled to see Bret!  Those boys just picked right up where they left off.  

And I loved seeing my sweet friend Jennifer.  She is one of my best friends from Cincy and I miss her so much.  

We also stopped by our neighborhood and saw some old neighbors.  The boys LOVED going to Josh and Jakes house to play for a little while.  Those four boys could play trains ALL. DAY. LONG!!!

Ryan and Daddy in some down time.

We went to dinner Sunday night with Matt's family.  Ryan was so good however, Colton, on the other hand, acted like he was possessed by a demon.  Oh Lordy, I thought I was going to have to take him out of there and drive around til everyone else finished dinner.  Thankfully he finally calmed down after the waiter brought cherries and crackers and we found a video on Matt's phone.  

We had to grab some Cincy favorite Graeter's Ice Cream after dinner.  

We loved getting to have breakfast with the Krafts on Monday before leaving town.  We love and miss the Krafts.  It was so great to catch up with them.  Those Kraft girls just dolled over the boys and the boys loved all the attention.  

We got on the road around lunch time Monday.  The boys were exhausted from going so much over the previous days.  They were pretty wiped and Colton slept quit a bit of the trip.  Ryan watched movies and played on his Leap Pad.  

It was a great weekend and so glad we got to see so many friends and family.  

Our Christmas

Since it was our first Christmas in our new house in our new city of Nashville, we decided to have a quiet and simple Christmas this year.  We've always had family at our house on Christmas morning (and we love our family visiting) but this year it was just the four of us.  And it was so nice to relax and not feel stressed about fixing breakfast or entertaining anyone.  It was relaxing and laid back.  

We got the boys up around 8:30 (so thankful they don't wake up at the crack of dawn just yet on Christmas morning ha).  Ryan woke up saying "did Santa come, did Santa come".  The boys ran downstairs and were greeted by their gifts from Santa.  

Ryan was so excited about his marble set he explained "it's what I always wanted".  Love seeing the joy in their little faces.  

Colton was so excited about his doctor kit. He loves it and loves to give check ups to everyone.  Who knows, maybe he will turn out to be a doctor one day.  

Ryan couldn't wait to put together his marble kit.  Definitely his favorite gift this Christmas. 

Matt spent quit a bit of time putting it all together and within 15 minutes Ryan had taken it apart to create his own creation.  That boy is so creative and LOVES creating his own designs and "tracks".  

The boys played ALL MORNING with their new toys.  They were so happy and played so well together.  They both took naps that afternoon and it was nice to spend some quiet time with my honey  while the boys were down.  

I made Pioneer Woman Pot Roast and her amazing mashed potatoes for dinner.  It was all so yummy and everyone enjoyed it.  

Merry Christmas

 

Christmas Eve

 

Merry Christmas Eve from the Deepe boys!   Our first Christmas in Tennessee!

Our Christmas Eve included a trip to the gym and lunch as a family afterwards.  Then Ryan helped me make a cookie cake in the afternoon. 

He was such a good helper.  His favorite part was eating the leftover chocolate chips - just like his daddy.  

He LOVES helping momma in the kitchen, especially when it comes to making cookies.  

Our first cookie cake.

We headed to church for the Christmas Eve service.  

The boys did well during the service and enjoyed the music. 

After church we came home for dinner then the boys decorated part of our Happy Birthday Jesus cookie cake to leave out for Santa.  

Ryan got the hang of using the piping bag.  He wanted to put every color sprinkle on his piece.  

The cookie cake turned out great!  We will have to make more of these in the future. 

I made Ryan take his shirt off before eating his cookie so he didn't get any icing on himself.  It had to much stuff on it he couldn't even eat the whole thing.  He left the rest for Santa.  

(Sadly I had to put Colton to bed early because he was throwing a fit at dinner and refused to eat anything.  Total attitude and wouldn't even take a bite of his bbq chicken - which I know he likes.  He kept saying he was tired so I asked him if he wanted to go to bed and he said yes, so I put him to bed.  I hated that he missed out on decorating cookies but I gave him multiple chances to eat and he refused with attitude.)

Our Weekend

Our weekend seemed to fly by and it was Monday before we knew it.  Saturday Matt stayed home with the boys so I could get some errands and last minute Christmas shopping done.  My first stop was to order baby furniture for baby Sydney.  Yay!  Still hard to believe we will be welcoming a sweet baby girl in less than three months.  

Saturday night we chilled at home and watched Christmas movies.  

Sunday was a relaxing day with church, lunch after church and naps for everyone in the afternoon.  We enjoyed hanging out together and watching more Christmas shows.  

Five on Friday Catch Up

 Wow, has it really been almost two weeks since I last blogged?  Well I have been super busy the past few weeks.  Nothing earth shattering, just the typical mom-of-a-preschooler, cookie-maker and chief-operating-officer of the Deepe house!  

1.  So for starters this is what I've been up to lately.  Since the Holiday Marketplace show a few weeks ago I have been super busy with cookie orders! Yay!!!  This week alone I made over 250 cookies.  I have enjoyed making some new Christmas designs.  I love this Santa face and this is my new favorite Christmas tree design.  

2.  Last Friday night was Matt's work Christmas party.  It was a fabulous Christmas party.  For starters we got to dress up, which I hate we don't do more often.  It's always fun to get fancied up and go out as real grown-ups.  The party was at a country club in Nashville and it was beautifully decorated.  And then there was the food, it was amazing!  They had everything from prime rib to shrimp to three different types of pastas.  Then there was a chocolate fondue fountain complete with strawberries, marshmallows, pretzel sticks, pineapple and shortbread cookies.  It was such a fun night and I'm so glad to meet some of his co-workers.  

3.  Last Saturday we took the boys to A Dickens of a Christmas in downtown Franklin.  It was a little chilly and crowded but it was still fun.  We enjoyed walking around sipping on hot chocolate.  

Sunday we decided to take the boys to The Opryland Hotel.  Matt and I have both been before, just not together, and I knew the boys would love walking around and seeing all the lights.  We went Sunday after naps.  The boys loved it and we had a wonderful time.  Definitely made some fun memories and hopefully started a new tradition we will continue each year.  We even saw Santa while we were there.  We didn't plan that but there was no line so we went for it.  The boys did great and we got a great picture.  

4.  The boys had their Happy Birthday Jesus parties and Christmas programs at school this week.  I loved getting to go to both of their parties.  

Colton's program was Tuesday night.  He was a bumblebee and the cutest one i've ever seen.  We were both proud and surprised when they started singing and Colton was singing over everyone else.  I was laughing so hard I was crying.  That boy cracks us up all the time.  He is such a little ham and clearly a performer.  

Ryan's program was on Wednesday night.  He was an angel and did awesome.  He rocked the mighty angel warrior.  We are so proud of him and how much he has already grown this year.  The picture is with his buddies McCabe and Anna.  

5.  I love the boys in matching pajamas and Christmas jammies are just the cherry on top.  They watched the Polar Express for the first time this week and you could say they are pretty obsessed.  What boy doesn't love a movie about trains and Santa Claus.