We braved the bitter temps and had the fastest photo-shoot ever.

Part of the Christmas magic for me is getting to capture memories with my camera until the next Christmas. I just love taking snapshots throughout the day, documenting the festivities. Although it was blowing snow and freezing outside, inside was warm and fuzzy.

Here is a quick peek into life at the Bauers’ home on Christmas morn. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.

Oh boy… if ever there were a shot that reminded of me when I was little, this is it! I was notorious for wanting to grab attention and in this picture, Nathaniel was just waiting for me to watch before he took off on the slide. A glimpse into my childhood for sure!

Coming home from the park today, we drove by this pair, just hanging out.

I made William turn the car around so I could take a picture. I actually think they are cute as far as lawn ornaments go.

Mimi and Papa sent the boys special ornaments for the tree and as you can clearly see, they LOOOOVED them! What a hit, thank you guys for blessing them with these super-cute snowmen.

It’s kinda a challenge for me to see how little I can spend on Christmas wrapping.  It started last year and continued to this year.

Here is the final outcome.

I got the roll of Kraft paper for under $2, for 100ft!!  The stamp was in the $ bin at Michaels and since this year we introduced Santa, went along with out theme.  The ink was the cheap stuff, I think $1.  I just used a pen we had lying around and cut the extras for “cards.”

My MIL does these really cute little hints on all our presents and I started doing the same thing, although mine pale in comparison.

If you’ve got kids that like to get crafty with crayons/stamps and ink… let them loose on some kraft paper for some very personal, unique wrapping.

My SIL is truly amazing.  I knew it the moment I saw the first picture of her my brother sent me via email.  They were in helmets, riding a moped through the mountains.  I knew at that moment he had found his soul-mate (I had too.)

She has been an invaluable member of our family over the past several years and I look forward to soooo many more years to come.  I look forward to seeing her and although I love my brother to pieces, I can honestly say that she’s taken root in my heart just as if she were my blood sister.  When Jeremy married her, I truly gained a sister and a friend.

We have so much in common, but I’ve never known anyone quite as artistic as her.  She just oozes it from ever fiber of her being.  

Her latest project made the front page of Etsy.com, check out Harry the Owl bottom left.  Isn’t he darling?  She’s always coming up with the cutest stuff, if only I could run around in her brain for a while.

I love you Erin and can’t wait to see you!

My days are filled with a lot of this…

and a lot of this…

The best part about the baking is the sampling according to the boys!

This picture floods my heart with memories.  I  love catching snowflakes like this, so seeing Dewey doing it, just tickles my mommy-bone.

We had a blast on the Santa Express, especially the kiddos.  Here are a few snaps to help tell the story, prepare for photo overload.