Happily Ever Mock

She has been obsessed with Little Einsteins lately, so I kept telling her that she got to be just like June and dance ballet! And she was pumped to go to class!

We invited our buddy Mira to come, and it was so fun having a friend in the class!

First the girls did warm ups and stretches.  They pretended to be butterflies and flowers, it was adorable! When the warm ups were done, the teacher played all kinds of games with them and they danced around the room and played with balls and ribbons.  The girls took turns doing leaps over teeny cones and they even got to pretend to be all kinds of different animals which of course Hallie loved!

Pretending to be turtles and going REALLY SLOOOOW! At the end of class all the girls got stamps and somehow my little girl coerced the teacher into giving her 2 stamps.  A ballerina on one hand and a heart on the other! She held them up proudly all day and showed them off to everyone! We can’t wait to go back next week! <3 Kelly and Hallie

If you have been an avid reader from the start, you know that my mom, mother in law and I painted a beautiful mural of a tree and butterflies and birds in Hallie’s room before she was born.  This mural was like a little gift to Hallie from her Momma and her 2 adoring grandmothers.  

                                       

Watching: PLL is back tonight, does anything else matter!!??! Just kidding! We are also watching American Idol, Big Bang Theory and I’m rewatching Glee on Netflix!

Working on: Spending a lot of family time, Getting our house back into shape and fixing it up! 

Looking Forward to:  Valentines Day! Hal and I have some cool Valentines in store for her friends! 

Loving: For Mommy: These Jersey leggings from Old Navy! They are so comfy! Nice and warm and thick!

For Hallie: Bitty Baby. She loves her! We have been taking her everywhere! Yesterday she chose a different toy to take in the car and asked for her all day! Also so far baby is just baby. The names suggested by Hal so far are Puppy, Hallie and Pat Pat….lol She loves taking care of her and puts her in her baby cradle before bed each night! So cute! 

Hi friends and happy Monday! I know Christmas is long gone (bring on all the crying face emojis) but with all the chaos the holiday’s bring, I never did get to share how our Mom’s group celebrated!

For our Playgroup friends we had a Secret Santa, and then the Mom’s had a really fun cookie exchange.  Each mom made/brought some yummy baked good to share with everyone and we had boxes for everyone to take home their favorites!

The kids (and some moms) came in their PJs and there was cookie decorating for the kids and a coffee/hot cocoa bar for the Moms! A good time was for sure had by all!

I couldn’t decide on a cookie to share so I made 3 kinds, my famous Linzer cookies, Chocolate snowballs and Reindeer Gingerbread!

Our adorable host even had Santa hats for all the kids! (Guess who’s kid refused to wear it!?)

Every girl needs a BFF.  Hallie is lucky to have a whole group of friends she can grow up with! But that group of 10 awesome kids started with these 2 girls!

I can’t believe how much these 2 girls have grown in one year! We love Luna and her Mommy and hope they stay best friends forever!

Fox Outfit/Freshly Picked Moccs/Denim bow

• Weight- More and more on the charts each time! 18 lb 8 oz and in the 8th percentile! The theme of this month was 8!
• Length- 32 inches! She is going to be just like her Daddy! Tall, Tall Tall!
• Size- We still mix and match sizes depending on brand and item of clothing! Usually 9-12 or 12 month for length! She has long long legs and an itty bitty waist.  We are in size 3 diapers! 
• Eyes- blue-green but possibly turning hazel…
• Hair- Light brown and curly at the ends! 
• Sleeping- Going back and forth between 1 and 2 naps a day.  Sleeps about 11 hours at night….sometimes the dreaded teething messes with that though! 
• Eating- Most things. But girl LOVES her carbs and fruit! Loves Juice and Pasta is her very favorite! She even asks for it! Also this kid has a sweet tooth! 
• Teeth- 8 total! 4 on top and 4 on bottom! I can see swollen gums where molars are bound to rear their ugly heads any time now! 
• Milestones-  Moved to a big girl carseat. Loves to color and is very artistic.Playing make believe! Talking about her feelings.  She will tell me, “Momma I sad” and actually mean it! Or my favorite: “I so happy!” I am constantly amazed with her vocabulary! She learns a new word (or sometimes 3) every day! She is in full blown toddler mode! Loves all things girly! Ex: Dancing, Frozen, babies, dressing up, etc.  Don’t let the skirts and bows fool you because girlfriend is also rough and tumble! She loves to run and play outside, especially with Daddy! 
• Memorable outings- Trick or treating, Celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas with family. Halloween and Cookie Christmas Playgroup Party!
• Favorite toys/activities-  Puppy, Baby dolls, Kitchen, Doll house, Coloring-Crayons, pencils and chalk, Magnets, Books, Little People zoo, Minnie and Daisy toys, dressing up, Dancing to music (especially to “Let Go!”Let it go), Keys from Auntie Katie, and Loved Everything Christmas! Loves watching Mickey and Little Einsteins AKA “Pat Pat”

• Words/sounds- I have completely lost count, but at this point we are at over 150! She learns something new every day and leaves me constantly amazed!  
• Nicknames- I call her sweet pea, peanut, sweet girl, Hal or lately bean!
• Funny moments- Every day I am laughing at something new she does! Singing “Let Go” to baby while rocking her.  She got her first real boo boo and we put a band-aid on it.  She spend about 2 hours holding up her hurt pinky and when she looked at her band-aid she whined and cried…OH THE DRAMA! 
• Looking forward to- Valentines Day, Easter, and even though I am no where near ready to have a 2 year old…her birthday! She is going to be so excited! 

The weekend before Christmas we went to Houston and spent time with Christopher’s family! They always have a huge Christmas party at his Aunts Ranch! All the great grand kids were there, the kids went on a fun hayride and Santa came to deliver presents! Hallie refused to sit on his lap though, and preferred to be in awe of him from afar!

First look at Santa…I can’t tell if that’s fear, awe or both!

Christmas Eve morning we made the annual Clam and Corn Chowder! Hallie helped by looking super cute!

In the evening we went to a Christmas Party at my Aunt and Uncles House. Hallie got to play with some more cousins!

We left the party a bit early to meet Christopher at his Dad’s house for dinner so we could open presents on that side of the family and go to Midnight Mass!

Hallie LOVES her Easel from Memi and Pop! After Midnight Mass, we went to my parent’s house to spend the night so we could have Christmas morning with them! Santa Came and everyone got some lovely gifts (including a pair of Micheal Kors boots for Momma! Thank you Santa!) but as I said the kids were spoiled!  Matthew tried to jump into the huge pile of gifts! Keys from Auntie Katie…genius! New moccs which she immediately tried putting on!  A little people zoo! A new baby doll! She was so happy! Santa also left a note saying he left another present for Hallie at our house! The rest of the day more family came over, we relaxed and played and then we had a huge delicious Christmas dinner! It was really wonderful!  Hallie also got another special gift from her Nana, Memi and Mommy (more on that at a later date) The morning after Christmas (because someone was sleepy and grumpy when we returned Christmas night) Hallie got to see her Santa gift! She finally got her Kitchen! She loves it and hasn’t stopped playing with it since! We hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and has a blessed 2016! <3 Kelly and Hallie

I would apologize for my absence, but I can’t be sorry for spending more time with family and preparing for Jesus’s holiday! I have been baking, wrapping, and spending much needed time with my Mom.  So from our family to yours we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year! Hallie and I will be back to update you on how we celebrated Christmas after the New Year! Prayers for my family and most especially my Mom this holiday are much appreciated! God Bless!

Much Love, <3 Kelly

Good Morning Friends! I can’t believe it’s only 10 days to Christmas! Time flies so quickly this time of year! As a kid it felt like forever waiting for Christmas and the excitement lingered until the big day arrived! Now I feel like I am rushing to fit everything in while still trying to celebrate my favorite holiday before it slips away! So in the spirit of celebration I wanted to share with you some of the ways that my family observes the holidays.

Annual Christmas Shopping and Chinese Food-
Each year before Christmas eve my Dad and I spend one day rushing around town buying all of my moms presents together. We used to go to the same store every year to buy trinkets for her stocking, but it is now closed! When we get hungry we always find ourselves at a Chinese Food restaurant.  We have been doing this as long as I can remember! It is special to me because one of the things Christmas is about is spending time with family.

Angel Tree-
Our Church always puts up a Christmas tree each year leading up to Christmas with tags of families or businesses in need of donations.  Each year we adopt a child in need.  This year we were able to give a few pairs of warm pajamas to a local pro life clinic. Hallie and I also try to find other ways to give back this time of year.  We have donated a bag of food at the grocery store to a family in need and donated another pair of pajamas at Carter’s for children in need while buying Christmas presents. I like to make sure to give back this time of year because it helps me remember that Christmas isn’t about presents.  It helps me count my blessings.

Gingerbread Cookies-

 For the past maybe 6 or 7 years, my sister and I (and now our friends and cousins) will get together and have a gingerbread baking and decorating party! I turn on the Christmas music and make the dough from scratch. We like to make our families out of gingerbread. The rule is always you aren’t allowed to decorate yourself.  We always give Katie’s best friend Amanda the job of sculpting Stella Puppy out of dough and we even added a gingerbread bump on my belly the year I was pregnant with Hal! We make tiny ones for the kids and stretch a really tall one to make Christopher! We laugh and talk and get messy! Phones are usually put away because of our messy hands, so there are no distractions. It is just the best way to celebrate friendship!


Mock Family Christmas-

The Mock’s definitely know how to celebrate Christmas! The whole family travels to Christopher’s Aunt’s ranch the weekend before Christmas. Everyone chips in to make a ton of food.  The family does a fun gift exchange, and Santa even makes an appearance to sing and take pictures with the kids!  Some years we have been lucky enough to have Christopher’s cousin Father Matthew (Hallie’s Godfather) do a full Mass for us before dinner. I feel so blessed to be a part of this family.  They are the kind of people who put family first and would give you the shirt of their backs if you needed it! They welcomed me with open arms even when Christopher and I were just dating and I was always treated as part of the family. We can’t wait to go see everyone this weekend!
Chowder-
This is probably the oldest tradition in our family. My Dad used to this with his dad and so on and so on. I have been helping my Dad make clam chowder Christmas Eve morning for as long as I can remember. We always eat it for lunch on Christmas day. In recent years we have added a corn chowder because one of the chefs (ahem me) doesn’t actually eat clams.  Even so it’s a fun way for my Dad to keep a Hofmann family tradition alive and well and know that it will be passed down for many generations to come! (At least if I have anything to say about it!)

I even made us matching aprons.  Mine says Assistant Chowder Chef. His says Chowder Chef

Christmas Eve Party-
My Nana used to throw the BEST Christmas Eve party ever! My Mom’s whole family would come and their would be a TON of food! Then after dinner the kids and the Dads would go look at Christmas lights around the neighborhood (It was fondly named the “Gee Whiz Ride”) while the Moms cleaned up the kitchen and Santa delivered tons of presents for the kids! Then we would play a game of White Elephant. It was the best! In recent years we have had it at my Aunt and Uncle’s house. I will always have fond memories of Christmas Eve at Nana’s though!

Midnight Mass-
Christopher’s family ALWAYS goes to Mass at midnight Christmas eve.  It is the most peaceful way to ring in the Holiday. It truly represents the real meaning of Christmas.  We always end by singing Silent Night in Spanish, English and then our German Priest sings it in German.  The Mass is always beautiful and it is wonderful to celebrate as a family!
Pajama Day-
On Christmas day, my family spends the day relaxing in Pajamas. My Dads family comes over, and we open presents, each chowder, the cousins play games and then we have a big Christmas dinner! It is such a fun day! Even if we had hardly any sleep the night before!

How does your family celebrate?
<3 Kelly

My Christmas shopping is almost complete and Hallie’s stocking is almost full! I thought it would be fun to show some of the things that will be stuffed in the littlest Mock’s stocking this year: