Well, the holidays have come to a close and I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little relieved to get back to our regular scheduled programming. It was a great holiday with our now 3 little girls and the Christmas magic was in full swing for the 3 year old and 2 year old so, while it was a whirlwind and somewhat stressful at times, we had a lot of fun. Here are a few highlights from Christmas 2016.... and yes, this is a REALLY long post because we did alllllllllllllll the things............

First thing's first. Putting up all the Christmas decorations.

 

Our first 'Family of 5' ornament!

 

And of course our annual trip to St. Nick's and family photo extravaganza

Nick and I took the littlest Lafferty with us on a quick trip to Birmingham, Alabama for his company Christmas party.

Caroline's first plane ride!

Ma Partay Outfit ;)

Our Elf made his return. Marshmallow Jingle

We had our first official snowday!

And one perk of Daddy working at home is that we get to have spontaneous lunch dates!

They really are best friends and I LOVE IT!

Ryan had her Winter Ballet Recital

We wrote and sent our "letters" to Santa. I use the term "letters" loosely, as really they were just a bunch of stickers.

We built our gingerbread house

Went to Zoo Lights

Ryan met the Disney Princesses and was in heaven!

Disney on Ice......

Our Buffs won the PAC 12 South Championship for the first time ever! (we won't talk about the Alamo Bowl.....)

And we still bleed Orange and Blue, even though our Broncos missed the playoffs for the first time in, like, a decade....

 We baked our cookies for Santa

Sent out our Christmas Card

Wrapped all of our gifts (I was very pleased with how the wrapping came out - OCD)

Survived Christmas Eve Mass with 3 children ages 3 and under

And had a Very Merry Christmas

Ryan got some American Girl Dolls (trial dolls, thought. These were MINE when I was younger. Before I buy her $200 dolls, I want to make sure she can take care of them)

Nick got me a necklace with the girls' birthstones on it!! LOVE!!!

Also, Ryan hates ice skating (we had a mommy daughter date and she decided she wanted to attempt ice skating at the town rink..... maybe next year ;)

AND I have the CUTEST BABY IN THE WORLD!!!!

That's it for the photo dump! If you are still with me, thanks for taking the time to look over our festive photos!

Now where's my wine?

Mason Jar Cocktail Mixers {Holiday Gifting}

I recently had my company holiday gift exchange and was looking for something fun and different to give this year. Alcohol is generally well received at my office (because, well, the year end crunch is in full swing and who doesn't need to unwind a little?!) but I didn't want to bring just another bottle of wine. Luckily, I stumbled upon a cute tutorial on SomethingTurquoise.com for mason jar cocktail mixers. So I decided to recreate it and give you a small step by step here.

What you need:

-mason jars (or if you can find them, mason jar mugs!)

-cans of soda (note: you need the newer versions of soda cans that are just slightly smaller than standard cans. I found the ones you buy in a 12 pack worked perfectly)

-alcohol shooters

-gift tags

-string or twine

-paper straws (optional)

-scissors

I also grabbed some cute stickers for my gift tags, a gift basket and some ribbon to finish it off.

Easy, easy, easy.

1) place the soda can into the mason jar

2) tie your twine around the neck of the mason jar

3) make a loose knot with the loop open around the neck of the mason jar with the twine

4) insert the straw into the loop and tighten. I love how these ones look like candy canes!

5) repeat steps 3 & 4 with the shooters and tie in a bow  (you are essentially layering the straws and shooters)

6) add the gift tag with whatever salutation you choose

Ah, yeah, that's it. You probably didn't need an actual step by step for that, but it doesn't hurt 😉

I made a variety of cocktail combinations for this particular gift basket including:

Jack & Coke

Seagrams & 7up

Dr. Pepper & Fireball

Red Bull Vodka

Coffee & Bailey's

Voila! Happy Gifting!

A Colorado Christmas// 2016 Activity Guide

If you live in Colorado, there is definitely no shortage for things to do. Especially during the holidays! Christmas was always such a magical time when I was younger and I really want to continue that tradition with my children. Which means our weeks leading up to Christmas are jam packed with fun holiday activities and I've linked a few of my favorites here!

We didn't make it out to the Denver Parade of Lights this year because, well, infants 😊 But this is always kind of the "kick off" to Christmas in Colorado! We will definitely be making plans to go to this next year!

Denver Parade of Lights

Another "kick off" event that is one of the longest standing traditions in Denver is the lighting of Civic Center

Civic Center Lighting

One of my favorite things to do is to watch Historic Downtown Little light up. This tiny downtown is chalk full of  boutique and specialty stores. A true delight, especially at Christmas!

Historic Downtown Littleton

Want a funny story to go along with this next recommendation? Growing up in a town adjacent to Castle Rock, I always knew about the star on top of The Rock. But when we first moved here, we completely forgot about the Star Lighting Ceremony. One night we heard what we thought were gunshots outside. Living in the world we do today, I freaked out, made sure all the doors were locked and rushed the baby (there was only one at that time) down into the basement. I turned on the news and waited to hear what was going on. Nothing. So I checked social media to see if the news was reporting on a shooting in the neighborhood (we live in a very safe neighborhood, but you never know I guess...) and I did in fact find a story to explain the "gunshots" we heard. They were fireworks from the Star Lighting Ceremony 😂 We went to the actual Ceremont the next year and it is magical!

Castle Rock Star Lighting

Of course I couldn't forget the Denver Zoo Lights! We have done this every year for as long as I can remember.

Denver Zoo Lights

I can't wait until the girls are old enough to sit through the Denver Ballet's The Nutcracker!

 Denver Ballet The Nutcracker 

No doubt taking the littles to The North Pole just outside Manitou Springs is a "must do at least once"!

Colorado North Pole

And then, of course there are a MILLION places to go see Santa, but my favorite that I have found is at Southglenn Mall. The Santa is great, the line isn't long and then there is a cute little ice smarting rink right outside... and they have some of my favorite stores right there!

Santa at Southglenn

No doubt there are a bunch of others that I just haven't thought of, but these are some of my favorites! Happy Holidays!

~trl~

Caroline's Baptism // 11.20.2016

We had our sweet Caroline baptized into the Catholic faith this past weekend. Our faith (and religion) are very important to Nick and I both and having our girls baptized (each when they were around 3 months old)  provides a huge sense of relief that we are doing our part as parents to introduce them into the Catholic community.

A quick note about Caroline's baptismal gown--- which is actually MY baptismal gown. This gown was made for me by my aunt Terri (obviously when I was baptized as an infant) in 1984. It has since been worn by Ryan at her baptism in 2013, Olivia at her baptism in 2014 and now our youngest baby girl, Caroline in 2016. Each time it has been worn, the new Catholic's name and the date of the baptism has been embroidered onto the hem of the dress.

I an enamored by this gown because it has become an absolute family heirloom and I hope that my grandbabies (and generations to come) will some day wear this gown at their baptism.

Baptism is no easy task (I mean, you have water thrown in your face when you are 3 months old) but my sweet babe handled it like a champ and completely won over the heart of Fr. Frank :)

May God bless you, sweet Caroline, all the days of you life.

Halloween 2016: the never ending holiday

This Halloween felt like it was a month long. Seriously, I think we had Halloween related activities every day of every weekend (and sometimes during the week too) the entire month of October. But I have a hard time complaining about it too much because this was the first year that Ryan completely understood the concept of Halloween, costumes and trick-or-treating. It was a real treat (pun intended)  to watch her have such a blast with it all this year.

A couple weeks before Halloween, I took the girls to Party City so they could pick out their costumes. Ryan insisted on being a princess and in true little sister form, Liv wanted to be exactly what her sister was going to be.... so a pink princess and a blue princess is what we got! I saw a ton of very creative family, themed costumes this year and I feel mildly guilty about being such a lazy mommy when it comes to costumes this year (heck, I didn't even dress up the baby!!) but I'm going to play the "new mom card" again 😊 Maybe next year we will do a cute group costume. Maybe.

We also decorated the outside of our house this year since Ryan declared that this was "her most favorite holiday every!"

October 26th we want to Boo at the Zoo again this year. It was a fairly successful trip. We all had a blast, Ryan was stoked about gathering as much candy as possible, Liv wanted to see the elephants and sweet Caroline was just the most content little baby! We didn't see many animals or watch any shows since we only had candy on our minds, but we did stop by to meet the mermaids! Fun start to the Halloween holiday!

Liv isn't a huge fan of taking photos.... but candy sure helped :)

Next up was Trunk-or-Treat at Ryan's preschool. This was a new one for us and it was adorable. Nick and I volunteered to decorate our trunk and hand out candy to the littles (didn't get a pic of our trunk- mommy fail) and Ryan was so excited to join her friends to gather even more candy.

Next day, we went to the Little Gym where Liv does tumbling and participated in their Halloween party and went trick-or-treating in the stores that flank the gym. More candy.

Liv's still not a fan....

Next day, we went to the Trick or Treat Trail at Southlands Mall. So we spent the morning in bouncy castles, listening to 'spooky' story time and gathering MORE candy.

And then there was actual HALLOWEEN! See? Never ending holiday!

But IT. WAS. AMAZING! It was amazing watching Ryan so excited to go from house to house yelling "TRICK-OR-TREAT!!!!!" The delight and excitement in her eyes was truly heartwarming and made me like this holiday that has never actually been my favorite. It has now become and contender and has me looking forward to Halloween next year!

3 OF A KIND: an open letter to my daughters

To my beloved daughters

To the three little souls who keep my heart beating each day

To the blue eyed beauties who make my heart swell with pride and joy

To the three angels that God sent down from heaven

I love each of you more than life itself.

To my Queen Ryan:

You started it all. You are the one who made me a mommy and my heart truly has never been the same since the day you came into this world. I remember the moment I discovered you were on your way into our lives. I honestly think I could feel my heart grow at that very second and then, when I held you in my arms for the first time, I swear I could hear a host of angels singing. It was pure heaven.

You have grown into a remarkable little girl and you continue to forge the trail ahead of you for your younger sisters. You truly amaze me (and sometime frighten me) every day with how intelligent you are. You have a memory like an iron trap and your wit keeps me on my toes. Your humor reminds me so much of your daddy and, although you look just like your mommy, I can see him in you as your personality takes shape.

But what I love most about you is your heart. Your kind and beautiful heart. You will be entrusted with the care of your younger sisters. To defend them and look out for them as you set out to explore life on your own. They will (and already do) look UP to you and will look TO you in times of need. It is a great responsibility, but I cannot think of someone better for the task. I am so proud of you.

To my Little LivBug:

Oh sweet girl, you are so special to me. From the day you were born, I have always felt that you an I have a very unique an inexplicable bond. Countless hours rocking you to sleep in the darkness of night. It still brings tears to my eyes as I write this remembering the serene look on your face as you slowly drifted off to sleep in my arms.

You are such an incredible blessing to our family. It is no secret that you were our 'surprise' baby, but holy moly, is it a surprise I thank God for every day. Every time you walk up to me, wrap your sweet arms around my neck and mutter "I love you so much", my heart melts a little more. You have always been my sensitive, compassionate, incredibly caring little girl and I marvel at your sweetness. To me, your daddy and both of your sisters. You have always been the most loving little one I have ever met.

You are my middle child, but that in itself is a very special place to hold in our family. You are the only middle child; the only one with both an older sister who will protect you and a younger sister who will look to you for protection. I never ever EVER want you to feel as though you get lost in our family or that you are not as important or special as your sisters.... because you ARE!  So so so special to my heart.... and I promise to make sure you know it every day of your life.

 To my Sweet Caroline:

My baby. My sweet sweet baby. Just when I thought your sisters had consumed my entire heart, here you come and I fall hopelessly in love. I love snuggling you all through the night, breathing in all your newborn yumminess, watching the little motions of your lips as you mimic nursing, the little reflexes of your arms as you absentmindedly rub your eyes. I try desperately to memorize how soft your cheek is as I go to kiss it. You truly make my heart explode with love.

Being the third baby, you have been such an angel as we are constantly on the go, carting your sisters from activity to activity. But I promise you that I will always get just as excited for your milestones as I have for your sisters'. Every new experience, sport or hobby will be a celebration in this momma's heart.

You have been the most laidback little one out of our three and I can't wait to see your little personality grow. The little smiles and coos that you are starting to shower us with can bring a smile to my face even on the hardest of days.  I am so so thankful for you and am trying desperately to soak in every second of every day while you are this little.  My love for you is as deep as the ocean and as vast as the sky.  

To My Girls:

You have mommy's heart. You have daddy's heart. But most importantly.... you have each other. Forever and always, you have each other. I have my hopes and dreams for each of you, but my biggest wish is that you will defend each other fiercly and love each other endlessly. Be there for each other. When times are good; when times are bad. Celebrate each others' triumphs and console one another other during heartache.

In time, I pray you find a friendship in your sisterhood that can compare to no other.