Liam's First Christmas

This month really got away from me!  Between working a lot of extra tutoring hours, trying to get my Christmas shopping and baking done, attending Christmas parties, and still trying to get a little sleep, there was just no time for blogging!

But it was all worth it because Christmas was wonderful.  It didn't go quite the way we planned it out, but it was wonderful anyways.

The Sunday before Christmas, we had our celebration with Korey's family, and Liam had his first present-opening experience!  He didn't really know what to do, but he loved crinkling the paper, and he loved his toy once we got it out of the package for him.

(Also, I'm so in love with his Christmas outfit from Target - the shirt says "Gift to all the Ladies" and there's a Santa on the butt.)

Liam definitely learned what the point of wrapping paper is though, because the morning after I'd wrapped all the gifts he found the wrapping paper I'd left out in the kitchen (oops!) and made a HUGE mess, laughing the whole time. : D

Christmas Eve we drove to my parent's house in Ohio, where we spent the next few days. Christmas Eve was so hectic, that I didn't get any pictures of Liam in his church outfit or of the annual Christmas Eve party my parents always have. But here are some shots of Liam with his presents on Christmas morning.  He liked to use his teeth to open his presents and also enjoyed climbing on the boxes more than what was inside. 

Love this photo of our little family!  This was probably our 12th attempt.

We were supposed to drive to Pittsburgh on Christmas Day to celebrate with extended family, but we ended up canceling our plans because of the impending snow storm.  We wouldn't have had any trouble getting there, but were worried about the drive back on Wednesday.  I was sad not to go, but it would have been a nightmare to drive back in that storm with a baby in the car, so I am glad we didn't attempt that.

Since we didn't go to Pittsburgh, we were snowed-in at my parent's house and had two glorious days of lounging around in our jammies with hot chocolate, new toys, and good books.  It was wonderful.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  One of my goals for the new year is to blog more, so expect to hear more from me! :)

Merry Christmas from the Flinns!

A little late, but Merry Christmas!  Somehow in the week before Christmas, we managed to get a few Christmas-card-worthy (Christmas cards that are ready to drop in the mail, and I still have yet to send - seriously) shots of Liam in the 2.5 minutes between work and a Christmas party.  Thanks to my amazing sister Emily for taking these photos!

Christmastime is (Finally) Here

Our new house is finally coming together, and the best part is that we finally got our Christmas tree up this weekend!!  It makes it feel so much more cozy and homey in here.  Our little tree is always one of my favorite parts about Christmas.

I also managed to get a few pictures of Liam in his Christmas jammies kind of in front of the tree.  Trying to remember to take the time to enjoy and document Liam's first Christmas amid the craziness of the season and settling into our new home.

Now, if only I could finish my Christmas shopping and be better at staying under my grocery budget.

Happy 9 Months Liam!

Can't believe my baby is 9 months old today!

Easily 9 of the best (and sometimes toughest) months of my life. I love this little bugger more than words can say!

Chicken Taco Chili

A hearty, healthy crock-pot meal perfect for winter (even though it's been 60 degrees here in the mid-west this week, we can still pretend that it's snuggle-up weather).

Ingredients
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 can black beans
1 can light red kidney beans
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 can original Rotel (or mild if you don't like it too spicy)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet ranch seasoning
1 bag frozen corn

Combine all ingredients except corn in your crock pot and cook on HIGH for about 3 hours.  Set temp down to low or warm and remove chicken breasts.  Stir in the corn.  Shred the chicken breast and return to the pot.  Allow about 10 mins or so for the corn to warm up, and then serve.  I like to serve it with shredded cheese and corn muffins.

Makes approx. 6 servings. (Below nutrition information is per serving and does not include cheese unfortunately.)

359 calories
2g fat
56g carb
30g protein

When Not To Move

I just really don't recommend to anyone moving into a new place on a weekend that your husband is scheduled to work three twelve hour overnight shifts and while you have a cranky teething baby that does not want to sleep in his new room. This has definitely been a weekend that I'm not eager to relive.

But here we are in our new house! Everything will get unpacked eventually and we'll get settled in. I really hope that we live here for more than a year ( we've moved almost every year since we got married in 2009) so that it can really feel like home.