me and mine {december}

Daddy is loving

* christmas morning at home with the kids.

* seeing family at the farm in Wales.

* booking our holiday.

* riding the big wheel at Winter Wonderland.

* cupcakes from Hummingbird Bakery.

Mummy is loving

* visits to London to see all the christmas lights.

* dreaming about our holiday in the spring.

* seeing the beautiful boy in his preschool nativity.

* the good hair days she's had due to her new hairdryer and wand (thanks Mum and Dad).

* the sheer magic of christmas morning with little ones.

The beautiful boy is loving

* his new pirate ship and green stripy socks.

* singing songs from the nativity.

* watching Father Christmas fly through the sky on Christmas Eve.

* chocolate coins.

* going to the farm.

The beautiful girl is loving

* eating chocolate for breakfast (well, it is December!)

* her newly refurbished dolls house.

* watching Minnie's Winter Bow Show.

* singing and dancing to 'Shake It Off' by Taylor Swift.

* unwrapping presents.

I actually have some far more picture perfect family photos from this month which I nearly shared instead of these three. Photos in a beautiful setting with lovely winter light. But I decided that I'll share them another day instead, and round off Me and Mine for 2014 with photos taken at the real high point of our December. Christmas morning is the bit when the magic of Christmas is at it's sparkliest, and while it may be dark and dingy for photos, and we may all look a bit bed-headed and sleepy, that magic sparkle just can't be dulled for me, because these photos are so full of the memories of that morning and how special is was. From the beautiful girl clutching her new toys, to us all modelling our Christmas pjs, from the bright lights of the Christmas tree, to the kisses and cuddles... that's what Christmas is all about, and we've had a December packed full of wonderful family memories which will last us happily until we get to make more next December. 

And then of course there is always the cheesy Christmas hats in front of the tree shot...! Which by the looks of it, Rich and I were enjoying far more than the children. 

The end of December brings 2014 to a close, and it brings 2014's Me and Mine project to a close too. It's been a fantastic year for us, and yet again as I sit here looking at the family portraits we've compiled over the year, I'm reminded of how many lovely memories we've made to accompany these photos. And I'm also reminded of how glad I am that we take the time to take them each month, because they are, quite honestly, priceless to me. I hope in the years to come that we will all be glad to have a collection of photos of our family as we grew; and that it wasn't just pictures of the kids that Mummy took, but that we were so proud of our family that we loved all getting in front of the camera together. 

It isn't always easy, but it's always worth it! That really could be my Me and Mine motto. And two years ago when the idea first popped into my head I really couldn't have imagined that I would be about to embark on year number three of taking monthly family photos. But here I am, and I can't wait. I say it quite a bit, but I couldn't give up this little habit now if I tried, it's just too addictive.

It's so clear looking at these photos all together, that this year our little lady really did change from a baby into a cheeky toddler, and that somewhere along the line, our little man lost that toddler-ish look and became a little boy. And if you'll indulge me a minute longer, the really big changes reveal themselves when I compare this year's photos with last year's... my goodness is the time flying while we have all this fun.

Thank-you to each and every one of you who has linked up with Me and Mine at any point this year. It's the absolute highlight of my month clicking through the linky and seeing everyone's family photos. I hope lots of you will be back to carry on sharing your families next year too.

Do go and check out my cohosts posts too; Katie at Mummy Daddy Me, Becky at Ar Blog, Lucy at Capture By Lucy and Lauren at Real Housewife of Suffolk County (who is stepping down as a cohost next year and we are sad to see go.) They will all have lovely family photos and stories to share with you. And they all deserve a big congratulations for doing two whole years of family photos, I know that I'm really proud of us all.

Now link up those lovely Christmassy family photos... I can't wait to see them!

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