I've written about my friendship with first ever "mom friend" Kalissa and the subsequent friendship between our two little lambs. Well, the summer after our kiddos were born, we both decided that we were ready to get serious about getting into shape and starting looking for mom-friendly workout options. After we nixed the mom/baby open skate at the roller-rink (no joke!), we found a "Stroller Fitness" class at a nearby gym and decided to go together to try it out. The workout ended up being insane. Insane in that daily achy muscle/sense of accomplishment way. I could write an entire post on how amazing this class has been for me from a fitness standpoint but that sounds like the single most boring blog post in the short history of blog posts.
So basically, Kalissa and I got what we were looking for and a little more. What we didn't realize going into the class was that we were hitting the "mom friend" jackpot. We were suddenly surrounded by active, go get 'em, stay-at-home moms who were also in the market for "mom friends". A little over a year later, this class has basically ushered me into a group of moms who I consider to be some of my best friends. We see each other several days a week and our kiddos love each other. Claire is particularly smitten with a few of the older (older meaning, 4 year old) girls who are wonderful examples for her to follow. Craft nights aside, (that part is a joke, mostly) I consider myself extremely lucky to have found these women. Our days are brighter because of it. Sap, sap, sap.
One of the ways that we are particularly compatible with these women and their families, is that they are the activity type. Races, events, bbq's, there is always something going on with this group. A few weeks ago, we went a tree lighting in our city. The tree itself was a little underwhelming but there was hot chocolate, music, and Santa.

The evening started out with a bang when Claire tripped on the sidewalk and hit her mouth on the concrete. It was pretty sad but she managed to shake it off in time to enjoy the festivities. This explains why she's licking her lips in the majority of the photos (and the pacifier!). 

I'm crazy about this photo. Kyle recently bought this jacket and it's super warm and fuzzy inside. Claire discovered this and every time he wears it outside with her, she snuggles inside of it. Her daddy loves this. It's his new favorite jacket. Daddy/baby photos melt my heart.

I love that my girl will get her dance on where ever there is music. Look at that little arm chugging.