Our Christmas: Part 3

We woke up at our own house the day after Christmas and enjoyed getting to go to church here, with the added bonus of T's parents joining us that morning for worship and lunch out afterward as they were on their way back home. Then we loaded up the overnight bags in the van and hit the road again to my parents' house, where we had a great time celebrating Christmas with them and my Uncle David.

The kids with Gran and PopPop (and Santa!)


Silly faces!


The 6 of us with Gran and PopPop


Hanging out Monday morning


Visiting my friend H and her family on Monday afternoon...a fun time for our kids, for sure. They love H and S's kids! It was great for me and T to catch up with H and S, too.


We visited at their house, then went over to check out the scene of their family business...real chicken houses! On the way back we stopped to look at the cows...they are far away in this picture.


Gran and AG got started on a new puzzle...


Lots of fun for us all!

Christmas: Part 2

We came back to our house on the evening of Christmas day and had a memorable picnic by the Christmas tree since our dining table was buried under school books and wrapping paper. The menu was omelettes, popcorn, and satsumas...as you can see I had worked really hard to plan this feast:). Then the 6 of us opened our gifts to one another. A few highlights:

The girls with their stockings, all made by Mimi. If there's such a thing as material treasures, these are among ours.


My Little Ponies!


And the grand finale...stick horses! After months of the girls galloping through the house on the broom, I decided these were a must. They found them hidden under their beds and immediately gave them names. I can't tell you how happy it makes me that not even AG has the least bit of hesistance to gallop around our front yard and even go for a ride around the block!


Yes, RL was there when we opened our gifts but he was busy walking around and exploring to take much interest in what was going on. No problem, his sisters were happy to help him open his presents.

Our Christmas Celebration: Part 1 of 3

We began our Christmas celebration with family as we always do, with T's family on Christmas Eve, and it was such a fun time! Here are a few highlights:

I'm bumping this photo to the first spot because it represents why, for us, this year could be aptly called "the year of the truck". A few days before Christmas, RL began to say his long-awaited second word: "tuck"...definitely meaning "truck." And then as if on cue, he was showered with trucks for Christmas over the following days: dump truck, ride-on fire truck, car transporter, small, large, trucks of all descriptions. He now crawls around on the floor pushing them along...I have never seen one of our children do this! I've known he was a boy, but now he is doing real little boy things that I have only heard about and seen other boys do...and it so strikingly adorable to me!


Reading with Nana...I like this because it made me realize that AG has found a way to get around what had become a daily battle on our couch: which of the three girls would be the "outsider" when they all sat down to read with me. I hadn't really thought about it til I saw this, but lately we've not been having that dilemma so much, and it's because she's started sitting on the back of the sofa if she can. A perfect example of how to take the high road to overcome sibling rivalry, I guess!


Picking citrus at Mimi and PawPaw's is a Christmas tradition of sorts, and such a fun thing for the girls...not to mention rewarding! Mimi's satsumas are probably our favorite fruit of all!

SJ picking kumquats...


LL stretching for a satsuma...


AG gets a grapefruit...


With Grandpa and Aunt Edith and their bags of fruit!


We gathered at T's Uncle F and Aunt C's house for dinner and gifts on Christmas Eve night. RL was all over the place...and all my photos of him that night turned out blurry. I've got to figure out how to focus and stop action better with this new camera because he is definitely not going to sit still for me!


Our girls and boy with their cousins


Mimi and PawPaw with the grands and great-grands


Mimi and her girls


RL was very interested in Nanoo's Rudolph headband.


On Christmas morning we woke up at Mimi and PawPaw's and opened more gifts...RL was happy with his truck and this neat ride-on toy.


We went to Nanoo and Uncle Bill's for Christmas lunch and lots of fun playtime.


RL was on a short leash :) He would have loved to get his hands on this nativity!


Nanoo got out her original Barbie dolls and clothes for the girls to play with...they had such fun!


More to come...

So we can remember early December

I'm sure we're not the only family that's been a little busy over the last weeks! We had a great Christmas, and I hope to get photos of our various celebrations posted over the next few days. But backing up a bit more, here are a few pre-Christmas memories...

This year the "Breakfast with Santa" event at T's office was back on. Even though we don't "do" Santa at home, it's a fun thing for the family, and it was RL's first time to meet the white beard. He was a brave little guy!


The girls were cute with Santa...


We've had warm days interspersed with cold...a nice break! RL likes getting out.


RL got into some cans from my grocery bags before they made it to the pantry one day, and before I knew it he was stacking them! And holding onto them with one hand surprisingly well, I thought...



The girls were so eager to help decorate the tree, which took a few days of hanging ornaments during RL's naps. A few times they dressed up to do shows in front of the tree. LL really likes to style her own hair and has a deep appreciation for a good comb-over! :)


AG and LL got to dance at a nursing home with their dance class on Dec. 16. They danced to and signed to a sweet version of "Silent Night."
>

Just before going out to see Christmas lights in pjs...


RL frequently walks around with something hanging out of his mouth and both hands full...


He's developing a sense of humor...loves to laugh when we are laughing!


The girls made this contraption one day...I can't remember what they called it, but they do things like this alot. They also have been riding around on my broom as a horse for months, which inspired one of our Christmas gifts to them...more about that later.


Talk to the hand :)


New Christmas pjs...



A few holiday quotes from LL:
*While we were decorating, she kept asking, "When are we going to hang the utinsil?"
*She asked me to sing "Rudolph" over and over so she could learn the reindeers' names, then later I heard her singing, "You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, doorbells and sleighbells, and schnitzel with noodles..."
*We always turn our tree lights off when we leave home,but I'd decided to leave them on while we went to our neighbors' Christmas party. As we walked home I saw that the lights were off, and when I asked why, LL said, "I turned them off because I didn't want the tree to run out of batteries!"