Christmas Day 2011

We had a fun and relaxing day! The kids enjoyed themselves. Rush was so excited to see what Santa brought for him. He was the first to wake up. SF took a little more coaxing because she didn't appreciate being awakened before the time of her choosing. Rush spent a few minutes looking at gifts on his own (probably enjoyed that), and sleeping beauty came in shortly after that. I have to admit... it wasn't a "running... excited...can't wait to see what is out there" kind of thing. Rush did take off running when he saw Woody, but SF was definitely more slow to respond. Ha! I guess I imagined it all happening a little differently in my head. We had fun, though! The kids got so many presents. Between Gigi and Papa's house last night and Santa, gifts from us, and then Gram and Granddaddy... SPOILED would be an accurate description. :-) In the last picture, SF is wearing one of the necklaces that Gram and Granddaddy brought back for her from Hawaii. We all got some neat things from their recent trip to the Aloha State. Please take note of my cutie pie of a niece sporting her new raincoat, as well. We gave her the raincoat yesterday, and it rained today, so she got to put it to good use today.








Merry Christmas!

The Night Before Christmas 2011

First of all, let me start this post by saying two things... first, Merry Christmas! Second, you try to get three kids ages three and under to all look at the camera and smile at the same time. See? It's not easy, and it didn't happen, so you will just have to enjoy the pictures we did get.



Tonight we headed over to my parents' house to celebrate Christmas with my parents and my sister and her family. We had lots of fun, and the twins were so excited to get to open the first of many presents.





Frannie was explaining the finer things in life to Kate...like Barbie sunglasses, cell phone, and credit cards... all stored in a pink Barbie purse. Every girl must have one.


After we got home, we quickly got into our PJs. Dad said he was pretty sure he spotted Santa's sleigh, so we had to get to sleep quickly. We put out our cookies and carrots (cookies for Santa... carrots for reindeer). Then, we said goodbye to our good buddy, Duncan the Elf. His last night with us is Christmas Eve. We'll see him again next year. :-)




We are hoping for a visit from Santa tonight!! Merry Christmas!

Visit with Santa

Last Friday, we went to the mall to visit Santa and see who would be willing to sit in his lap to talk with him about Christmas. Last year, Frannie talked a big game, but when the time came, she was clinging to Phil in a distant corner of the mall... far... FAR.. away from Santa. She told us, "Maybe next year." This year, she was saying, "It's Santa Time!" on the drive to the mall. Phil and I just laughed knowing fully that she would not be a participant this year either. Well, guess what? She decided to prove us wrong. She was slightly petrified with huge round eyes, but she got up there with Rush and told Santa what she wants for Christmas (a Barbie and a Barbie chair). I could see her face, and she seemed a little scared, but she actually looks pretty happy in the picture below. Rush was as happy as a clam. He told Santa what he wanted (Woody from Toy Story). Santa gave them a small coloring book and half a candy cane. Seriously, the candy cane was so small, I thought it was broken or something. It barely had enough cane to call it a candy cane. Think the kids noticed? No way! They just wanted to know when they could eat it. To which I replied, "Right after your super healthy dinner from the mall Chick-fil-a." Rush was however somewhat distressed by Santa's lack of speed with the gift giving. Last year Rush asked Santa for a black car and was confused that it wasn't immediately in his hands. I thought we had discussed Santa/Christmas Eve enough that he understood that the gifts wouldn't be immediate. Ummmm... he didn't understand. As I was getting swindled out of the $21 dollars for two pictures (same as last year... but with an additional child in this photo), Rush looked up at me with huge tears in his eyes. I asked him what was wrong. He held up the coloring book and said, "I thought I was getting Woody. I asked for it." Poor little guy. He has only ever known a world of pretty much instant gratification. He hasn't had to wait around for much. I felt bad for him. Of course, that didn't keep me from laughing. I had to re-explain the process again. He recovered after a minute or two. We had dinner and all was well. They had the half canes in the car on the way home. :-)


Another funny from Rush: We have a Nativity scene set up on one of our tables. We have talked about who all of the people are and their roles in the scene. Rush was staring at it one day, and he pointed to Jesus (who is lying in a manger). He looked at me and said, "Mom, do he have a Tee-ta?" Sweet little guy can't even imagine being by himself. His world has only ever exsisted with Frannie in it. He just can't imagine there not being a Tee-ta. Even Jesus should have a Tee-ta as far as he is concerned. :-) Love him!

Annual Christmas Card Photo Session 2011

I can't believe this is my first Christmas post of the season!! I always love to post a few Christmas card photo session outtakes because although I think the cards have always turned out cute... getting there isn't always easy. This year wasn't bad at all. I barely broke a sweat. Of course, Phil did stand behind me with the phone in his hand and have a conversation with Santa about how silly they were being and how he thought it might be best if Santa gave the Barbie and Woody they have asked for to someone else. Mean? Maybe a smidge. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures.









And the one that made the final cut...