Christmas with my side of the family

The weekend before Christmas we celebrated in a big way. We had Christmas at Lala's (my aunt Shar's) on Saturday and then Christmas at Mimi's on Sunday! It was a busy but fun weekend!

At Lala's we enjoyed a delicious, traditional Christmas meal (minus the mashed potatoes I left at home!) and had a great time hanging out with Lala, Uncle Frankie, Nana, Bradley, Allison and Madison!

Olivia's talking twins, just what we needed more motor-mouths around the house! ;)

After opening gifts there was a wrapping paper fight that broke out and Olivia and Uncle Frankie were gunning for one another! He has a great way of bringing Olivia out of her shell!

Jack got some really cool tools! Thank goodness, some toys that aren't pink!

Bradley and Jack - not sure where his pants were...

All of the grandkids and great-grandkids

At Mimi's we again enjoyed a wonderful meal and had lots of fun hanging out with Mimi, Ed, Mel, Liz, Peyton, Laurel, Gray and Presley! I don't think we'd seen this group in quite some time and it was fun to catch up and let the kids play together!

Jack really enjoyed the mashed potatoes!

Rock Star Uncle Ed

Olivia and Presley playing barbies! I really wish I would have gotten a picture of the naked Ken with the awesome mullet!

Olivia and Laurel

Somehow I managed to get zero pictures of the boys. They are smart they were probably hiding from the camera!

More Christmas with Friends

Olivia's last day of school before winter break had to be so much fun! We started the afternoon off with her "Winter" party (gotta love the public education system) where they made snowflakes, picture frames, marshmallow snowmen, and played bingo. After the party they were allowed to leave early for the day, yea!

And later that evening we went to dinner at Chili's (both girl's favorite), with Kennedy for the girl's gift exchange. Julie and I had bought them matching pj's but they of course did not know that. When we wrapped Kennedy's gift Olivia was very excited to give her the pajamas, but she also really wanted a pair for herself. And Kennedy had felt the same way. So when they opened their gifts it was precious! They were both so excited to have the pajamas they had each so wanted for themselves and now they could be twins! Rest assured the pajamas have already been put to use at a sleepover (which will be a future post!).

They are the sweetest of friends!

That night kicked off a weekend of Christmas for us, so stay stuned!!!!

The first of our many Christmas celebrations!

A couple of weeks ago our family celebrated Christmas with 4 other close friends and their families. The kids had drawn names and bought gifts for one another and the adults participated in a white elephant! However the best part of the evening was the slide show that Stacy so graciously put together for us! Each family gave her MANY pictures of their family and she put them all together with music. We had some great pictures of all of our kids, together, over the years, which were precious. It was such a great idea and made the night so memorable!

Here are all of the kids, waiting to open... less Jack who is MIA... and Emma who was sick!

The girls

Olivia was super pumped about her doorbell!

Macy and Olivia

Jack found the Little People Nativity

Jack spent a good deal of time in his pack and play in the family room with us. This little one is quite the explorer and destroyer! He broke one of Carey's ornaments and I felt awful, so off to baby prison he went! :)

Jake was sweet enough to come and visit!

One SLEEPY little guy

Awwww!

It was so much fun and Carey and Bob were the ultimate hosts once again! We can't wait to do it again next year and really look forward to another slide show!

My Little Texas Tornado

I don't know if any of you know that song by Tracy Lawrence, but it is definitely fitting for Jack! He makes a mess everywhere he goes! If there is something that can be dumped out, poured out, or spread on the floor he'll find it and do it! And just like a real tornado it takes him about 5 seconds to cause the damage and then he's moved on, while I spend the next half hour cleaning it up...

Christmas Parade

We made the trek into Dallas again this year for their annual Christmas Parade! It is such a fun tradition for our family. Although, getting there and settled, sharing a small hotel room with 2 kids (both of which ended up in my bed), and everything leading up to the actual parade can sometimes make you question, "Why are we doing this again?" But then the parade starts and even though it feels like 20 below zero outside we all have a great time!


After we got all checked in and settled we headed out to dinner with 2 groups of friends who were also there and staying at the same hotel as us! I wish I had thought to get a picture of us all at dinner. Afterwards we went back to the hotel for milk and cookies provided by the hotel!

Yea, a picture of our 2 kids! Not the best though huh?

Jack was on the MOVE!

He had a great time running around the lobby, we did not have a great time chasing him.

And of course going up and down the stairs.

I managed to click a quick pic of Olivia and Sawyer in front of the tree while awaiting the milk and cookies!

And the morning of the parade! Did I mention it was COLD?

Our little snow bunny!

The big kids anxiously awaiting and trying to stay warm!

Part of the group - Our family, Ava, Allison and Beck.

At long last....

Jack was awesome! He kept completely quiet, except for an occasional ooohhhh when something would pass by. And he didn't even try to move, probably because he had 20 layers on and couldn't move! The hat is hiding a nice bruise on his forehead from hitting the ground while his jacket was being installed! He was a tad top heavy!

Here are some of Liv's favs.... Wubbzy

Cinderella

Olivia

Hello Kitty

Max from Max and Ruby

And Denny's favorite, Josh Hamilton

And everyone's favorite, Santa Claus!

We had one sleepy bubba on our hands on the ride home. Notice that he fell asleep mid-snack!

And Olivia enjoyed watching a video! It was a nice, quiet ride home! :)

The parade really got me in the Christmas spirit which has been a hard task this year! I guess between all the floats, carols and cold weather I had no choice but get excited for this magical time of year!

Jack's New BFF

Jack has suddenly taken a sweet interest in his little sister Sophie! He will go up to her and "pet" her now rather than pull or pinch her. It's so cute!

The other day I walked in and found them here!

Not only is she in his lap but he is holding her!!!!

Of course big sis wanted to share the spotlight!

And here are Jack and Sophie playing together!

Hi five Sophie!

Who needs a third child when you have a dog!

Jack's Video

My sweet little boy is already 16 months old, seriously, how did that happen? I can't believe that he is almost a year and a half! In the last week he has seriously started talking. He still does his "Jack" language, but he is also speaking English quite well. Of course his favorite is STILL "hi"! And he now says, bye-bye, baby, puppy, please, thank you, shoe, ball, duck, and Olivia all the time! And all appropriately! The way he says Olivia is hysterical, as is thank you, I hope to get those on film next. He is also copying alot of what we say and how we say it, like he'll whisper back if we whisper to him, it is so cute and fun! If I ask him a question every now and then he will respond by shaking his head either up and down or side to side. When he shakes it up and down he also says "yeah". He has such a funny personality, he definitely keeps us laughing around here! I really think my favorite age is from around 18 months to 3 years as they learn how to talk and communicate, it is precious!