Christmas Time Part 2: Gramma's House

Our plan was to head to Augusta first thing Tuesday morning; but after a doctors visit on Monday and ear infections and fever viruses, we didn't leave until much later. It made for a rough start (2.5 hours) of the trip, but second half was full of quiet sleeping little girls.

We finally arrived; and after a quick visit (and dinner for mommy and daddy) with Grandpa, Ms. Gail, Uncle Dennis, Aunt Laura, Annemarie, and Timmy, we headed to Gramma's and put the little girls to bed! We woke up the next morning to Christmas at Gramma's: delicious breakfast, fun presents, and lots of laughter and playing with cousins.

Baby John got the cutest peek-a-boo bear, but the 4 girls loved it as much or more as him!

They were also pretty excited about opening presents!

Kira, John, Uncle Jay and Aunt Millie gave Addie some of Kira's favorites books: Little Bear; and we all had fun reading them! But Kira leaning on Uncle Jay (holding Little Bear) has got to be one of my favorite pictures!

After presents and lunch while baby John ate...

everyone else went on a walk.

(i'm pretty sure this turned out to be one of my favorite pictures as well)

and ended up back in Gramma and Papa Al's backyard where the girls went around...

and around...

and around...

and around

the brick bordered flower bed. I paid special attention to try to get some pictures of sweet Kira for Gramma's and Grandpa's frames!

And what's a visit with cousins without a cousin bath? Poor Anne Perry had spiked a 102 fever that she held for most of the afternoon and night, so she had to skip the cousin bath and get one on her own later. :(

It was a fun-filled day!

We finally put the girls to bed to get ready for Christmas at Grandpa's the next day!

Christmas Time Part 1: Home

One thing Paul and I decided when Addie was born was that we would, if at all possible, be at home Christmas Eve and always Christmas day. We've been fortunate to always wake up (sometimes earlier than preferable) in our own beds on Christmas morning.

This year, my aunt (aka Nana) was able to come a few days before Christmas for a visit. We all loved having her here, but I think the girls might have enjoyed it most of all!

Papa Ray and Mama Pat invited us to spend some time with them in the country at the ranch on Christmas Eve. It was a beautiful night, and the girls loved spending time outside with everyone!

Christmas Eve is traditionally an open most of the presents time for us, so we came home a little early and opened some presents.

I think Anne Perry liked her backpack!

All the girls loved the little girls ride on horses. Some were just more serious about them than others!

And before we knew it, it was bedtime. Everyone jumped in their Christmas pjs, and i acted all crazy (as you can see from Anne Perry and Addie's reactions) in an attempt to get a picture next to the tree. Two days later, we found out Audrey Kate had a double ear infection. It explains a lot about her not-so-cheerful self in the pictures below and otherwise lack of pictures of her altogether because she was constantly in my arms! :(

Everyone headed to bed except mommy and daddy. We got everything together for the girls Christmas morning, our breakfast and breakfast for our neighborhood firemen.

Needless to say...it was a late night.

Addie woke up first Christmas morning (surprise surprise) to find her special gifts. Next year, I'm thinking they will all only get stockings because the stocking contents (for Addie at least) were the biggest hit initially!

Or maybe we'll just get them all a bag of M&Ms and some blue candy canes and call it a Christmas!

Really though, Addie loved her scooter and the little girls haven't gone a day without playing with their dolls and strollers (which i never got a picture of). All three of them love Addie's doll house!

we had a very relaxing christmas day complete with our traditional breakfast casserole brunch and staying in pjs most of the day! i'll have to admit, pretty perfect in every way!

From Our Family to Yours...

thank you Allison Lewis Photography for the beautiful pictures!

What on the Earth We've Been Doing...

It's been a whirlwind of a three + weeks...and it's not even Christmas yet!

So what on the earth have we been doing?

We started off December at the Zoo Lights with Gramma and Papa Al. 

The next week was Addie's school's Christmas program. Oh my! I'll do another post on this one with pieces of the video we took and more pictures! Loved seeing our girl up there singing her heart out!

Then we jumped into a crazy busy last week of preschool 3's before Christmas break complete with a rockin' class Christmas party! We made gingerbread houses for centerpieces (that we later used at our very own Gingerbread House Decorating party and finally took to the nursing home), Nutter Butter Reindeer cookies, and treats for her sweet teachers! yum!

We ended the week with me taking some Christmas pictures for a friend...

...second shooting a wedding with Allison in Birmingham, and taking more pictures for our friends Chad and Mandy! I'd say that was a photography filled weekend!

And then I did one of the crazier things I've done in a while...hosted no less than 25 kiddos and their sweet mama's for a Gingerbread House Decorating Party. I'm thinking (hoping) it was as much of a success as it appeared to be! (another few posts on this one soon!). We had so much fun spending time with friends!

We had to skip our yearly tradition of the Zoo Lights with Chad, Mandy, and Cady due to rain, but that didn't stop us from heading to the inDoor mall to eat CFA, ride the train and ride the carousel! (thank you iPhone!). Addie and Cady were so sweet to take care of the little girls while riding the train! Love these 4 girls and can't wait for Cady's baby brother to join the fun!

And we all jumped crawled out of bed the next morning, thankfully including my mom, and visited the nursing home where my grandmother was almost 12 years ago. What a beautiful place with some amazing staff and just as amazing residents. We met some wonderful people, shared a few treats with everyone, and our girls were simply delightful, which if you know our girls (or any 3 year or 19 month old for that matter), can be hit or miss! And of course, we delivered the gingerbread houses, both big and small!

I'm pretty sure we bought a few gifts somewhere in there, decorated the house and our little tree that sits somewhat safely in our window seat, and managed to complete a few pinterest inspired crafts with an overly excited 3 year old!

And there you have it. My excuse(s) for blogging in such limited form. Do forgive. I'll get the Thanksgiving in Augusta pictures edited eventually...maybe before we head back for Christmas.

But throughout it all, we've worked to keep our focus on the real reason why we celebrate Christmas. Not for the presents. Not even for the giving. But for the tiny baby who was sent as our Savior, the most amazing gift of all!

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:8-11

...because I just couldn't resist

Gramma and Papa Al's Visit

So I'm backtracking here.

Christmas posts: done.

Baby's 7 month post: done.

Still to come:

Lots from December:

Kindermusik Christmas gathering, Zoo Lights with the Egglestons, lots of Randomness.

And then there was the wedding that I second shot with my very talented friend Allison in mid-December.

Then the babies turned 8 months! Oh my!

And I just got home from another wedding with Allison. Lot's of wonderfulness to process!

But this one is all about Gramma and Papa Al. They came to visit at the beginning of December. You may remember a picture or two (and story) that I posted here. Our house was, well, in complete upheaval. A ginormous hole in the middle of our unfinished kitchen. Dust everywhere. Wait, there's still dust everywhere!

So instead of hanging around here and playing, we went to the Zoo Lights, our neighborhood tree lighting, church, out to breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and to Kindermusik. It was a super fun 3 days and a tremendous break from being at home!

We started at the Zoo Lights.

Waiting in a very long line for the train:

Gramma and Anne Perry

Daddy and Audre Kate

 

Of course Addie loved seeing the lights!

Want to see her favorite Zoo Lights? Check out her face here with Papa Al!

All because she was looking at this:

You might not be able to see it, but these frogs were jumping into a tree! Every time one would jump, she would yell DID YOU SEE THAT?!?!?!?

Oh how I love the uninhibited enthusiasm of a two year old!

We also took Gramma and Papa Al to Addie's last Kindermusik class.

Addie was super excited to have her baby sisters there...

but even more excited to have someone to play with just her!

She jumped right in and helped Ms. Sarah read the story.

One of Addie's favorite things is to dance with the scarves.

And this right here shows the difference between little girls and little boys: our sweet friend Thomas, who looks more like a bandit here!

This is Thomas leaning against his Mama's tummy. His new baby sister is planned to arrive a week from yesterday!

And this is Thomas hugging Addie. Sweet friends!

 Addie "dusting" with her duster. I wonder if we could transfer this to home!

Thank you Gramma and Papa Al for a fun-filled weekend!

We look forward to you coming back soon, hopefully to a finished kitchen!