Thanksgiving

Yes, I know. Thanksgiving was almost 3 months ago. I wont go through the gazillion things that have happened between then and now, but oh well! There were several pictures from Thanksgiving that couldn't not be edited, so better late than never, right?

We ate Thanksgiving at Gramma and Papa Al's with Grandpa and Ms. Gail, Uncle Jay, Aunt Millie, Kira, John, and other family.

Kira and Addie only seem to become sweeter friends each time they play.

We always attempt to grab a picture of the 5 cousins. And while clearly everyone was not smiling or even looking at the camera...no one was crying!!! i'd consider that a success!

There was lots of playing outside.

We had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner.

And ended the night at Gramma's with Kira and Uncle Paul quite seriously blowing out the battery powered candle!

Our family stayed at Grandpa's, so we headed back there for bed where the dogs were anxiously awaiting our return...or not!

but a good bedtime story sure was!

we woke up the next morning, and Grandpa took us to a playground at a local church. the girls had a blast!

Of course what's a toy if you can't sit and ride on it!

There was lots of climbing...

and more climbing...

...and playing in the sand (together!).

and riding dinosaurs with grandpa!

we had dinner at Grandpa and Ms. Gail's that night with Jay, Millie, Kira and John.

and since our kids are never at a loss for finding fun, the doggy door became a huge source of entertainment ...

that everyone seemed to use except the dogs!

there was jumping (and laying) on the covered jacuzzi...

and just sitting in the yard and loving on cousins (love addie's hand on kira!)

the next day, we went to the Savannah River for a picnic with Gramma and Papa Al.

to say it was gorgeous is an understatement...

we took a long walk...

some of us walked...

and some of us soaked it in from up higher.

...some of us snuggled and slept.

and some of us walked away only to run right back to (by then very tired) mommy's arms!

everyone had a blast on the playground...

climbing and...

and sliding...

and swinging!

we ate lunch under a pavilion,

with Paul's cousin's children as well.

after lunch, there was a quick game of big girl hide and seek.

lots of jumping...

and blowing bubbles.

but one of the sweetest moments for this mama was when Addie took little Lily's hand and led her over to where everyone else was blowing bubbles. i just loved how caring and nurturing she was, making sure that Lily was just as much of a part of things as her baby sisters.

here are the 6 girl cousins that were there. there are five (yes 5!) more girl cousins and baby john!

kira and john both had on some variation of star wars shirts, so a picture with their daddy was a must!

but my favorite picture from the week...

baby john!

and now, i am officially caught up...at least through the end of January that is!

happy... 'er...ummm...Valentine's Day! :o)

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!