Christmas Dinner

We had our annual Christmas dinner at Nana and Pop's house. This year we had it in the afternoon which worked beautifully with the kids who were so tired by the evening. We all had so much fun gathering with family and eating good food. The kids had fun playing together and they all looked so adorable in their Christmas best!

The three grandchildren- it's a little hard sometimes to pose three active little people!Sam with (great-grandmother) Mimi.

Sam with Mimi and aunt Teri.


Playing some football outside with the guys.

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas morning was such a special time for us. When the boys got up, we had the cameras ready for their grand entrance into the living room to see what Santa had left under the tree. Alex got exactly what he was wanting! Cars and a big race track! Sam got some fun toys too, but was more interested in whatever Alex was playing with! It was so much excitement for all of us, but especially fun for us as parents to watch our sweet little boys experience the magic of Christmas morning.

Aren't they cute in their matching jammies??

The boys with their stockings.

Christmas Eve on the Farm

A picture looking back at the farm from the hayride. It was so bumpy, I had a hard time getting a centered shot of the farmhouse and barn.Every year we make a day trip to the farm to spend Christmas Eve. It's always a very full house! We had our annual hayride, which both boys loved! This year we did something a little different which was to have a Christmas sweater party. We had a vote for the ugliest sweater, and attempted a group picture of those who participated in wearing Christmas regalia.
Sam with Great-Granddaddy. He thought the antlers were so funny. At dinner it was announced that this Christmas Eve was Granddaddy's 88th Christmas Eve in this farmhouse!

Pops on the tractor with Alex and Sam. After the hayride was over Alex got to ride on the tractor with Pops to put it back in the barn. He was so excited to be driving a real tractor.


Matching patterns- The boys' jammies matched aunt Lynn's shirt.


Sam loves kitties so much! He kept chasing this little kitten saying "kitty! kitty!"

Christmas Eve Eve

I have so many Christmas pictures to post! I'll do a little at a time, but in the meantime here are a couple of posts about some of our Christmas family time. Coming soon is Christmas Eve on the Farm and Christmas day!

Every year our immediate family gets together to open our gifts to each other, and this year we did it on the Eve of Christmas Eve. It was so much fun!

The three little cousins, Alex (almost 4) and Sam (12 mo) with Ashley (17 mo).

Eric, Jennifer, and Ashley.

Family photo.

Nana and Pops with Alex and Sam.

As a special Christmas gift, Nana and Pops gave all three grandchildren a ride-on toy. Alex got a larger Hummer ride on, Sam got a Winnie the Pooh fire truck, and Ashley got a Winnie the Pooh car. They all make all kinds of noise and music. They loved them! It was so cute to see the three of them playing with all the buttons.

Christmas This and That

On the Thursday before Christmas, Alex had his class Christmas party. I just love being a party mom for his class. All the kids had a lot of fun playing games, making a craft, and having a special Christmas party snack. They also got to go watch the Kindergartners perform a Christmas play acting out the Nativity. Here are a couple of pictures of just Alex since I really shouldn't post pictures from school of other children.

Here Alex is making "reindeer food" to leave for the reindeer on Christmas Eve. The other picture is playing Christmas bingo. That was his favorite game, which he called the marshmallow game since that's what they used as place markers. I'm already getting excited to help with his class's Valentine's Day party!



The Sunday before Christmas we went to church with Nana and Pops. Usually Alex goes to his Sunday School, but on holidays and special occasions he gets to go into "big" church. He was an absolute angel! He tried so hard to do everything that the grown ups were doing. He wanted his Bible open when ours was. If one of us even crossed our feet, so did he. It was so cute! I think the most touching part was knowing that he was really listening to the message. The pastor was giving a Christmas message. In the middle of the sermon Alex turned to me and said, "Jesus was born a King mommy?" He was listening to the exact wording, but also trying to take it all in. What a special Christmas moment to have our little one begin to grasp the true meaning of Christmas.

Sam's 1st Birthday Party!

The Saturday before Christmas we had a family brunch to celebrate Sam's first birthday. It was so much fun and Sam had a blast playing and opening presents. He wanted so badly to eat his cake at the end, but he could hardly stay awake. The excitement was just so much for him!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY SAM!!!

Sam is ONE today!!

Today is Sam's 1st birthday!! I can't believe how quickly this year has flown by! We started the day with his one year well check at the doctor's office. He weighs 20 pounds and 9 ounces, which is in a smaller percentile for a boy, but he's doing just great! He's super healthy and doing all the things a one year old should be doing! He did get some shots today, but seems to be doing ok so far. This afternoon was so nice, the boys spent some time playing in the backyard where I took these snaps of Sam. He loves being outside! We're looking forward to a family celebration brunch for Sam's first birthday this Saturday.

So here are some Sam facts!!

At one year old Sam:

* is a walker. He walks everywhere he needs to go now and doesn't crawl anymore, especially now that he can stand up from the floor without holding onto anything.

* has 7 teeth, 4 on top and 3 on bottom, with another one coming through very soon!

* has tons of hair. He has already had his first haircut and needs another one really soon.

* weighs in at 20 pounds, 9 ounces and is 28 3/8 inches tall.

* waves bye bye at everyone and everything when we leave.

* can say mama, dada, kitty, and loves to say uh-oh, only he says it "uh-ee."

* LOVES to point at and show us everything he sees.

* his favorite game is peek-a-boo with a plastic bucket he has. He loves to put it on his head and waits for you to say "Where's Sam??" before he throws it off. The funniest thing is when he is sitting with that bucket on his head and giggling underneath it, just waiting for his cue, like he's so tickled with himself for hiding from you.

* LOVES to play with his brother Alex. Everything that Alex does is entertainment to Sam.

A look back at December 19 of last year! My how fast they grow!

Newborn Sam weighing in at 7 pounds 15 ounces.

My Birthday

I just had a birthday, and we celebrated by having a family lunch at Maggiano's- a real treat! For the past few years I have been celebrating the anniversary of my twenty-ninth birthday, and this year was no exception! Of course Sam's 1st birthday is Wednesday, so be looking for a very special post about that!

Me and my sweet boys.
Nana and Pops with Ashley, Sam, and Alex.
Eric and Jennifer with Ashley.

Santa Storytime and Trains

Our playgroup made a trip to see Santa's storytime and the trains at Northpark. It was so much fun! Santa did an excellent storytime that the kids loved. He really kept their attention. We had lunch and then went to the train exhibit. Of course, that was Alex's favorite thing! Even Sam loved seeing all the trains.
Sam and Lauren whose birthdays are just one day apart.