Christmas Catch-up

Well, it was a busy 3 weeks between Daphne's birth and Christmas! Between trying to take time to rest from childbirth, I shuttled kids to and from school (with Matthew's help!) and shopped to the best of my ability with usually at least 2 kids (one always being Daphne). This creates a bit of a problem when Santa is trying to prepare! With the help of a few friends to watch the kids while I "run out just one more time!" and Matthew, we were able to pull it off.

I bought Annabelle and Daphne their first matching outfits! Here is their little photo shoot!

Then, I had to get some of Annabelle by herself! Matthew was behind me, acting as a "model coach" to get these great poses!

And, lastly, I couldn't let these ridiculous tights go without being chronicled! They are just hanging off Daphne !!!

Christmas started officially for us with our Annual Cousin's Christmas at Opa's house. Amanda and Aurora were down for the weekend so we could celebrate with them. All of the cousins played and had a great time, as usual.

Wyatt and Jackson got fishing poles from Opa for their big fishing trip in August!

Annabelle showing Opa a present from her cousins.
All of the girl cousins: Amanda, Jennifer, Maile, Annabelle, Aurora (and Daphne)!


And, the boys...Brian, Jackson and Wyatt.Wyatt and I make peppermint bark for his teachers, and we made gingerbread cookies! For the second or third year in a row, it has worked out perfectly that Amanda and Aurora were able to help us decorate!








Christmas Eve came, so it was now or never for getting the wrapping done. Matthew and I started out with a pot of coffee and were able to move on to the bottle of champagne we had been holding on to for just the right occasion. We started wrapping at 8 (after the kids were in all snuggled in bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads!), I had to take a break around 10 to feed Daphne, and we were completely finished by midnight! The tree looked spectacular (naturally, I said I was going to "cut back" this year, but it's easier said than done!) and we were excited for the coming day.

It wouldn't be Christmas Eve without decorating the gingerbread house! Wyatt was determined to make it look the the picture on the box. Best intentions...maybe someday!




All the goods set out for Santa and his eight reindeer!


Wyatt bounded up the stairs around 2:30 a.m. loudly whispering, "Papa, Papa (their go-to now that Daphne's here...) there's presents, tons of them! I saw a big box like what Annabelle wanted from Santa that could have her princess barbies in it! Papa, Papa! The stockings are full!" It was so genuinely exciting...it made the exhaustion of the preparation all worth it! Matthew went down with Wyatt to his bed to try to get a little more shut-eye...I'm not sure how much more Wyatt slept. He kept asking Matthew if it was time and saying "it's just so hard to sleep!"

The kids were up and excited! We called Opa to come over and he was here very quickly, all showered and dressed for the day. I think I was excited to come over, too! We all had a great time opening our presents, and then headed to Opa's house for more family festivities.

Showing off some cool stocking stuffers!

Cool Star Wars ship from Grandma and Grandpa!

It was LOVE at first sight...the Princess Barbies (I think there are eight in there!)

And the cous de gras....Wii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We got to enjoy a long weekend with Matthew home for four days! Wyatt must have asked to play Wii no less than a thousand times. He is so excited to have a video game! Annabelle watches, but does her own thing most of the time. She loooooves playing with her princess barbies!