Better Late Than...

Wanted to get Christmas Cards out this year but, ya know, life happens...
so the week before Christmas we had our favorite photographer take these.
They turned out great. I dislike being in photos, but I guess without me it wouldn't be a family picture!




This one melts my heart...a dad and his girls...is there anything cuter?!

Bubbly

* I do not condone underage drinking...but I do condone laughing at children who look like they are drunk!*
New Years was a blast! We poured a little bubbly(sparkling cider)

Toasts were made...

Drinks were drunk and shared!

No one was "too young" to celebrate!

It was a good time!

Some had a little more than others.

Some could hold their "bubbly"

Some could not...

Then grandpa brought out the "Poppers"!
Some got a little frustrated

Closing one eye seemed to help...

Or two if you wanted to be safe!

Tessa felt more secure under the table...with her bubbly!

It was a good time!

Miss Mal

Our baby Mallory Jane, who we affectionately refer to as "Miss Mal" turned 6 months old on Christmas Day. She weighs 14 lb 9 oz (25%) and is 26 26 1/4" long (75%).

Here are a few things about OUR Miss Mal:
*When she smiles she gets a dimple on her right cheek
*She loves to be held. I don't think she would ever cry if she were held all day.
*She is really liking baby food.
*She is becoming a real "Mama's Girl." She is fine with Dad holding her IF she doesn't see mom
* Her new favorite activity is being in her bouncer and watching Baby Einstein.
*She always has a smile on her face and kicks her legs when we wake her up in the morning.
* She is starting to test her voice making unsual sounds.
* She loves to grab things (especially hair) and put things in her mouth.

We love her big eyes, darling smile, and sweet temperament!

Sledding

The girls got a new sled for Christmas that we decided to try out on some new snow at the golf course. They loved the sledding

until

they realized

it is done on snow

which is COLD! :) LOL

Christmas Morning

The best things about Christmas Morning is waking from your sleep to find
That Santa is real,
that he did read your letter,
and filled your requests.
Discovering that family (even those who are far away) can make your Christmas Dreams come true!

Getting gifts you didn't even know you needed
and having a smile on your face for the rest of the day!

Christmas Eve

This year was a little different for our family. We had to come up with something to do on Christmas Eve. MY mom came up with the great idea to visit my Aunt Lori and see her some 300+ Nativities.


It was Amazing! She put some of the smaller, unbreakable ones down low for the kids to touch.I wish I had pictures of all the nativities. There were nativity paintings, nativity ornaments, and sets of every kind. Here are a few of my favorites:
I love this African Nativity with the different animals!

Of course this was one of Kody's favorites because he served in Japan!This is Nativity is from Africa.

I thought this Native American one was really different.
But this is my favorite! MY Grandma and Grandpa bought it in Israel on the way back from the their mission!

After that we went to my brother and sister-in-laws for benyes (sp?) before driving through the lights at Layton Park!

For Sale

So I was thinking that we need more holiday traditions. Apparently the ones we already have do not take enough of my time and sanity. So being the great mom that I am I purchased a gingerbread house from Costco. My husband, ever ready to applaud my motherhood, commented "Your NOT going to bake the gingerbread yourself?"
I gave him my "death stare" and muttered "last I checked this wasn't the 1950's."
But I digress. I bought the kit in early December and on the morning of Christmas Eve my kids asked if we were EVER going to make the gingerbread house. I figured since I had put them off for a month if we did not do it today it might take another month to actually put it together.
So as I made Christmas cookies for Santa (another tradition left to the last minute) I helped the girls make their house. We worked and worked until we came up with this masterpiece:
VIOLA!

Are you thinking what I'm thinking....

IT is uncanny how similar our house is to the one pictured on the box...feel free to do a double take!
And we didn't even use ALL OUR candy!

I guess what matters in the end is that this is what I will remember

happy faces on my little girls!

Any one else's gingerbread look like a fore-closed crack house in Alaska?
Think of it as an artistic commentary on this year's economy!
P.S. I think we totally nailed the gingerbread man's do!