Christmas recap

The last two weeks have been a blur.  Did Christmas already come and go so quickly?  Ryan heads back to school tomorrow after what has been a great two weeks of vacation for him.  And we barely even left town.  So here's a quick recap of what our Holidays looked like….

Christmas Eve, we hosted dinner here.  It was Eddy's immediate family, and my parents, and it was chaos.  So I didn't get many pics unfortunately.  But here's the idea:

sporting her new purple princess dress, and dragging around the present she knew was for her from Nonni & Nonno

the kids table, with my kids being oh-so-cooperative

my parents, being more than cooperative at the adults table 

the beginning of the Lego onslaught -- this one from Nonni & Nonno 

(Side note: I'm hoping to work on furnishing and decorating the front living room and dining room as my New Year's resolution -- these photos make it look so stark white!)

After the massive gift exchange amongst the Bayers (mostly the kids), we did our Christmas Eve traditions of reading and leaving some cookies for Santa, and got the kids in bed.  My parents stayed the night, and we woke up to more and more presents from Santa!

our tree -- note the "pink present" for K

stocking puppet sticks

Ry's gift for us from school (wrapped in a Rudolph bag) -- hand made ornaments, love them!

in lieu of the recent rains -- the kids got umbrellas and rain boots 

Kaitlyn had about 6 costume changes this morning -- the girl is LOVING all things girly, and required to wear a tutu at this moment in time

more Legos -- Coast Guard Lego Boat from Santa

Aside from Legos, Ryan got a few books, games, some new clothes (including pants -- to replace all of his with holes in the knees), and a new package of markers to replace the ones that he has used all the ink in already.
Kaitlyn's requested "Pink Present" turned out to be a pink scooter, and she got some great games (lace up game, fairy dress up set, puzzles), some markers of her very own, books, and other fun little odds and ends.
Kaitlyn, bless her little heart, would have been content with only one present.  She opened one, and found it hard to move on.  Ryan on the other hand, had a very hard time slowing down to wait for everyone else.  But all in all, this year was better than last, more patience and enjoyment from all involved.

Bike riding Diva

 We finished presents, had a delicious breakfast, and then forced the kiddos away from their loot to take a family walk.  It was a beautiful day!  Ryan threw a few fits about having to leave his Legos -- for about the next 3 days.  

Merry Christmas!!

 We drove to Eddy's cousin Autumn's house for Christmas dinner -- to spend the remainder of the day with Eddy's extended family.  It was great fun this year.  The 6 kids did a pretty good job of playing together, and at one point, quite a few of us grownups were able to sit down for awhile and play a number of rounds of Balderdash.  Super fun!  Looking forward to more game nights ahead!!

Ryan, Alexandra, and Kensie

three little monkeys (amazed that Autumn actually got them to do this!)

Over the next few days, the kids just played and played, while Eddy and I got to relax, read, exercise a bit, and overall just hang out.  A wonderful Christmas was had by all.  

the finished Police Station

now working on the Coast Guard boat 

probably Kaitlyn's favorite gift -- her dog Fluffy, it walks on the leash, barks, sits, and lets out friendly low grrrrr sounds when you ignore it.  Who needs a real dog now?  

...and we'll probably start working on potty training soon, as she demanded to put Fluffy on the potty and then watch her to make sure she was "going potty".  I think this girl is ready for undies!