Birthday celebrations in this house are a must. and a joy. I think I may start a new tradition that I read here. Love the idea of the kids waking up their birthday morning to a bunch of gifts...granted, we might make them wait to open the gifts until Dad is home from work (be it a work/school day) but I *love* this idea :)
Here are some photos from Tayt's birthday celebration!
Every photo I ever take of this child he is looking at something else...never fails!
More to come on The Cake... it was kind of a big deal ;)
There is quite the abundance of photos to follow but I didn't want to do multiple posts so here goes...
Christmas around here is always wonderful. Kids. Family. Church. Gifts. Love it all. It seems so chaotic right up until Christmas. Then the blur of the celebration. And then I look back and wonder how it went so fast. I think a 2012 resolution of mine might be to start Christmas this year earlier. Dave might not be so fond of this idea but we'll see... ;)
Our Christmas Eve started like this...
Every year we travel west to my aunt's house for Christmas Eve. We look forward to this every year. Great times were had this year as usual!
What you are about to watch is a lot of odd with a side of slightly disturbing. And also could be quite hilarious. They're taking this quite seriously...
and then the kids had their turn :)
After a few hours at my aunt's, we traveled back east to Dave's parents. Everyone makes out pretty well here as well :)
Nash fell asleep on the ride and missed Christmas Eve at Dave's parents. We were okay with that! Tayt is in *love* with his skeleton hoodie from Dave's parents!
Someone got my camera &this is what I found on it. Thanks Casey &Jake! ;)
After maybeeeee 5 hours of sleep Christmas Eve and mass at 7:30 a.m... SEVEN THIRTY IN THE MORNING...we did it. We made it through. Gave our thanks. And it was worth it. The kids had a great morning and being up that early we got to relax some before my family arrived.
Dave managed to sneak in a nap Christmas Day. ;)
My dad made the neatest work bench for Tayt. Lots of hammering went on! (&then some arguing) :)
We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season. We are *so* very thankful and blessed for our family &friends! Thank you to all of you!
December 31, 2006 this little man surprised us coming a few days earlier than his due date and stealing quite a bit of his Aunt Renee's thunder. They share a birthday! :)
It seems this is a recurring line in our home, but from the get go... this little boy was quite a ham! He has always been the center of attention, full of attitude, downright boy, and a complete joy to have around. And usually one look with those brown eyes keeps him out of any and ALL trouble. It's rough to follow through on discipline with that child! He is downright adorable and completely melts my heart every day. We love you Tayt!
I hate that we've only had our Christmas tree for a week. Regardless, we sure had a great time finding it. Thinking back now... I don't think any tears were shed. It was a good day! ;) There was some argument regarding which tree was perfect for us but in the end, we alllll agreed on one. Mission accomplished!
Nash & Drew
Austyn pulled Drew almost the entire time :)
preparation
Tayt
Drew baby
Austyn & Jax Man
all of us (minus Dave...he was working) :(
notice Lia is holding Tayt's head... we were close to tears here, but we made it!
the find. the kill.
Jax Man
Mallory's husband, Chris, has their lab pulling Tayt &Nash on the sled! could have been bad ;)
Luke pulling Drew
Tayt &Mom :)
I *think* Peyton is protecting Drew from the dogs here...
this is just a tiny bit of the madness that goes on when we're all together :)
Jax Man pulling out his tree
It was such a beautiful day for Christmas tree hunting. We look forward to it every year. One of my most favorite traditions!
