christmas | part one

My tree is dying.  Just thought I would start with that.  It's what happens when Thanksgiving falls early on the calender and you hurry to put up a tree early, and then you wait four long weeks until Christmas.  The needles start to dry up and fall all over the floor, and you worry about turning on the lights when you're not home.  And yet, you don't want to take it down.  Well, at least I don't want to take it down.  It's so pretty, and so I'm dragging my feet about boxing up the ornaments and putting the season to an end.

So, let's see...Christmas happened.  We gathered, we ate, we opened presents.  We needed naps but didn't take them.  I have toys scattered around the house that haven't found homes yet.  As always, we had a nice time with family, enjoyed the excitement and the conversations and the food, and are now happy to return to boring, quiet life for a while.

Christmas Eve morning, the girls "helped" make pumpkin pies.  Even Mia sat on the counter, which is a pretty big deal for her.

I don't usually make the girls match, but I couldn't resist these dresses.  Despite many attempts, Mia would not put her bottle down, and puppy "Rose" could not be removed.  Rose is just another member of our family these days, you will see her a lot.

The girls opened their Christmas cans before heading off for family dinner.  Mia tried her best to open her can on her own and would have been happy to just get a can with a key for Christmas.  Pajamas aren't really very important to her.  And Laci informed me that she does not like her pajamas and has not worn them yet. I am doubtful if she ever will wear them since she is pretty stubborn, and I made the horrible mistake of buying purple instead of pink.  Seriously, what was I thinking?

I made another attempt at pictures before leaving for dinner, and was mildly successful.

Mia with her beloved can key.

And Laci showing her true colors.
Silly.

Sillier.

And back to serious.

They refused to pose together.


We ate Christmas Eve dinner with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and I attempted our annual cousin photo. (2011 is here, 2010 is here).

These kids are quite a bunch.  I finally busted out the flash just to get a clear shot, which could lead me into a too long discussion about why I hate using my flash, but how I also hate that I just plain didn't have enough light to take a decent picture all night, and I had a terrible time setting my white balance, which is why all my pictures are gross and yellow, but I'll spare you the details.  Instead, I'll just say, Exhibit A (above) no flash, Exhibit B (below) flash, you decide.

Oh, and the presents.  Lots of presents.  Our kids are so spoiled loved.

We stayed up too late, which made for an interesting Christmas morning, complete with a moody three year old and a mega meltdown from Mia.  Perfect beautiful memories.  But I will save that for part two. Stay tuned.