Random Christmas Visit Pics

Fun and cute pictures with family that I can't leave out!

Funny faces:

Youngest granddaughter:

Russell is so proud that he can hold Daphne while standing - makes him feel big!

Cooking with Kacki:

Aunt Meghan and Ella spending time with Daphne:

Paige LOVES Jack the Horse (whom she calls Jack's Horsey, as in, "can we go ride Jack's Horsey?"):

Uncle Bart and Aunt Nancy meet Daphne and see Princess Mer:

2 sweet sissies:

Reading time:

A long exposure doesn't always work with a baby:

Simply having a wonderful Christmastime!

Christmas Jammies Photo Op :)

Well, Christmas jammies for little ones are so cute, they're a must!

I had to get photos of my four little elves. They are not the best quality photos, but I was really just going for smiles!

(yes, we were being silly behind the camera to try to get smiles!)

Paige's PJs came with a matching nightgown for her baby doll - so sweet!

Grandmother visit

We used to see Grandmother so much. I'm so glad we had those 3+ years where we lived right down the road from her.

 It was wonderful to see her again!

We got to see her new apartment, and we also got to drive through Chick Fil A and eat at her townhome and let the kids play with her basket of toys. The big kids immediately went to the toys and remembered where everything was. It was nice to see that :)

Grandmother asked me how we came up with Daphne's middle name, Belle. I told her it was just a name we liked. She said, "Well, I'll claim it. You remember, my middle name was Annabelle."  I had completely forgotten! But it makes me happy to have that connection to her, even if it was inadvertent. :)

Nanny visit

We had about a 24-hour trip to see Jason's grandmother, Nanny. So much fun to see her and Jason's aunt and uncle!

The kids enjoyed the big tupperware of toys that Nanny keeps just for them - I love that she still keeps them, even though we're far away.

Nanny and Daphne had a good time rocking together!

The kids really liked Nanny's snow village :)

Of course, there were presents! The girls got princess dress-up sets (which they LOVE) and Russell got a Lego kit (and that he loves it goes without saying - that boy is obsessed with Legos).

They also got some play phones - Paige and Aunt Kim called each other :)

The weather was gorgeous! We had to sit outside and enjoy it. I was trying to get a picture for Kacki with all of her grandkids, but as always, there was one who wouldn't participate:

Meredith "helped" Daphne open her presents (clothes and a baby doll) and showed her each one. She is such a good big sis. She is definitely Daphne's favorite person.

This is actually a pretty good picture considering the circumstances. Russell is the only child I can count on to always take a smiling, obedient, photogenic picture without much cajoling!

We had a great visit and were so glad to see more family!

Fall Family Pictures

We got our family pictures taken in September for this year, but I haven't put them up here yet because I used some for our Christmas cards. Here they are!

{By the way, it was every bit as difficult to get good pictures as you would imagine it would be with 4 kids this small!}

Annual Gingerbread House Night

Every year we decorate a gingerbread house; this year, we decided to get a gingerbread village, which included 4 small houses. That way, each kid had one to decorate (with 1 left over since it's a bit advanced for Daphne ;)). I love doing this each year! Love all of our little Christmas traditions.

Nice to do it at Paw Paw and Kacki's house - plenty of adult helping hands!

Russell was very precise with his house - in the last year, he's become much more intentional with arts and crafts; I love it!

Meredith is intentional and precise with everything :)

The first year we did gingerbread houses, Meredith was 2 and wanted to eat everything....I have now realized this is a 2-year-old rite of passage ;)

Kacki made sure some of Paige's house was decorated!

All the kids:

Meredith's finished house:

Paige's final product (and still eating candy):

Russell's gingerbread house:

Our family!