Christmas 2011

this is how pictures typically go...half smiling, half sulking...at least they are all looking in the general direction of the camera ;)


better :)


have i mentioned how much kate LOVES luke...seriuosly...


mike and me...ready to head to Christmas eve service


luke digging China Buffet...our Christmas eve dinner...a fun (and easy!) tradition


home from Christmas eve service and dinner...awaiting their Christmas eve present


he's waiting too! ;) he loves to do this with his bottle lately...goofball!


bathrobes...instead of jammies (which we have in abundance, we did robes for Christmas eve this year)


the calm and serene before the chaos of Christmas morning


kate woke us at 5:45...not so much because it was Christmas, but because that is how she rolls. she got to help cut and fry up the beignets...then we got everyone else up for the morning....and, yes, by early afternoon it was very apparent that someone had woken up way too early ;)


checking it out!


posing for mommy...see jilly munching her beignet...yep, there were lots of tears about that beignet moments after this pic...but we won't go there...just bein' real ;)


excitement over luke checking out his stocking


kate finds her spin-brush in her stocking...she shrieked, jumped, and did a dance afterward...yep, toothbrushes make us happy around here. seriously, the girls don't have a Christmas list (it is blissful, really...people asked them what they wanted and, for the most part, they looked at those people like they had three heads), however, they both REALLY wanted a spinbrush....i mean, really, really, really wanted a spinbrush


jilly and her stocking


luke opening


jilly and her duck whistle from libbers...this thing is HILARIOUS!


libbers and kate...lots of their gifts were matching...so they opened simultaneously


i got a new showerhead :)


pillow pets...if you want to see the video of them opening these let me know, i'll e-mail you the link...it is hilarious....and noisy and chaotic. this was what i was most excited to see them open...and they are definitely excited about them! jilly opened hers up and jumped right on to "ride" it...elizabeth and kate followed suit, and they have dragged them everywhere they go for the past 48 hours. :) kate calls hers hermit (no, that is not a typo...HERMIT) the frog ;)...elizabeth's is elizabeth the unicorn...and jilly just calls hers "elphant"...luke didn't name his ;)...but he got a lion


we had a brief respite (a nap for the littles) and the big girls and i decorated our birthday cake for Jesus...they came up with the idea for the design and i helped them pipe it on.


then grandmommy, poppy, and GG showed up, and round 2 commenced

elizabeth opening her ice skates...now we just need ice!


poppy helping luke


i'm not sure who was more excited about the rumbling truck...luke or poppy...probably poppy right now...luke just wanted to eat the paper ;)


kate helping GG open


poppy found gifts at the last minute and couldn't resist...here they are opening their sock monkeys and frogs :)


luke helping me open


we did play games and wii and eat and visit after all of the unwrapping...but we were too busy to pick up cameras!

waving bye bye at the end of a full, fun day!