Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!
(Alright, so this entry and the previous entry are super long, you’ll be scrolling for awhile. The good news is that this should help me catch up faster.)
December 25th, I couldn’t get Ian to NOT make this face on Christmas morning. Words cannot describe how excited he was. See this image larger.
Alright kids, come on down! See this image larger.
So happy to have them home on Christmas morning! See this image larger.
*We made it through December, sister, oh thank God we made it! And look! Santa thinks we were good! LOL!* See this image larger.
These were gifts from Aunt Jill! She’s so awesome! And look, I think she’s dropping hints that she wants us to come visit her in Arizona! See this image larger.
A joker vehicle! See this image larger.
Nina battles for lens time with Ian’s noggin. See this image larger.
A lego toy! See this image larger.
What the heck are these? Pfft, towels? See this image larger.
WAIT… NOT JUST TOWELS.. COSTUME TOWELS! See this image larger.
Run-around-the-house break! See this image larger.
Hello Kitty! See this image larger.
A cool book with hello kittys inside! See this image larger.
Ian gets a snap-circuit set, but Ian mis-read the front. “For ages 100 and up?” No buddy, 100 projects!! See this image larger.
The only thing Nina asked for was a pink kitty. She opened this up… “A… (sniffle) pink… bear.” WAIT! Nina! Look at the tail and whiskers!!! See this image larger.
“PINK KITTYYYYYY!!!!” See this image larger.
“O-HO-HOOOO PINK KITTTYYYYYYYY!!!!” See this image larger.
Cool Dino/Vehicle transforming toys! See this image larger.
What do you have there, Nina? Minnie Mouse Dress-up set? Nice! See this image larger.
A shirt and sword from Minecraft! See this image larger.
Sword and Pick-Axe! See this image larger.
*Grin.* See this image larger.
Mommy gets some cute earrings! See this image larger.
See? 
AND a kiss! See this image larger.
Pink Kitty is invited to a big party in the dining room! See this image larger.
Big mess in very little time! See this image larger.
Later, it is time for Nina’s birthday celebration! See this image larger.
A puzzle! See this image larger.
Piggy bank! See this image larger.
We got word that a snowstorm was heading into Ohio, so we drove as quickly as we could to get to Ohio on Christmas night. We wanted to beat the storm to celebrate Christmas with Mel and crew! We didn’t get there until late, of course… So the next morning, December 26th – Hug for brother! See this image larger.
Another day, another cake! See this image larger.
Celebrating with the cousins and brother! See this image larger.
We hope all your wishes come true, little one! See this image larger.
Visiting Connor’s bedroom! See this image larger.
Good times! I said Good times, Ian. *sigh* See this image larger.
Gathering around for a quick breakfast? See this image larger.
The four cousins! See this image larger.
Ian gets a lego toy! See this image larger.
I got a T-shirt! See this image larger.
Somebody got Connor Halo4! See this image larger.
And yup, I got Ian the same gifts as Connor… couldn’t help myself, those foam things were cool! See this image larger.
Opening and assembling! See this image larger.
December 27th, the snow had been falling all day as we opened presents on the 26th, so the next day, it was time to shovel! We all pitched in! See this image larger.
There was a lot of snow, perfect for sledding! See this image larger.
For the first chunk of time, I watched Nina while she slept in the car, but eventually she woke up and we joined everybody else. Ian and I making a super-fast run pictured here. See this image larger.
Someone loves her mommy! All too soon, it was time to go! We got lucky with the weather, as the roads were perfectly fine for the next leg of our journey! See this image larger.
December 28th, after all of the tunnels and mountains, we hit South Carolina. It was there, on our way down to Florida, Ian suddenly handed Mommy his first loose tooth, one that had been loose for several weeks. With no crying, and no fuss, he just suddenly piped up “I lost my tooth!” See this image larger.
December 29th, “Another dino-vehicle!!! I don’t have this one!!!” See this image larger.
Our little sun-beam! See this image larger.
Remote control hilarity ensues. See this image larger.
A good size cake! Happy birthday again, little girl! (So weird. Without a shifting of her birthdate, Nina will probably never have friends over for a birthday party… but she does get to celebrate it all over the country! Someday we’ll have to work out a system. Life’s crazy when you share a birthday with Jesus!) See this image larger.
Stomping around in some sweet jammies! See this image larger.
Grandma Sue took us back to the Christmas Light Show at a nearby nature area. It’s a great time! See this image larger.
Little bundle falls asleep in Mommy’s arms at Chili’s, despite the noise! See this image larger.
December 30th, I had heard about these, but never seen one in person until we stopped by Moe’s with Grandma Sue. It is called a “freestyle” pop machine. You walk up, press what kind of pop you want… for example, Melissa has chosen “Sprite” here… THEN… you choose a sub-flavor. So she could choose cherry sprite, grape sprite, orange sprite, vanilla sprite, etc.! It was cool! See this image larger.
At Aunt Leslie and Uncle Gordon’s, Ian was amazed to find that a mailtruck toy still contained “letters” from his previous visit! See this image larger.
That totally made his day, thanks for keeping those in there! 🙂 See this image larger.
Happy family! See this image larger.
Ian ran like the wind, and the wind was swift and cold, for Florida! See this image larger.
Father and son, on the beach. See this image larger.
Florida beach with winter coats! Who would have thought?!? Grandma snuggles in for this shot! See this image larger.
Happy family! See this image larger.
Love you forever, sweetie. 🙂 See this image larger.
Run, kid, run! See this image larger.
December 31st, last day with Gramma Sue until next time… we had fun, thank you! See this image larger.
Arriving at Grampa Ray and Gramma Barb’s that same day, and time to open more presents! What a little doll! See this image larger.
Pizza toy! See this image larger.
*I’ve never eaten a pizza with one of these!* See this image larger.
*Grampa, open this for me!* See this image larger.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the holiday season over the years… it is that Christmas would come to a screeching halt without males around to open packages. See this image larger.
Batman Trios set! See this image larger.
“Punch it in, Grampa!” See this image larger.
This is the classic “kid doesn’t understand present yet, parent explains present” scenario. See this image larger.
An Elmo sandwich holder!! See this image larger.
Hello huggy kitty! (Ian, in the background, begins digging in!) See this image larger.
There’s more to our stay in Florida, but we need to save that for January 2013! More next entry! In other words, we’re through 2012!
