December 24

I have put off writing this post because there are just so. many. pictures. But I suppose that's all the more reason to get it written!

We packed so much into the day - Chris and I resisted the urge to sleep in, and we took the kids out to breakfast at Denny's. I know it sounds silly, but it was a huge deal to them. Caleb specifically requested the fried cheese sticks, so we got those before our breakfast. Amazingly, our waitress didn't even  bat an eye at the request!

Chris took the kids home, and I headed to the gym for a quick workout. After a quick shower, I headed over to my sister Emily's house to snap a few pictures of her family in front of their Christmas tree. 

Isn't Jace adorable?

Their dog, Willie, is getting pretty old, so I'm glad we were able to get him into the picture. He was not a willing subject, though, and kept trying to flop on the ground at less-than-flattering angles.

These boys are too funny. Jace was being silly and sat down in Max's lap, and was shocked that I actually wanted to take his picture that way!

Sweet brothers!

Hi, Max! Isn't he handsome?

Emily and Billy.

And Ryan! 

I came home to find a couple more Christmas cards in the mail that featured photos I took, so I decided to do a group shot: 

This makes me so happy!

I also came home to this craziness, which makes me even happier. 

That silly parrot costume I made for Lily the year she turned one? She refused to wear it then, and now it's her favorite. She was flapping around the house in her bunny slippers, chirping at everyone.

Luckily, Chris is an excellent bird catcher. 

(And look at Eli at the bottom! He thinks the whole thing is hilarious!)

Chirp, chirp, Lily!

Then Chris helped Eli "fly" around the house.

That is one blurry, happy boy.

Chris and I got all four kids down for naps, then worked together to get things ready for Christmas Eve with my family. Then we woke the big kids, my mom and Jenny came over, and Jenny stayed home with napping Eli and Lily while Mom, Chris, Caleb, Daisy and I went to a Christmas Eve service at Mom's church. 

We returned home to find the kids awake, which we expected, and that Jenny had been a good sport and gotten both kiddos dressed in their Christmas outfits. She even put a bow in Lily's hair, though it had to be adjusted. Not bad for someone with very little experience with small children!

Then we all headed to my parents' house for dinner and presents.

These cousins enjoy each other so much!

After I snapped this picture, I realized that there are no longer any babies in the family. Eli is the youngest, and he's nearly two now! Christmas Eve will be even more fun in future years when we can keep the kids out later and do more things with them.

Grandpa and Grandma with all of their grandbabies! 

This year, Caleb, Max, and Daisy were able to read well enough that they got to hand out presents to everyone. It has always been Jenny and Ryan's job, and I'm not sure how they felt about handing over the responsibility. But it was so much fun for the kids!

Lily was so excited to open this present from Grandma,

And even more excited at what was inside!

We give Ryan cash for Christmas every year, but that's kind of boring. So each year, I give Chris the job of coming up with a zany way to wrap it. He never disappoints. This year, he unrolled a whole roll of toilet paper, inserted money, and rolled the whole thing back up. Then I wrapped it. Ryan was mildly amused.

My kids have always, always, always longed for a Cozy Coupe car to play in, but I've always shot down the idea. We don't have a good place to ride it, they'd have trouble sharing, etc. This year, something changed, and I suggested it might be a good gift for the little two. My mom came through and got Eli and Lily a Cozy Coupe to share. It was the gift of the evening!

It was also un-assembled. 

The kids waited not-so-patiently while my dad, Chris, and Jenny worked to assemble the thing.

I love this picture of my mom and Lily. These two have always had a special bond. Tonight, Mom wore Lily's Princess Sophia amulet while Lily told a very animated story about a dream she had about the amulet and what the amulet does. It was so stinking cute!

Chris found a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon in the fridge, which is my Grandpa's signature beer. He opened it up and toasted to Grandpa Leo, who is spending his first Christmas up north in decades, now that Grandma can no longer make the trip to Arizona.

Oh, and thanks to my beloved ring sling, Eli and I got lots of snuggles. It was a good - and late! - night!