And then there was Christmas to celebrate! (part 2)

Christmas Morning

Santa must have been pretty happy with the kiddos here this past year!

Cody's "Santa Stash"

Dustin's "Santa Stash"

Ali's "Santa Stash"

playing with their new GeoTrax Air

Dustin's new real roller skates

Christmas Day with Family

Tammy, Jim, & Brooke

Cody & Daisy

opening more presents

We had such a wonderful Christmas, and enjoyed spending it together!

And then there was Christmas to celebrate! (part 1)

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we made our cutout cookies for Santa - along with lots of extras ;)

We went down to PaPa John and Vicki's for dinner.

We also did our gifts with them while at their house.

At home, we got our traditional gifts from Grandma Soni and PaPa Wally, and also exchanged or gifts for each other.

Mommy made each of them a double-layer fleece blanket

Tradition gifts from Grandma Soni & PaPa Wally:

a book, a stuffed animal, and pajamas

more opening

I got my new wireless printer

And of course, leaving Santa's cookies and milk out before heading to bed!

December Birthdays

We have two special birthdays to fit into our already busy December. Ali turned 11 on Dec. 4th. Over the past year, she has become interested in the American Girls. She was never much of a "doll player" as a little girl, but did enjoy Barbies. Watching Brooke's excitement over her new American Girl dolls since last Christmas really sparked the interest in Ali. Mom and Dad got her very first American Girl for her birthday this year. Mia, the 2008 "Girl of the Year," has red hair and freckles. We figured we couldn't go wrong with this one. So Ali opened Mia, along with almost all of her clothing and accessories for her birthday.

the birthday girl

opening Mia

comparing hair color

Since Brooke wouldn't be here for Ali's family party,

she and Aunt Tammy joined us for presents

the night of Ali's birthday.

We usually do birthday parties here at home, since we really can't count on good weather on any given weekend in December around here. But this year, Ali got to invite some of her friends to a bowling party. They seemed to have a really good time!

Mommy made her a bowling cake

bowling fun

Then we had her big family party here at home.

Cody turned 8 on Dec. 13th. He has been wanting a Nintendo DS for a while now, so his present from Mommy and Daddy was his DS, along with a Monster Jam game and a Little League Baseball game for it. Not only was he super excited about getting his DS, but also loved the fact that he got one before Ali! She had been wanting one too, and with the age difference, he often has to wait for the same things. So that was quite a thrill for him!

opening his Nintendo DS

He had almost his entire class here for a birthday party. We did presents and cupcakes, and they just had a great time playing together.

Then we had his big family party here.

the birthday boy

the boys are both very much into monster trucks,

so Mommy made him a John Deere colored monster truck cake