Thursday, January 27, 2011

Christmas--Brand Style

We hosted Christmas for both side of the family this year. What did that mean? It meant a house busting at the seams and a whole lot of love. Adam's family arrived on Christmas Eve and stayed with us through the 30th of December. We all enjoyed soaking up some quality time with Mops, Pops, Uncle Jason, and Aunt Paula.

We opened a few presents on Christmas Eve. Kenly patiently waited all day until everyone arrived. Her favorite phrase of the season was, "I want to open just one more." She would hold up one cute little finger and we'd all cave it.

I love this picture because Chance really wants to help. He loves opening presents, and while he had his fair share of gifts, he was noticeably jealous of everything Kenly got to open.

Just look at that face..She doesn't like opening presents at all. Nope. Not one bit.
Uncle Jason won major cool points by pushing Kenly around the house on a boogie board. She didn't let him off easy, and he didn't tire as quickly as I would have. Go Uncle Jason!
Pops brought up a gumdrop tree for Kenly to decorate. She had a great time making it beautiful and an even better time convincing people to sneak her gumdrops every time she walked past her masterpiece.

She begged all day to open her big present--an easel. I can honestly say that buying this easel from Goodwill was genius. A mom can brag on herself, right? It's portable and easy to clean. At first I was bummed that the trays were missing, but we solved the problem by hanging a bucket off the tray supports. Good as new. Now I don't have to worry about her drawing on the legs or messing up a $40.00 easel. Phew.
Kenly fell in love with Maggie's miniature princesses when we went to Virginia in the fall, so she got a few of her own from us.
The famous, loving, wonderful Uncle Jason and Aunt Paula.
Santa came and he left Kenly quite a spread. The only things she asked for when she sat on his lap were a princess umbrella and a microwave. She got both. She's been a very good girl. Santa also left her a table and chairs, a Winnie-the-Pooh computer program, a dump truck, a puzzle, a baby high chair and a teddy bear. Score!
The quality of this picture is lacking, but I love how thrilled she is to be playing with her very own microwave.

She found her stocking almost as thrilling as walking out to discover her big goodies.
Silly Bandz are cool, especially if they come shaped like the characters on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
When we woke up Christmas morning, snow was falling. I'm 34, and this was my first white Christmas. It was beautiful to watch the snow falling all day. Kenly loved watching it drift to the ground. It snowed so much that we were housebound for days. What do you do when you're stuck in a house with 6 adults, 1 toddler, and a hyperactive dog? Keep having fun. Adam and I bought a Wii for each other for Christmas. We spent many an hour playing golf, bowling, and challenging each other to sword fights. We spent time playing in the white stuff as well.
Kenly enjoyed eating most of her meals at her very own table. She and Daddy enjoyed Christmas breakfast in the comfort of the living room.
Mops and Kenly watching the snow pile up.
Just before Christmas dinner we headed outside to play. Mops gave Kenly the adorable princess hat and mittens.
Princess umbrellas work well in the snow.
Uncle Jason and Daddy sledding in the back yard.
We ate off this spread for several days--ham, turkey, mac and cheese, ambrosia, green bean casserole, collard greens, and a chocolate strata pie for dessert. Yum.
Since we don't have a table large enough to seat everyone, we always ate meals in the living room by the fire.
Kenly opened a few more little presents.
The view from our front door.
Pops gave Kenly a oosball table for Christmas. She might not fully understand the concept, but she has a blast twirling the men and hitting the ball.
We had about 8 inches of snow fall during the day. It was the most beautiful snow we have had all season.

1 comment:

Jennaug10 said...

Rhonda, I loved reading about your Christmas. Makayla had a great Christmas too. So fun watching their little faces light up. Makayla wanted us to open presents too. She didn't want us left out. I will have to fine the Mickey Mouse Silly Bands for Makayla, she loves that show too.