On Christmas Eve, we went to mass, then headed down to my brother's house. Taylor loves her cousins and Michael has taken a particular liking to his cousin Jacob. Michael hung with his cool big cousin much of the night, which gave me the opportunity to chit chat and have a glass of wine (or three).
Michael and his buddy Jacob and the Mole (my brother Chris). Chris doesn't always dress like that. It's a tradition for him to wear a horrendous outfit at Christmas. He had on his wife's sleep shirt from college and Sponge Bob pants.
The fam, sans spouses and kids.
The cousins - Noah (7), Taylor (4), Haley (5), Jacob (11), Michael (1), Abby (2)
Mike and Noah. 
G-pa and Taylor.
Snuggling with a Christmas Pear. He looks thrilled.Santa was good to the kids this year! Taylor has been asking for a swimming puppy since October and the jolly old elf obliged. He even left it unwrapped, so it was the first thing the Worm saw when she came down the steps. The Pear loved his new wagon, but wasn't so thrilled with his Tickle Me Cookie Monster. He cries every time we turn it on! Other big hits for Michael include his Elmo car, Learning Table from G-ma T and pull-along turtle from Uncle Pat. Taylor loves everything, but has played mostly with her Hungry, Hungry Hippos game, remote control My Little Pony and Jungle in My Pocket set from G-ma T. Thankfully, Taylor seems to get the whole meaning of Christmas and I'm sure Michael will, too.
The beloved swimming puppy.
My little elf with Daddy.
Taylor and I. Yes, I was as tired as I looked.
Trying out Michael's new ride. It was like a double Christmas for Taylor. She played/plays with all of the Pear's toys.I'm so anal sometimes that I want to smack myself. After about 15 minutes of basking in the Christmas morning glory, I went into cleaning mode and had the living room clear of debris and all toys out of boxes and assembled before 9 a.m. We fed and dressed the kids, packed and started the next leg of our Christmas journey. (Mary and Joseph had nothing on us.) The kids were great during the car trip to Pittsburgh and we made great time. (I say "we" like I actually drove or something. Now that I have a 50-minute commute each way to work, I've pretty much handed over all family driving duties to the Man.) Marilyn prepared a delicious Christmas meal for us and it was great seeing Mike's entire immediate family there. I can't remember the last time that all of his siblings were together! We rested and chatted awhile before taking off for the next destination - Aunt Ginny's house to see all of Mike's aunts and uncles on his dad's side. I really enjoy these guys and I know the kids had a blast. Michael - in typical booger Pear form - wanted no part in being held by his lovely great aunts. Instead, he buddied up with the men and reached for his 16-year-old cousin Matt anytime he was in the room. What a stinker!
"Mommy, I love Matt."
A rare picture of Mike and I.(Note: I have more pictures to add, but the image uploader was acting goofy last night.)
We headed home the next morning. We really ran around a lot this year and I was impressed with how well the kids handled it. We were all a little grouchy that night from the lack of sleep, but all is good now.
I'll end with some recent pictures of the kids. Enjoy!
What a cutie!
Taylor at her friend's Princess party. She's Miss Social now.
Michael always has stuff in his hands now. It took me forever to get the pine crap off his hands from carrying these pine cones!
We had a few warm days right after Christmas, so we got to try out the wagon.
I love this picture! Until next time,
Mommy Kel
1 comment:
Wow...I can't get over how big Jacob is! Looks a lot like Laurie. And the sleepy-but-excited look on Taylor's face on Christmas morning - I just want to eat her up. So cute that the Pear wants to be one of the big boys. Your commentary, as always, cracks me up. Miss ya!
Post a Comment