Christmas with extended family - last Christmas post, I promise!

My aunt Dianne took these pics, and I'm gonna hire her to take my kids pics every time...they sat there still and smiled for like 2 minutes straight!

This is an outfit I smocked/sewed last Christmas that we got a second year out of by adding a pair of pants...gotta love when you can do that!

The train was actually Evan's gift, but Bubs LOVED it. :)

The Bean got a baby doll w/ lots of parts (including a hair dryer) that she loved!!


These pics are from two different Christmas parties...one at my mom's side of the family and one at my dad's side. Unfortunately I didn't take a lot of pictures, so there were none of the other family members that were there (sorry guys!), but I promise they were there and we all had a great time! Lots of good food and good times!

Who Needs Elf on a Shelf?

On the stairs

On the kitchen counter

On the kitchen table

Who needs Elf on a Shelf when you have toddlers and a nativity set? During the Christmas season, Bubs and the Bean moved Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus around more times than I can count. I didn't take pictures each time, of course, but I found them in a different place pretty much each day. The Bean liked to put baby Jesus in the "loft" of the barn b/c as she said, "Kids sleep upstairs and Mommy's and Daddy's sleep downstairs." (At least that's how our house is laid out, anyway!)

More Christmas pics

Shakin' her groove thang...

Bubs and the Bean rocked out to the music of this little guy...Jingle Bell Rockin'.

Making his daddy proud...Bubs immediately started dunking on one of his Christmas gifts from Mommy and Daddy.

The Bean loved her paints she got for Christmas...

Jesus' Birthday cake...it was quite tasty!

Opening gifts wearing her "jingle jams" (her name for her Christmas jammies)

The decorations for Jesus' birthday party

The Bean and Mimi making Jesus' birthday cake


We had a great time over at Mimi and Grandpaw's house for Christmas. On Christmas Eve the Bean helped Mimi and I make Jesus' birthday cake. (My nephew Evan helped too....) This was our first year to have a birthday party for Jesus, and we made a 3-layer cake that symbolized the Gospel. The bottom layer is chocolate, which represents our sin. The middle layer is red, which represents the blood that Jesus' shed on the cross to forgive us of our sins. The top layer is green, which represents the new life that we have in Christ. And the icing is white, which represents the pure, sinless life Jesus lived. I tried to find a link to the recipe w/ the verses that go with it, but I couldn't find one. Bean and Bubs rocked out to Santa singing "Jingle Bell Rock" and just about ran out the batteries. They got lots of fun presents, and we had a great time celebrating w/ my family. Merry belated Christmas!!