*VIDEO*
What a whirlwind couple of weeks! We made it through the holidays with lots of laughs and good memories with family. We spent 4 days in Kentucky prior to Christmas, spent Christmas Day at home, and had both families here for varying periods of time through New Year's Day. We crammed in 3 Christmases, 2 birthdays, and 1 New Year in a 12-day period. Phew! Here's a recap in pictures and videos, but you can view all our pictures from the holidays in our Family Photo Album.
We had our first parties in Kentucky. We had a birthday dinner for me, and lots of Christmas surprises for Ford. Santa and Mrs. Claus made a surprise appearance on our first night. Ford was pretty shy at first, but he quickly warmed up to them, doling out high fives and posing for pictures.
Then we spent two days having fun with Jackson, Cooper, and Aunt Jennifer. The boys loved playing together. Cooper liked having someone around who was smaller than him, and Ford just liked doing everything the big kids did.
Ford was really into opening presents this year -- he knew exactly how to do it. Although, to be honest, he had a good teacher in Chase, who has, somehow, become an expert unwrapper.
We followed up that Christmas with a long weekend with both families, which included Christmas with the Stelsels and lots of playtime.
Dave must have been a good boy this year. He received a gift from "Ho Ho" that was a bit tricky to open. It turned out it was a bunch of puzzles, but they were wrapped individually, then wrapped in larger boxes, then wrapped again in one big box.
We also went ahead and celebrated Ford's 2nd birthday a little early since all the family was in town. Ford slept through the first 45 minutes of his party (what a sleepyhead!), but he had a blast after that.
And that just about covers it. I hope you and your families had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
What a whirlwind couple of weeks! We made it through the holidays with lots of laughs and good memories with family. We spent 4 days in Kentucky prior to Christmas, spent Christmas Day at home, and had both families here for varying periods of time through New Year's Day. We crammed in 3 Christmases, 2 birthdays, and 1 New Year in a 12-day period. Phew! Here's a recap in pictures and videos, but you can view all our pictures from the holidays in our Family Photo Album.
We had our first parties in Kentucky. We had a birthday dinner for me, and lots of Christmas surprises for Ford. Santa and Mrs. Claus made a surprise appearance on our first night. Ford was pretty shy at first, but he quickly warmed up to them, doling out high fives and posing for pictures.
Then we spent two days having fun with Jackson, Cooper, and Aunt Jennifer. The boys loved playing together. Cooper liked having someone around who was smaller than him, and Ford just liked doing everything the big kids did.
The boys loved their new blankets made by Grandaddy and Nonna.
Playing games.....as usual.
This actually happened.....for a solid 5 minutes. Anything to keep a toddler entertained! :)
We returned to Indy on Christmas Eve. To our surprise, Ford was in no hurry to open presents on Christmas Day -- he slept until 10:30! He woke up happy and ready to go.
Starting the morning with a jig.
Ford was really into opening presents this year -- he knew exactly how to do it. Although, to be honest, he had a good teacher in Chase, who has, somehow, become an expert unwrapper.
Lining up his new animals on the stairs.
Cooking something yummy at his new kitchen set.
We followed up that Christmas with a long weekend with both families, which included Christmas with the Stelsels and lots of playtime.
We're domesticating Ford for his future wife. He got a kitchen set from us, and a cleaning kit from Grandma Connie.
Cleaning the fridge with a "csh csh" from the (fake) spray bottle and a scrub down with a sponge. He then proceeded to "csh csh" and scrub down Chase, which was hysterical.
Puzzles with Grandpa.
Dave must have been a good boy this year. He received a gift from "Ho Ho" that was a bit tricky to open. It turned out it was a bunch of puzzles, but they were wrapped individually, then wrapped in larger boxes, then wrapped again in one big box.
Here he is opening his present....
And here I am defending myself against this trickery! It really wasn't me, Dave!! That box appeared under our tree without my knowledge.
We also went ahead and celebrated Ford's 2nd birthday a little early since all the family was in town. Ford slept through the first 45 minutes of his party (what a sleepyhead!), but he had a blast after that.
The great things about birthday parties with adults in attendance is they can help assemble new toys! :)
