Cookies Anyone?

Thankfully it is the holiday season. A season where I tend to look the other way when my children are surrounded by sweet after sweet after sweet and I just let them eat, eat, eat....

Cookie decorating can take a turn of its own when done by a 4 year old :)

The strategies that these kiddos put into place during their decorating frenzy would make even the best of the best decorators cringe with envy.

We are pretty sure that some plates were rightfully decorated as well.....

and I love that some were so dainty with their choices....

and each bite taken was a delicacy within itself!

Love the look of the reindeer - what a clever little idea!

Yummmm!

Pink sprinkles were a must for our divas who ridded themselves of their holiday best to put on their most beautiful princess attire.....

Another favorite for Maddox....I am pretty sure cookie decorating is at the top of her "must do again" holiday list....

Finally, the big brothers showed up! There was a lot of football going on out back but their hunger pains got the best of them and they decided cookie decorating was not too shabby....

Ta-Da! The red couch photo - these guys are all growing up so, so fast! Unbelievable! We are so blessed to have each and every one of them in our lives. We love these guys and we love that we were given the opportunity to celebrate with them during this special season of Christmas!

Post-party: Though Maddox is pretending to sleep in the doll bed in this particular pic, she did in fact fall asleep here after everyone left!

A Carolina Christmas

For the first time in my 38 years of life, I will be without my parents on Christmas. As I have stated before, I grew up with a very traditional Christmas....Christmas Eve was always spent at my mother's parents' home, we then drove to our home and everyone gathered together once again on Christmas morning; then, my grandparents got a bit older and the tradition moved to my parent's home - Christmas Eve gathering with friends and family followed by Christmas Day with everyone; and then, the tradition changed again and we moved the Christmas Eve party to our house, my parents have always come for Christmas Eve service, my father has always read to the boys the Christmas Story and Twas the Night Before Christmas, the children have always gotten pjs and books to open from Gran, and so on and so on and so on.....though I know I must share my parents, I also know that I don't like to share them at Christmas :) I feel as though I have been robbed. And I digress.

So, in order to celebrate Christmas extended-family-style, we crossed the border to SC and then bounced from house to house throughout the weekend taking in time with both sides of our family.

We opened a few unique gifts that we were super excited about....

and we spent some time outdoors in the beautiful southern weather......

and then we received a few surprises......

and some gifts that have been desired for months!

And though our little Maddox was not feeling the best, she endured the weekend like a champ!

We ended our SC travels with my father's family with the guest of honor being my grandmother. At the age of 91, she remains sharp as a tack and her biggest smiles come when the children engage her with their many antics.

Little M was in need of a nap earlier than expected today. She was obviously more than tired but not so tired as to let go of the stylish purse she had been wandering about with all morning.

(If you had been a fly on our wall today, you would know that the most endearing part of this picture is not the purse or her sweet little sleeping face, it is actually the shoes. Maddox has an opinion about her shoes and she must change shoes at least 10 times a day. She always puts them on the right foot which is an art for a two year old. Today, her shoes of choice were these old sandals....nevermind the fact that our temp today was less than 55 degrees! Alas, I kept hiding these from her and everytime I turned around, she had them on again!)