Christmas(es)

Once the roads cleared last weekend we headed to Iowa to my family's Christmas celebrations. Saturday night my mom's side gathered and Sunday we got together with Dad's side. I didn't get many pictures, but we had a great time.

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The Martin clan celebrates at the local community center (so go ahead and laugh at the furniture and decor in the following pictures!)

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Dad, Cate, Mom, Steph, Tyler, Maddie, JD, Halle & me

My brother and his beautiful little family:Mom & Dad with the girls:Cate was so sleepy by the end: JD blamed his sleepiness on Benadryl (I just laughed at him):

After our Iowa celebrations, we headed to Kansas to my parents' for a few days. Thanks, everyone. We love you all and wish we could see you more often!

Merry, Merry...

Christmas!

It's a white one here! We didn't get the kind of snow the weather people were calling for, but we did some. We were supposed to travel to Iowa today to begin my family's Christmas, but... hopefully tomorrow!

Here are the girls, ready to run to the living room to see "if they got any presents!":

(Don't ask- I don't know what the tiara was about.)
They did! They did!

Halle dove right in:

Cate would've been content with just the $1 baby bottle we put in her stocking. Daddy had to help her keep moving:

He had to help her last year too:

:) Trying out the new game-thing:Halle & her loot:

(That pink bouncy thing is her favorite present. Best 2.89 I've ever spent!)Cate's stuff:

*The day has been almost perfect. Except that I burned the cinnamon rolls. And we couldn't travel. And I deleted everthing on our DVR on accident. And the maccaroni that I made for lunch turned out to be out of date (thankfully I noticed right before plating it up!) I told JD I wasn't going to empty the dishwasher- I just know I'll break all of the bowls or something...

**The girls' Christmas jammies are doozies this year, aren't they? Not my style at all. The thing is, I ran out of time to make them some. By the time we went to a store to pick some out, there were only a handful left that I approved of (didn't have 'Dora' or something equally dumb on them.) Of those, only two styles had the sizes we needed. Needless to say, the girls got the final pick, and Cate (almost) always agrees with Halle. So fancy-schmancy pj's it is. (You can go back up to look at the pictures and roll your eyes along with me if you want.)

Merry Christmas, everyone! And Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Parker Christmas 2009

We had a great time in Batesville- we got to spend time with family and friends, eat good food, play games, watch basketball games... perfect! :)
The girls had a lot of time to play this year. Last year was more busy with a wedding thrown in the mix!

"Jumping" with Daddy: Caleb "teaching" Halle to play tic-tac-toe (sp?), I don't think he was too pleased when she finally just gave up:
Jake and Cate:
(Notice the carolers in the background- someone thinks its funny to turn them around every year so that the world can see how the man is groping the woman. This year Susan just gave up and left it that way- too funny!)

I love how Cate just puts herself in the mix and plays along:

JD did not help them get in this little shopping cart- he found them that way (yikes!) The "kids" with Mema and Papa:

(kids= teenagers and younger)

Jon, Caleb, Jake

Liz, Cate, Papa, Mema, Parker and HalleTuesday night we went to a friend of the family's house for a little party. The girls loved the piano- and the fact that they were allowed to play!Cate tried so hard to get the shapes just right (none of them are):We came home Wednesday morning with a packed car and two very tired little girls:We were home long enough to unload and head out for some last minute shopping (ahem- JD's last minute shopping.) After consuming two rolls, one cheese stick, peas, macaroni and cheese, a chicken strip, fruit cup and an entire cup of water, Halle finished off my baja chicken with black beans and JD's mashed potatoes. The child has some kind of hollow leg...
Thanks, ParkerSide, for such a great Christmas! :)

One more thing

before we leave for Batesville...

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Halle came running in to the bedroom where I was packing said, "That funny man is on TV!"

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I said, "What?" And went to see:

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"Funny" is not the word I usually use for Dick Vitale.

"Annoying."

"Everywhere."

Those work too.

:)

PictureDay!

After pictures yesterday we took the girls to the carousel.

Check out Halle riding a horse:

(She usually chooses the stationary bench!)They hand out ice cream tickets after you ride- here is Halle's reaction to Daddy saying "yes, we can have one":

(I don't know what Cate was doing...)Mmm!They had BELLE there!And here are pictures of our pictures:

(Don't turn us in to the copyright police, please!)

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We're off to our first round of Christmas festivities in Batesville! See ya next week!

I just can't help it...

I have to show something!

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I've been cutting and sewing and painting like a crazy lady around here getting ready for Christmas. Most of our gifts are homemade this year (who's aren't, right?) and I've been dying to show some of the stuff I have finished. But alas (dramatic sigh,) Christmas just isn't as much fun if the gifts aren't surprises!

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Here are the girls' peg families that are almost done- they just need the top coat of sealer. And mouths. But I'm a little nervous to do the mouths, I just know I'll mess up and be mad at myself...They fit inside these house-bags (that look more like pagodas to me):And since I can't show much more right now, I'll show off this boppy cover that I made a while back for sweet baby Parker:His daddy is a big Mets fan:And here's my favorite thing to show off:My sweet, darling, ever-so-strange family:

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OH OKAY- I'll show one more thing.

This might be my favorite thing under the tree. Ever.:

Birthday Party for Jesus

We had a birthday party this morning! Well, it was really just a playdate with cupcakes, but the kids are too young to know or care. :)

Halle helped 'decorate':Banana cupcakes!

The girls 'helped' with those too:The littlest 'friend' here today:

Party Scene! The kids (I think we had 8 here) went back and forth from the living room to the bedroom scattering toys everywhere. At this age mess= fun.

Yes, that's Cate in the cooking toys.Our party favor was a 'Baby Jesus'- they got to pick one out of the 'manger' before they left: It was a fun twist on a Christmas party!

Poor Santa

My kids just don't like Santa. The "real" kind of Santa. They're cool with dolls and pictures, but not with real guys wearing red suits and beards.

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Last year I didn't even try to get pictures with Santa- Halle was petrified and Cate was too little to care. This year I tried with Cate. She was a-okay until the moment came to actually sit in his lap.

This picture isn't too bad:This is how she really looked: Halle's last attempt (18 months):

SantaTubbies

I remember flinging myself to the other end of the bathtub as a kid. When the girls tried they kept getting stuck on the bathmat on the bottom of the tub. Frankly, I'm surprised Halle even tried!

After getting a face full of water: