Paparazzi

Some, but not all, of my favorite Holiday 2011 pictures and captions, it's all I got right now!

Every year my sister in law hosts a crew of us for New Year's Eve. This year she got a Keurig, and everyone wanted to try it out. We laughed a lot because we kept having to rehearse the steps with each other between cups. It was a fun night, and my kids always love playing all the games like Guesstures and Sardines.

The older girls fixed their hair, and they even pinned my son down and put one of those huge cheerleading bows that are bigger than a person's head on him for a brief moment.

My son had to open all his gifts with a huge dog in his lap. He was such a good sport about it, but it cracked me up. My son was especially grateful of everything he got this year, and it was so sweet the way he always worries the night before if he will get anything from Santa.

My sweet Cooper sat there in front of the cookies and milk until I carried him in our room to get him to stop sitting. He never touched anything, but he was definitely begging and jealous of Santa!

This year I bought a few miniature trees for the mantle from Pottery Barn, and then my mother in law asked if I wanted that huge silver tray that she found in the attic. I was suppose to polish it, but I love the tarnish on it.

Christmas day my Granny didn't feel well, it was the start of a very bad week for her. She ended up having to have a new pacemaker, fluid removed from her heart, and three days of ICU. She is still not doing much better, and it is definitely hard on her and her caregivers. She was able to enjoy everyone opening their Christmas gifts, though!

I found this miniature manger scene in my Mama's bathroom cabinet last year. It is very old, and the box it came in is picture to the side. It is small, but I just loving knowing my Mama loved it, and it was on my mantle.

At Nana's house, my kids enjoyed their new books. I thought it was cute the way they were in their pj's reading foot to foot.

Christmas morning Cooper finally pooped out after getting in every one's gifts and enjoying his own. He still had to be in the middle of the action, though.

I love Gates, he is a cutie, and loves to run around enjoying the attention. My hubby wrestled him into his arms for a little while, and I love this picture. Gates adores my son, and that is just a sweet cousin thing.

My daughter's favorite gift from her Grandma. This summer she sewed a dress for a little girl in Africa. Her Aunt Niki took the dress on a mission trip in the fall, and Grandma surprised Caitlin with a picture of the little girl who received the dress. We had not known who got it, the little girl's name was "Happy", but in her picture she had tears in her eyes, and we have been broken over it many times. I see it when I am at the sink, and we pray for her often.

My Daddy having puppy time with Hannah's new puppy, Alli. She was a sweet heart. My daddy is tickling the puppy with his nub.

Nana with her grand kids.They were all happy as could be!

These three have literally grown up together. I found out I was pregnant for the first time, when the little girl on the right, Anna, was born, and I told her Mom while I went to visit her at the Birthing Center. It was the beginning of their friendship, and they are still sometimes called twins, even though they are nine months apart in age. They laugh a lot!

When your kids get older, the stuff they want from Santa is so much more technical and less toy-like. I am not sure how to communicate how hard that is for a parent, because it is definitely a sign that your kids are getting older. However, the good news is, my daughter still wanted to have some Barbie stuff this year, and her absolute favorite gift from us was this Barbie jet. She and her daddy sat there and put it all together with the three zillion stickers, and she has played it for hours. It even has these little ice cubes that dispense into a ice bucket and menus for the passengers. When I was a kid, I would have flipped out for that jet. It is awesome, and it means she is not totally grown up... yet!

PS: I love my new camera, even if my family is tired of me taking pictures.