Christmas Marathon 2010

The best thing about Christmas (for me, the Ultimate Christmas Lover) is that our's gets strung out over about 4 days because of extended family. This is a drudgery for most in the family but I like to soak it all up. Here's a brief synopsis of what I like to call "Christmas Marathon 2010".

It started out on Thursday, December 23 with Bear's mom. We went to Grandma's house and she had the whole day filled with fun things for the kids.

Jonah got to decorate Christmas cookies while I wrestled Esther Grace....

...followed by window painting while I was still wrestling. That is red icing on his shirt. I was smart and took his sweater off before the crafts began. Although, I'm not sure how smart it was seeing as he's outside in 30 degree weather and dressed for a pool party.

This was our moment of weakness. Yes, now you have proof that I'm not a perfect parent. (If you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, click here for more details. Long story short- we don't do Santa.) Bear made the call that it was okay and Jonah was enthralled. It wasn't until the next day that he proudly stated that he had kept "The Secret" from his cousins, Charlie & Sarah with no difficulty. Could it be that he was completely caught up in the moment and forgot reality for just a second? I mean, give the kid us a break. It was a really good Santa.

Here's Jonah all dressed up in what he got for Christmas & proudly showing off his cookie creation. I have no idea who that kid is leaning into the picture. Grandma's neighbors came over to see Santa & I couldn't get a picture without him in it. The others were of him jumping in front of Jonah and/or blocking Jonah's face with his Lego set he got. I forgot to crop him out.

And I just hate myself for not getting a picture of Jonah & Esther Grace with Grandma! I was wrestling Esther Grace for the majority of the time because Bear had to work and got there after all of the crafty stuff was over. Come to think of it, he showed up right as we were putting food on the table. Hmmmmmm.....coincidence? I think not!

After Bear got home from work on Christmas Eve and we went down to my parent's house. I had forgotten to get a family picture the night before so it was the first thing we did at GB & Pop's.

Then I had to get a picture of Esther Grace's outfit since I didn't at Grandma's house.

She was more excited about the sausage ball than she was about taking a picture. I took full advantage of her love for pork.

This is Ryan...a.k.a. Cobb, my sister's husband. And those are his golf pants. Yes, I'm serious. Bear was totally jealous.

This is the complete ensemble.

Again, could hate myself for not getting a picture of the kids with GB & Pop but what can you do?

Christmas Day was filled with visiting grandparents. Or great-grandparents? I don't know what to call them. They were our grandparents but Jonah & Esther Grace's great-grandparents. It was my Nana's first Christmas without PawPaw but she seemed okay. She enjoys getting together with all the babies. I really did take pictures but my sister did something funky with my camera and we couldn't get the focus to work. All you really need to know is that my Uncle Dale bought Jonah a real Red Rider BB gun. A real one.

On December 26, we had Christmas with Bear's dad, Grammy & Papa. It was held at Uncle Josh & Aunt Allison's house, seeing as baby Jillian is due in about 5 days. We weren't sure if they could make it to Athens so we brought the chaos to them. Here are all the cousins waiting for their gifts. Ava (little one in pink), Sarah (red hair), Charlie (grey shirt), Jonah, and Landon (far right).

I have no idea what that is on Landon's head but I'm pretty sure it's just a spot on my camera. It looks as if he's been playing in a dandelion field. Esther Grace was probably into something she shouldn't have been. Either that or on my hip.

Esther Grace was thrilled that Ava was visiting from Ohio. She loves that girl!

Here's Jonah opening his present...luggage! I'm pretty sure it was a definite hint that they don't feel as though they see the grandbabies enough. Each child got a monogrammed suitcase with matching backpack. Trying to tell us something?

Jonah really liked helping his cousin, Sarah, make paper dolls. Aunt B helped out while Bear cringed in the corner. Don't worry. He was off playing with swords & guns in the basement about 5 minutes later. He gets it honest though- one of Bear's favorite shows is "Project Runway". Don't ask me why.

And I finally got it right! This is why our Christmas has to last 4 days. Because I actually remember on Day 4. Here they are from left to right: Landon (with the thumb), Charlie, Papa, Esther Grace (with the passie), Jonah (dead middle), Grammy, Ava (in lap), and Sarah (loving on Grammy). Did I mention that there are 3 more on the way? NOT FROM THIS BRANCH OF THE FAMILY TREE- just to clarify. ;)

Whew! I didn't even mention the snow! I'll post that later because God used that snow as a miraculous blessing in an otherwise hard weekend. Hope your Christmas was as full as ours!