The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Well, here it is- our marathon post to get kind of caught up. I guess this is my blogging style these days.

Christmastime was good to us. It has always been my favorite time of year, and it's even more so now with little ones.

We kicked off the season by going to Bass Pro Shops, the "fishy store", to see Santa. If you can't read it in the photo below, Sammie's letter says, "Dear Santa, I have been a good girl. I would like a new pair of tap shoes. Size 13. Thanks. I "heart" you. Bi. Sammie



This fireplace was so hot. I'm surprised that we got the girls to smile.



One of our traditions is going up to the temple in DC to see the lights. They don't compare to the lights at Temple Square in Salt Lake, but are beautiful in their own way. It turned out to be a perfect night. No fighting, good moods, great music in the car, silly smiley baby-- it was just perfect.

Here's our little Izzie all bundled up.






The girls were making her laugh and squeal. Between that and Daddy tossing her around and flying like an airplane, we had one happy little Izzie and some great photo opps.



Giggly girls. (And boy.)



Look at how handsome my hubby is. Sammie is quite the budding photographer. Every time we dump our memory stick onto the computer, we find MANY random pictures taken from about 4 feet high. Hmmmm... I wonder who took those?



Making gingerbread houses.



This was our crazy week-before-Christmas snowstorm. I think we ended up with at least 18 inches. It's been decades since Richmond has seen that much snow. It was so fun because other than James having to work the night it was falling, we didn't have to go anywhere for a few days. We got to just stay home and snuggle up. (Don't mind the half naked child in the picture.)



When we found out the snow was coming, the girls and I threw up some icicle lights on the deck for fun. This picture was taken a couple hours into the storm.



Sammie, in her makeshift snow clothes. She was pretty wet when she finally came in, but didn't seem to care.



Lexie had been a little sick, so we stayed inside and watched Sammie and Daddy out the front window. We had many little girl giggles when they pelted the window in front of us with snowballs.



This was Christmas Eve with the girls in their new PJ's. Sammie is always trying to hold Izzie. She does a pretty good job, but Izzie generally hates it.



Even though this is not the most flattering picture of me, I love it because it's so classic. Izzie yanking on my hair, Lexie giggling at Izzie, and Sammie oblivious to it all and posing for the camera.



Our happy family.



You all recognize this. The classic Christmas morning photo on the stairs.



Sammie with her new buddies, Geoffrey the giraffe, and one of her new Willy the whales.



We had such a great Christmas season. Despite all getting sick (we're almost better), we had a lot of great family time which, I think, is the best part of the season.

Daddy's girls

These girls just love their Daddy.




She actually fell asleep like this. He just has the touch.






















The girls love sitting in front of the computer together and watching home videos. This is one that I saw them watching and had to share. It's from April 2008. So sweet.

Squeezing in one last summer outing

We decided to go to the Richmond Childrens Museum one last time before our membership ran out and to do one more fun thing before school started. The girls LOVE that place. It's small compared to other childrens museums out there but it has enough to keep them entertained for a good couple of hours. Every time we go, we say, "Why don't we come here more often?"



Lexie and Sammie hamming it up in the market.



Our sleepy baby.



Krispy Kreme's for a couple of really good little girls.

A little bit too much love

As you can see Izzie loves being held by her sisters...

Izzie Marie- Almost 3 Months

Well, since my mom is the only one on my side of the family who has seen Izzie, I thought I'd post some more recent pictures. She is just a little joy. She is sleeping great and almost never cries. She literally smiles whenever she is talked to and will coo back and forth with you. It's so fun. She just started kicking her little leggies when she gets excited. She's very patient with all of the attention that she gets. We all just can't get enough snuggles from her.

Independence Day

It's our tradition to start our 4th of July by going out to breakfast. It's always fun but is getting more challenging as our family grows. After breakfast, we checked out a park that we hadn't been to before and Izzie got to try a swing for the first time. I tried to teach her to pump her legs but she didn't quite get it. For dinner, we grilled burgers and then for fireworks, we went 5 minutes down the road into the next county where they are legal. Sammie was totally freaked out (a weird stage she's going through) and stayed in the car the whole time. Lexie was better, but still a little apprehensive.

We love the 4th of July. Happy Birthday America!

Blessing Day

The girls were so tired from hanging out at the beach with cousins, that they just crashed like this Saturday night. Sunday was Father's Day and the day that we blessed Izzie. It was really special to have her Grandpa and most of her uncles all there for it.
It was an absolutely beautiful sunny southern California day. It made me daydream of living there.

Holly, I stole the family picture from your blog. Hope that's okay. Thanks.