Christmas 2009

Settle in. This is going to be a REALLY long post. We got to spend Christmas week with our families in California. This year was so much more fun with Maddie. Last year, she was 4 months old and was content eating wrapping paper. This year, she unwrapped her own presents and made her surprised face (huge eyes, big open mouth) for each gift.

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It was so nice to have the whole week off to spend with both families. Maddie spent a lot of time at Grandma Eatough's playing with Chancie. Dog is her favorite word right now and she was in heaven.

Here are some highlights from Christmas week...

Lots of time to play with Grandma Eatough!

Late night, freezing cold Bocce ball games.

Shampoo mohawks in Grandma Milloy's tub.

Feeding puffs to cousin Jasmine.

Swinging at the park.

Sneaking up on cousin Jasmine to steal a kiss.Playing "Way Up High" with Grandpa Milloy- a beloved Milloy tradition.

Getting to love on sweet Annie Parsons- I love that baby smell.The weekend before Christmas, Jennifer and Patrick hosted a white elephant gift exchange at their house. It was so much fun and everyone ended up with GREAT gifts! Some of the gifts being stolen back and forth were a pedicure, the complete Transporter DVD series, and movie tickets. This was such a blast, it may end up being a tradition.

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After the gift exchange, the boys opened Derrick's gift (Jenga) and had a serious, cut-throat game. I don't remember who actually knocked it over, but it was so tall and wobbly, each brother tried to cheat and blow on the tower when it wasn't their turn. They look so sweet and innocent here... don't be fooled. And don't play Monopoly with Derrick - he hides $500 bills in his socks.Christmas morning started at Grandma Eatough's house where Santa left a pink, ride-on truck for Maddie. She got all kinds of other great gifts- clothes, shape sorting toys, and Disney books. I got an iPod from Kristen & the Willow Tree nativity set I have been coveting for at least 5 years. Brandon got his favorite thing in the world... Home Depot gift cards! Thanks Mom & Dad! Unfortunately, I have absolutely no pictures of any of it becase I forgot my camera. Boo.

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After Grandma Eatough's, we went to Milloys for Christmas #2. Maddie and Jasmine had adorable matching Christmas jammies (thanks Jenn & Patrick!).

Maddie opening super cute Nikes from her Aunt Jeka (Jessica).Christmas was so much fun with a 16 month old, but it is a lot of activity for little ones. She took 2 super long naps and was still grumpy later that night. Good thing Christmas only comes once a year.

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We finished up the night with a beautiful Christmas dinner at Grandma & Grandpa's home. Where I, again, forgot my camera. Sorry Milloy side!

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Some other fun pictures....

Great Grandpa Jim playing peek-a-boo with Maddie behind tissue paper. Silly Grandpa.

Great Grandma Sandi's house was the place to be - she has TWO dogs. Maddie about died and went to dog heaven. She chased the little dogs around for an hour chanting, "Dog, dog, dog." Those poor dogs are probably still recuperating. Maddie danced for grandma and snuggled with her. We love Grandma Sandi! Thanks for letting us terrorize your house!And finally, two milestones I have been trying to capture on film... spinning & waving bye-bye.

Keeping Maddie occupied on the 5 hour trip is a full time job. I sit in the back seat with her and we watch "The Little Mermaid" over and over again. She sings along with the songs and mimics the actions she sees on screen - it is so funny. She just learned how to pull her blanket over her own head to play peek-a-boo. She thinks she is hysterical. I think she's pretty funny too.

If you made it to the end of this post, thanks for sticking with me!

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Thanks to all of our family for putting up with us for 10 days. Thanks to El Burrito for the real Mexican food. Thanks to Starbucks for warm Caramel Apple Ciders.

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Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have a very Happy New Year!