Christmas and Beyond

Here are some pictures from our time with family for Christmas (not necessarily in order, since I haven't completely mastered the uploader's way of sorting the photos...). We made Christmas cookies with the kids and enjoyed them with coffee every afternoon. They guys took Hayley and Westen sledding again while the ladies prepared the meal, and then we tried to drag out the festivities as long as we could by letting the kids open one gift starting on Christmas Eve, and then the stockings and another gift after breakfast. We saved all the other gifts until after coffee time on Christmas day, which made for a whole day filled with excitement for the kids. :-)

Rhea getting some Grandpa cuddle time. He is always very thoughtful to cover her head, as he can empathize with her lack of hair. :-) She has certainly enjoyed all the attention she has gotten over the past 10 days.

Lucia is proud to wear her new Big Sister pajamas to bed on Christmas night, courtesy of Aunt Julie and Uncle Mark.

Lucia's highlight was her new tricycle. She has been asking for months: "Where's Lucia's bicycle?!", only to be informed that she doesn't have one. So, FINALLY, the answer to her question has now changed to "In the basement." Much better. :-) And we were surprised at how quickly she figured out how to pedal (though steering is still a little haphazard.)

Both Rhea and Lucia enjoyed the crinkly doll we gave Rhea for Christmas.

Rhea was so into the toy that she accidentally rolled over for the first time (because she was leaning too far.) A week shy of 5 months... I'm sure it will become a frequently practiced skill before long.

Lucia spending some quality time with Grandpa coloring on the giant paper with the new crayons that she got from him and Grandma.

Discovering the treasures in her stocking. Now she asks: "Mama, where's Christmas?" So sad that it won't be back for a long time...

Here I'm getting my hourly fix of Rhea smooches... she is so kissable and rewards us with squeals of delight. One of my favorite sounds in the world.

Here's the picture we took at Pathways Church after the Christmas Eve service. It was fun to all be together!

Hayley, Westen and Lucia painted some pictures between stockings and dinner to make time pass more quickly. Notice Lucia was painting two-handedly. :-)