A Quiet Christmas at Home!

We had a quiet Christmas at home--Just the 3 of us this year! Although the day was wonderful just hanging out and being together, we certainly missed being with extended family...It just didn't quite feel like Christmas without all of the chaos!

Our friends snapped our family Christmas photos this year during a visit to Bass Pro's Winter Wonderland where Wy saw Santa for the first time!

Wyatt hanging out in his PJs after the Christmas Eve Service, opening a package and voice recorded card from Mimi and Poppy! They sent him one of those neat Hallmark cards that records a message...We listened to Mimi and Poppy's message over and over again...I'm sure it's almost worn out!!! : )

Reading Christmas stories together on Christmas Eve!

Our little drummer boy! Since the 3 Wise men presented Jesus with 3 gifts (gold, frankincense and myrrh) we decided to set the tradition in our home of giving our children 3 gifts on Christmas too. This is our attempt to help keep the giving Christ-centered (and to help Mommy and Daddy not go overboard with spending!!! ; ) Wyatt's 3 gifts for 2008: 1. A toy box (This one was for Wy and for Mommy!) 2. Super Why Book and DVD collection 3. His most favorite of all: the Bee Bop drum set!

An Early Christmas Vacation!

Wyatt with Cousins Daxton and Ashtyn!

We hit the road on Dec 12 (Poppy's 60th---Happy Birthday!) for Kansas City to celebrate Christmas with my side of the family. We decided to play it safe and drive through the night to keep our little man on schedule...It was a struggle for Joe and I but Wy didn't make a peep the whole 9-hour trip so it definitely was worth it! We had so much fun with Poppy, Mimi, Uncle Trent, Aunt Brianna, Cousins Ashtyn and Daxton, and Papa Great and Grandma Great. Wyatt also got to meet his his Great Uncle Galen and Great Aunt Helen who came all the way to KC to deliver some darling outfits to the kiddos that were handmade it Guatemala! We also got to spend time with my long-time friend Christa and her boyfriend Nate. My good friend Gretchen had a baby girl, Leighton, who we also had the privelage of visiting during our stay! We made it to a Chiefs game, to visit Santa Clause, were able to spend time at Trent and Brianna's new beautiful house (and finally beat them in a game of Rook!). It was a wonderful time! I'm hoping the others got good photos because I didn't get my camera out nearly enough. But here are a few shots I captured...

Mimi with her 3 favorite babies!

A big kiss from Ashtyn! With Papa and GG

Bright and early Thursday morning we set out for Iowa in hopes of beating the ice storm. We made it in plenty of time and were able to get some good time with Uncle Jay and Aunt Jenn and visited both Grandma and Grandpa at work before the storm blew in. Unlce Joel, Aunt Jen and Cousin Ellie got caught in the middle of the storm but made it for lunch on Friday! We all had a great time together until...Joe came down with a horrible flu bug and passed it around to the rest of us!

Proud Grandparents with their 2 grandbabies! I love the same look of boredom on both Wyatt and Ellie's faces... "Are we ever gonna be done with photos?"

Uncle Jay and Aunt Jenn... I didn't capture a good photo but Wyatt just adored his Aunt Jenn... She is such a natural with babies! I guess Wy gets his stature from Uncle Jay! : )

Aunt Jen and Cousin Ellie with Joe and Super Wy

Feisty Wy "eating" Ellie's fuzzy pink socks! Wyatt and Ellie "picking" on each other!