Thursday, December 25, 2008

Christmas Eve 2008

Ahhhhh, Christmas. I'm sitting here looking at our adorable Charlie Brown tree and all 12 of his heavily weighted down branches and feeling a little sad that he'll soon be coming down, along with the rest of the holiday stuff that has a way of making a house feel so warm and snuggly... even when the particular house has 80 year old leaky windows preventing the indoor temperature in December from ever breaking 68. Ahhhhh, Wisconsin.

So another Christmas has come and gone. And our house is even more over-flowing than it was before with toys and clothes and well-wishes for Kennedy. (Have I mentioned how badly we want to hop a plane...like...now?!) Being surrounded by our families the past couple days makes me so excited for Kennedy and all the love waiting for her.

Christmas Eve day is always split between both our families. We spend the morning into afternoon at Dan's parents' house and the evening at my sister Lisa's house. Dan and I take about a zillion photos between the two places and are always amazed by how much the kids have changed from the year before. (I don't understand it, but these kids just keep growing and changing. It's the darnedest thing.) Watching them play and goof around this year, I tried to imagine next year with Kennedy in the mix.... They're all such great kids.

So below you have a few of the zillion pics from Christmas Eve 2008. Enjoy!

The early day celebration...

Syd and Jake and the "pickle prize" hairballs.

Jake is such a cool little dude. (And clearly he understands the basics of good customer service.)

Nicole and Kaitlin...I can distinctly recall the days both of them were born and now look a them...
This doesn't mean I'm getting old, does it?


Nick and his super awesome girlfriend Ashley. The first time Nick and I met (he was 6 then...), he and I stayed up later than everyone else putting a puzzle together. I am sooooo not getting old. (But he is. :)

Kennedy scored some Legos from Grandma and Grandpa! (Grandpa even went online to order them!
Grandpa has decided he likes shopping online!)

Grandpa (Dan's Dad) is building Kennedy's crib and we got a sneak peek! Isn't it neat-o?! We are soooo excited about it.

The report came in that Santa had made it to Beijing. (Like, for real, can we get on a plane NOW?!)
Mom, Dad and Sophie pose for a photo to go in Kennedy's picture book in her soon-to-be-mailed care package.
The evening celebration...

Dan and my Mom and the best of all holiday traditions...brandy slush.
Ya know, I have to wonder if the artist intended this particular outcome. Mmmm...appetizing.
My Mom and her little sister, my Aunt Janet. (After I told them to smile big.)
The night is young and the goofballs are ready. John Thomas and Samuel are such good buddies.
Recognize these from a 1979 memory? Yep, that's right. I found the TOMY water games. I told the boys how much fun we all had with those as kids and they were totally intrigued by these old school relics. :)
Josiah is growing up sooooo fast. And his toys confuse me. :) (I'll stick to the circa 1979 TOMY variety.)
My sister Lisa made a book of our 2008 Door County trip on Shutterfly for Mom and Dad. It is BEAUTIFUL and the boys loved seeing themselves in a "real book." (This might become my new hobby. It is way cool. If you haven't checked it out, you should.)
Tommy and his Mommy. :)
My Dad takes the cake as the toughest person on the planet to shop for. So I bought him and Elmer Fudd hat. I think that was a good decision, don't you? :)
No, my Mom is not Jewish. Yes, my Mom loves all things Jewish. (I wonder if there are other people who get a bunch of Judaica for Christmas?)

Aunt De Anna is a friend of the family who I think of as an Aunt. She has such a love for the kids and is already spoiling Kennedy... :)
Yep, 1979 was a great year.
Our Christmas Eve hosts: Lisa, Tim, Josiah and Samuel. Thanks for the great time, guys!
Some of the Christmas gifts waiting for Kennedy's little hands! Thanks to our families for thinking of her, not just with gifts, but with your excitement. It is such a joy to share this anticipation with you.

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