Holiday Fun

Merry (belated) Christmas to all of you! We didn't get a Christmas letter done this year, so we may just send a moving announcement/baby announcement/family update in February or so.

We had a great time celebrating Christmas at my Mom's. Riley had so much fun with Cole and Brady. And the fact that she's old enough to just play without me with her, or keeping an eye on her, made the week much more relaxing and enjoyable for me. My younger brother Nick also made my job as a mom a lot easier. The kids loved playing with (and sometimes on) him, and he never turned them away. Below are photos of Riley, Brady, and Cole all crowded around Nick's Macbook, watching YouTube clips of trains. (Don't miss Riley's photogenic expression in the second."

Leesa and Tim were sweet enough to buy the all the kids new holiday pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve.

Jess put together a fun program that got everyone involved. The highlight was our reinactment of the Nativity. Nick read the story of Christ's birth from Luke, while the kids acted it out. Since there are only four of them, they had to double up on parts. Riley was the angel and Mary, Cole was a shepard and all three wisemen. Brady was Joseph and Caleb was a sheep. None of them had any idea what was going on, but they didn't have the luxury of a rehearsal, so what could we expect?

We were all a little spoiled on Christmas morning. We even got some cute things for the baby. Grandma gave Riley a set of baby furniture for her dolls. It didn't take her long to figure out the baby carrier, and the stroller was so popular that it ended up causing several fights between Riley and Brady.

Thanks to everyone for the gifts and the fun, to Nick, Cole and Brady for keeping Riley so entertained, to Tim for the time on the PS3 (that one is on Scot's behalf), to Jess and Terra for letting us borrow all your baby clothes, and especially to Mom for being such a fantastic hostess and grandma. We love you all!