Christmas Day 2011

This is how Hannah wanted to spend all of Christmas: reading her old book and not opening new books!

Hannah in the midst of all her new books, dvds and flashcards.

Piper Jane and Hannah decided that running back and forth to the door and dancing was a great idea after all the present unwrapping!

Here are just a few of the pictures from Christmas Day.  All the kiddos and Nana had matching pajamas.  And all the kiddos were tired of opening presents after only a few. . . so we made them do a present blitz and open all of them in about 10 minutes so that they could go play and we could open our presents at a more leisurely pace.  Hannah got some baby dolls, a Cookie Monster back pack and Lots and Lots of books!  We also got her a bundle of Word World dvds and flashcards- these have been in continual use since we got home.

Christmas Day 2010

Here are some pictures from Christmas Day 2010.  Lots of presents, lots of cousins.  Chloe and Daniel recovering from bronchitus.  A very runny nose for Hannah.  The cousins got a Wii from Mimi and Papa and everyone wanted to play.  We had a feast for dinner with our family and two sets of Carruths- wonderful company and great desserts!

In other news, Hannah has an ear infection.  She weights 20 pounds and 2 ounces.  Aaron is sick and I feel a little crummy myself.  :)

Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas Eve was spent at the annual Dickinson/Watson/Byrd family party.  We headed to my cousin Laurie's house for a grand meal, lots of catching up with family and gifts for the kids.  We had a great time and Hannah loved all the animals and chasing the fun remote control cars that her cousins received.  All that visiting wore her out- Hannah fell asleep before we left Laurie's and continued to sleep through the night: 12 hours in all!

Merry Christmas! 

Christmas 2010, part 2

We had Christmas with Mimi Jane on Saturday.  We all opened one present each; we will open the rest on our return trip.  Hannah had lots of fun opening her books and Mimi's chocolates.

Christmas 2010, part 1

Burke opens his Veggie Tales dvd

Hannah opens her ornament from Nana

Hannah in a basket! 10 months old

We celebrated our Christmas with Nana, Mimi Jane, Uncle Adam, Aunt Kirstin, Burke and Pipe Jane a few days after Thanksgiving.  We decorated the tree and had a fabulous holiday meal of Taco Bueno :)  Then the kids exchanged presents.  Hannah was thrilled with her books, beautiful homemade dress and ornaments.  We loved spending time with all the Gentrys for our first Christmas.

Also, Hannah turned 10 months old today!

Kitchen Aid mixer and memories

I walk by my Kitchen Aid mixer about a million times a day.  It is still on the floor next to the front door just waiting for a home in the kitchen!  That is not really the point here.  Like I said, I walk by it a million times a day, but today was different.  It started off a train of thoughts that led to tears.  Kitchen Aid mixer- "A Baker's Christmas" on the tablecloth- hmmm, I wonder what I will write this year- what in the world can we possibly write after a year like this?- "welcome Hannah Catherine and Piper Jane"- and finally: "we sure miss Mark."

Yes, I am sure missing Mark today.  But Hannah's sweet cuddles and jibber-jabber are a comfort.  Hoping this isn't too silly or emotional for everyone.  Just thought I would share what is on my heart today.

favorite christmas picture

Burke thought all of my books were his, so he "stole" them for a little bit

I know it has been quite a while, but I wanted to post my favorite Christmas picture.  I love that Burke loves books as much as I do!

Snow and trees

Here is a snapshot of my landscape right now- snow and trees.  Snow has been falling since last night covering the trees (and everything else) for what is certain to be a white Christmas.  The other picture is of my nephew Burke- he was delighted to show me all the ornaments on his Christmas tree.  I was also invited to see all of his books; he is definately a kid after my own heart!

Christmas, part 1

We enjoyed an early Christmas celebration with my family last week.  We got some fun presents, but the real fun occured watching the nieces open their gifts.  Malorie was excited about her presents from me (and that made me very excited!).  Chloe was funny in general but still a little young to figure out the whole opening presents situation.

My sweet sister-in-law and I collaborated on a gift for my parents.  We filled a picture frame collage with pictures of our family.  This might not sound impressive to many people, but my Mom was super happy.  It had been empty for 3 years!

We had safe travels across Texas and are enjoying our time in Colorado.  There is an over abundance of presents around the tree- it will probably take us 5 hours to open everything!  There is snow on the way and lots of Christmas spirit in the Gentry house.  Merry Christmas. . .only 4 more days!