Happy New Year!!

tradition

In keeping with tradition, the girls got to open one gift on Christmas Eve, when we got home from Nana's.

They each got new jammies, which is the tradition (although I don't think they've caught on to the tradition yet cause they always seem surprised by what it is).  But this year, they also got new robes because they were still wearing ones that they received when they were maybe 3 or 4 years old.








Also new for this year, after I watched the video that I posted here, I thought that was a neat idea and maybe a way to remind us of the meaning of Christmas on that fun night.

So before I left work, I quickly printed 3 pictures of Jesus, then I stopped at a discount store and bought 3 little frames, and I wrapped them all up in the fanciest paper I had, with the prettiest ribbon.


The girls seemed delighted:









Mariah got the one she's holding, Arissa got one of Jesus w/ children (which we also have a big print of, hanging in their room) and Mallory got the one of Jesus & the lamb...cause she has thing for lambs:







I love it when last-minute ideas work out.

christmas day

Santa visited our house, and while he was there he signed the thing that Mariah left out for him.  She wanted to capture his autograph.  :)



The girls loved watching eachother open the gifts they had picked out for eachother.  It was so much fun.











This face made all the shopping and planning and wrapping worth it:








I found special books for Mariah:








Those were the only two in the series, and they were first published in 1977!  Mariah thought that was just as neat as the fact that the protaganist of the story shares her name.  :)

Mallory got some too, and hers are more recent and part of a larger series so I can't wait to get the rest for her:









Ear-muffs were a top requested item.  All 3 girls got some.








Then we went to church!















After church, we had our traditional, formal, fancy lunch (usually it's dinner) at America's Diner:  Denny's.

Then Nana came over to see all that the girls had gotten and to give/get her gifts.  We had to literally clear a path for her to walk through the room.








Then the second she walked out the door we all crashed hard and took a nice 2 hour nap.

We woke up refreshed and headed to Grandma's for more gifts, food and fun.











How cute are these guys!  :)  I love black olives, and they're so much fun to eat when shaped like lil penguins....








The girls got slinkies and Uncle Jim set up a whole elaborate little "course" to show what they can do:








Success!







Group shot.  :)








Which very quickly turned to this:






Those kids are quick!  :)

more....

Arissa & Nikki: & their matching hair accessories:








The fanciest birthday party on record...:






...complete with hairstyling and dress up and meet-n-greets (and mis-matched socks!):





And a proper tea party:






Dropping off at school:






Drill Team shins:





Cute schoolwork:



(translation if you can't decode 2nd-grade hand-writing: Missy is a good companion because she sleeps with me at night.  She is real fuzzy.  I like it when she purrs.)




Beautiful sky:








Going for walks:







Silly faces:








Arissa asked me to please make Abigail stop choking her.  I said good lord Arissa, you can just tell her no and take her hand off....Arissa said "but she was having fun!":











I took FOUR CHILDREN to Target. 

By myself. 

Three of them are well behaved because I put the fear of God into them, the other one is well-behaved by nature it seems, but still.  Four.

That lady on tv with the 19 kids is insane.








Last Padres game of the season.....BEST seats we have ever had or will ever have again probably.  Courtesy of a friend of my Dad's:








Root root!








Super fancy lunch @ an Indian restaurant downtown with paralegals from my office:




I guess it was probably obvious that I don't eat at places like that very often, since I was the only one taking pictures of everything.  :)


???  Just us:










Mmmmm lunch:  black bean soup (with feta cheese & avocado) and a greek salad:

Someone should write a Christmas song about our Christmas Eve, cause that's how perfect & lovely it was:

There were SO many "little people"! 

 

A total of 7. 

 

All girls. 

 

All little

           and cute

                        and playing together.

So cute!

These two aren't part of the "little" crowd but they're still cute as well:

I got special Christmas shirts for the girls from Gymboree....they each had different little appliques with sparklies and ribbon.  And I got them plenty big so hopefully they'll fit for one or two more Christmases.

This was right before Arissa got vomitted on:

This cracked me up....each of the girls had these candy cane things, and Abigail took Mallory's.  Even though the darn things are identical, Mallory wanted HERS.  ??  We tried to be tricky and do a quick switch, but Abigail was onto us and only wanted Mallory's.  It was funny.

So much fun, I wish all Christmases could be as nice.