We had a great Christmas this year. It wasn't very stressful and I really enjoyed all of the family time. I have a lot of pictures to share and I realize that if you aren't family that you might not enjoy the overload but I can't help it. It's my blog and I can overload on photos if I want to. Ha!
Here are a couple of pics from Maleah's school Christmas Program. It was great. It was a 50's theme and the kids were all so darn cute. The music teacher did an amazing job and I really enjoyed it. It was the first year that Carissa did not sleep through it - because she wasn't there! I left her and her brother at home with my Aunt Patty and I got to watch it uninterrupted this year. Thank you Patty! I also was not in labor this year, like I was last year, so that was another bonus. Maleah did great. She got to pass out programs to the parents prior to the show.
Maleah and her friend Dani, passing out programs.
Maleah is in the back row, just like every other year.
I told her to tell her music teacher that I had a $20 bill
for her if she ended up in the front row but no dice.
Maleah wouldn't do it. Ah, the downside to being tall...
We also had a Christmas Program at church. The theme with that one was superheroes. It was called A Super Christmas. The superheroes find out that the real superhero is Jesus. It was a good program. The kids all did great. Maleah was Wonder Woman and Carissa was Supergirl. However, Supergirl didn't actually participate. She got mad at the very beginning and said so and so took a toy from her and she threw a big fit. I was helping with the program and my job was to sit on the floor by the front pew and play with the 2-3 year old kids who were sheep. While they were not doing their scenes they were supposed to sit and play quietly with me. Well, Carissa threw a big fit so I had to take her out to the hallway. I couldn't get her to calm down so I practically dragged her back into the auditorium full of people to hand her off to either my Mom or her Dad (who was busy with Silas, who also was on the verge of a fit because he was up way past his bedtime). When I finally got back to my spot in front, guess what? All my sheep had wandered off. One was moseying up the center aisle and another was searching the crowd for her mom. I am not a good shepherd. With the help of a 7 year old, I rounded them up and got them back to where they were supposed to be. Carissa ended up leaving, along with her Dad and her brother, and everyone went home to bed. I think she would have done better but she was just worn out. Luckily, Supergirl had no lines. Wonder Woman did fantastic.
Before the play...
Poser
Group picture before we went upstairs
Next on our December agenda was the Weaver Christmas. Jason's Mom, Sherrel, was a Weaver. We have Christmas with them every year at Round Prairie Church south of Johnsonville. This year Silas got to meet his third cousin Liam. Liam was born in March, just a couple of days from Silas' due date. They are the same size and were so cute together! Carissa played a lot with Liam's sister, Maggie. Carissa loved her! Plus Maggie is Carissa's favorite name ever so that just sealed the deal.
Maleah, Carissa, Silas, and Maggie. The girls all got
new blankets for Christmas and the boys got trains.
Silas loves to unwrap stuff. He was clapping here.
He was just so excited about his new train!
Carissa couldn't wait to get into this box. The
packing tape was just torturing her! And Daddy
was clear across the room with his pocket knife.
My pretty Maleah Rose.
And my pretty Carissa Faith.
Buddies! Liam and Silas.
A happy boy.
Okay, up next after that was the Sunday before Christmas. Here are some pics of the girls in their Christmas dresses. I refused to buy Christmas dresses this year. It just seems like a big waste of money to me. In years past I have always bought Maleah a new dress and Carissa has worn one or two hand-me-down dresses but last year I didn't have one to fit her. Buying two dresses, plus new tights, possibly new shoes, etc adds up! Each year, Maleah has always worn hers two or three times (to Christmas programs, Church, etc). Well, this year she didn't need one for either program and was only going to wear one to church for a couple of hours. I wasn't down with buying one. So I... (gasp!) made her wear last year's. It fit perfectly. No one remembered and if they did, who cares! This mama is practical. I would rather spend the money on a gift or on everyday clothes than one super fancy dress. Carissa needed a size 5 dress. I had a size 4 or a size 6 in the closet. We decided to go with one that was a tad bit big than a tad bit too small. The girls both looked adorable, felt beautiful, and were back home and changed into jeans within two hours. Everyone was happy. Silas looked pretty cute too in his red plaid dress shirt and khakis. I am learning that boys are fun to dress too (which is totally a surprise to me).
Ready for church!
How cute is she?
Maleah and her Bitty Baby, Carissa, and Silas on the move.
That brings us right up to Christmas Eve. We had a fun day. That evening we had Christmas at Jason's parents with them and Craig and LuAnn. We ate a delicious meal and then opened presents. The girls were so excited! Carissa opened a musical jewelry box from Craig and LuAnn and got emotional she was so happy. It wasn't on her list or anything but she was just taken aback by its beauty. She screamed, she clapped, she got real quiet, she stared at it, she rushed over and gave LuAnn a hug and a very heartfelt thank-you, she showed it to me, stared at it some more, and kept saying that it makes "happy sounds." We heard her say "I love it!" about a hundred times and she kept talking about the happy noise and the happy sounds it makes and how beautiful it was. It was if someone had just handed her the moon. She has slept with it every night since then. I think LuAnn gets the prize for best gift given this year. Carissa also got a lot of other stuff but truly no other reaction compared to that one. Maleah got some great gifts too. Grandma Sherrel bought her some rings and she loved them. She calls one her "diamond ring." It's not really but it looks like it. She loves it! Silas got a train and some clothes and a bunch of other stuff. He was as entertained with watching his sisters as he was unwrapping his own presents. He loves those girls. After we unwrapped presents, then we had birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. It was a great Christmas celebration.
How 'bout them teeth?
Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting.
Those cats were fast as lightning...
What? This is for my sister? Can I please hold it?
So happy that we let him have this box to hold. It's
all he wanted from the minute we walked in the door.
Standing on her tiptoes, like normal.
Cheese!
Watch out for this one - she's crazy.
Maleah and her diamond ring.
Carissa and the reaction to the box of happy sounds.
And now, moving on to Christmas Day...
We were awakened on Christmas morning at 5:30 a.m.! Uggghh! It gets earlier every year. It was Maleah by my bed telling me that Santa had been there. I told her to be quiet and to lay on our floor until everyone else woke up. She did but she talked for the the next hour and a half saying "What time is it now?" "Can I wake Carissa up?" "How much longer?" "Mom, are you asleep?" "Mom, Santa has been here!" "Mom!! MOm!! Did I tell you that Santa has been here?" At around 6:30 I got up and put on my makeup and did my hair. (I do this every year. I refuse to look bad in Christmas morning pictures.) Finally at around 7 a.m. Carissa stumbled in. Silas was starting to stir too so I told Jason to wake up. (He had seriously slept through most of Maleah's talking.) The girls took off running to the living room and I had to tell Jason to move it or he was going to miss it. We both made it in there in time to see them unwrap their things. It gets more exciting every year. Carissa and Maleah both got American Girl dolls. Some of their favorite gifts, besides the dolls, were Carissa's pink kitchen and Maleah's science stuff. Silas liked his gear toy and the toys that didn't move or make noise. Apparently he wants to use his imagination for sirens and loud noises. (Duh. He's a Cooper kid.) We unwrapped presents, played a bit, got everyone dressed, and headed to my Mom and Dad's for breakfast and presents. My Mom made her traditional biscuits and gravy and it was delicious. I had a headache that kept getting worse. I drank a Pepsi and took two Tylenol. We opened presents and by the time that was done Jason had to drive me home because I had a migraine and was on the verge of losing my biscuits and gravy. I went home to sleep and he stayed at my parents' house for awhile with the kids. We all got a lot of really nice gifts. But honestly, the day is a little bit foggy. I slept most of the day away. We were supposed to be at the Oestreich Christmas at 3:00 that day and I always bring the deviled eggs, except for last year because I didn't go (I was at the hospital). This year I figured they could do without again because I didn't feel like getting up to make them. When Jason came to wake me up he told me that he had already made them - all by himself! How awesome is he? He has helped me do it plenty of times over the years so he just did them all by himself this year. He is so sweet. I made it to the Oestreich's but I didn't feel that great. I still managed to have a good time and felt better as time went on. Overall, it was a great Christmas! We are so blessed to get to spend so much time with our family and friends.
Christmas morning! The girls by their stockings.
Santa brought Silas a drum, a remote, and a bus.
Carissa got Peppa Pig toys in her stocking.
Maleah got a telescope and a microscope.
Silas with his gear toy.
My kids with my neice Chloey at my Mom and Dad's.
It snowed on Christmas night and over the next few days we ended up with quite a bit of snow. Here is Maleah and the snowman that she worked very hard on.
And finally, here is picture with me and Carissa. I am usually behind the camera but not this time. Carissa has a band-aid on her forehead because she had been rolling across our bedroom floor and ran her head smack into her Dad's dresser. A big gash and some blood followed. She is fine now. Lesson learned: Watch where you roll. Or perhaps: Don't roll around in the dark. Or perhaps: Don't roll unless you are on fire.
We also had a great New Year's Eve and weekend prior to that. We spent a lot of time at our friends' Deb and Paul's. Our friends the Kopacz family from near Chicago were in town and we all had a great visit. One thing I love about good friends is that you can pick right up where you left off even if you don't see them every day or haven't seen them in months. We sat around, visited, played Scrabble, Battleship, and some cards and ate good food. Jason fried fish for all of us and we let off some fireworks close to midnight on New Year's Eve. The kids had spent a lot of their time playing outside in all of the snow and had a fabulous time. There were 11 kids total and boy did they have fun together! I couldn't find my camera while I was there but I would have taken some great pictures if I could have found it. Oh well.
Thanks for bearing with me on all of these posts and all of these pictures. I hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas season as well. Here's to 2013! May it not be as stressful as 2012 was for me or for you!
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