Saturday, December 31, 2011

Bye, Bye, Ty-Ty.

We are so, so sad to see Tyler head back to Louisiana.


Harris and Hadley have had a blast with him these past couple of weeks, as have Ben and me.





We had a farewell dinner of potato soup at Granti's house last night.  Here's hoping he's halfway home by now.



We love you, Ty Ty! 

Daddy's Office.

Harris and Hadley were beyond excited to take Emmy to visit Ben at work for "her very first time!"


Harris kept telling Emmy (over and over and over) in his sweet baby-talk voice that we were going to visit "Da Da's work" and that she should get excited!  She pretty much slept through the whole visit.  Except for the part where she pooped all over herself, her clothes, and me.

Oh, well.

We visited lots of Ben's co-workers, had lunch at Los Hermanos, and grabbed a couple of "Lilburn Police" caps as souvenirs.


Once Harris learned that the yellow lettering belonged to the Captain, he quickly manipulated his way into getting Babe to trade caps with him.  He then insisted on playing "Captain and Officer" the entire way home.  Just so he could boss her around.

There's no doubt he's my kid.

Emmy, Lately.



Thursday, December 29, 2011

The Day After.

Ben's family graciously travelled all the way from Trenton to spend Christmas with us at our house this year.  They came down on the 26th, and once again we spent the day eating, laughing, and playing Wii.


And opening gifts.



And battling with the Beyblades.  I was too busy winning to get a picture.

It was so much fun to spend time with Mimi and Poppa.  We can't wait to do it again!

Christmas Day.

Emmy was the first one up on Christmas morning. :)  It actually worked out quite nicely, because I was able to feed and change her just in time for the big kids to come barrelling into our room at 7:30.


After waiting just a few minutes for Daddy to get up and moving, our family of five headed downstairs to see if Santa actually made a stop at our house.

He did!!!
He left Harris all kinds of cool stuff (but not the boppy; that was already there).  Highlights included a Beyblade stadium, a Hot Wheels race track, and a 24-pack of Sharpie markers.


Hadley got exactly what she asked for:  a unicorn, a big horse, and an elephant.  She also found a Tiana dress, which she had to put on immediately:


Emmy wasn't left out, either.  She's been a very good girl this month.


Santa even left our family a gift.  We've had TONS of fun with our new Wii!!!  Just Dance and Wipeout are favorite games around these parts.


We spent the morning looking through our gifts, eating cinnamon rolls, and enjoying our time together.





After breakfast, the kiddos were ready to open up the gifts we bought for each other.



Ben and I got Harry and Babe their very own LeapPads.  They've been a huge hit, and Harris has already worn down the batteries on his!

Around lunch time, Mom, Cassidy, DB, Tyler, Cody, and Sam came over.  More gifts were given and lots of laughter ensued.  Ben was stoked to get gear from the ULM locker room (courtesy of Tyler) and Cassidy was pumped that Ben did, in fact, get her the gift card she'd asked for.  Cody gave me $29 worth of lottery tickets and an AutoZone Christmas card, so I'd say I racked up, too.




It wasn't long after we finished the unwrapping process that a huge Beyblade battle broke out.  These things are addicting!!


Emmy simply sat back and soaked it all in.  Happy First Christmas, Em-ster.



We tried a few group shots before the fam headed home.  The "Uncle Tyler" group shot didn't really turn out.



After everyone left, we had just enought time to catch a little nap and light the Christmas fire before Pop came over for dinner.


We spent the evening eating taco soup, laughing (again!), and getting our butts kicked by Ben on the dancing game.  Which, by the way, he's only winning because my incision hasn't healed quite enough for me to go all out with the Wii.



We crawled in bed smiling and exhausted. 

Merry, Merry Christmas.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas Eve.

We started the Christmas Eve celebration in Conyers, hanging out with Pop, his siblings, and their families.


Auntie, DB, Tyler, and Cody took the kids on a little "rock climbing" expedition in Aunt Connie's backyard.  It turned out to be the highlight of their day!







Upon their return, we chowed down and then opened some gifts!



We don't get out to Conyers much (which is sad because it's really not that far from us), but we always have fun every time we go.  I'm especially thankful that Emmy got to experience the festivities this year!!!



I tried to get a few family shots.  They didn't really work out as well as I had hoped.




I'm cool with that, though.  We were together and we had a great time, regardless of whether or not we got a great picture.


We finished the day by taking the big kids over to see their grandparents and then worshiping as a family with "Randolph, the Red-Toed Reindeer" at Church of The Way.

As part of our evening routine, we set out cookies, milk, and a Diet Coke for Santa and then snuggled in the bed while Daddy read the Christmas story from the Bible and Emmy grabbed herself a little night time snack.

Harris opted not to sleep with Babe, even though we gave them the option, because she's a "snore-er."

He was out like a light.  She, not so much. 

And then, it was Christmas.