This Christmas was the first one of our marriage that we had the actual Christmas Eve and Day on our own. Nana, Papa, Unkie, Amy and Carly were coming for new years and the Bird side all stayed at the Bird Compound in Idaho. Not really, but they all live within 30 min of each other in ID, us Stoianowski's are the only ones outcast to the midwest:-) Back to Christmas, it actually was a wonderful holiday season for us. We filled the days with baking, playing in the snow, decorating, delivering, playing in the snow, watching movies and more playing in the snow since we had one of the biggest snowfalls in Indiana history! It was very fun to be able to have our kids wake up in their beds and start our own traditions of Christmas and celebrating our Savior's birth. Christmas was overall a great success, like my mom always said to me growing up every Christmas is a bit different with different circumstances, but if we keep the Savior in our mind and heart, and have our loved ones close, they will all be amazing! So without further adieu...the pictures:-)
Handsome buggy ready to go see Santa
Sisters!
The best one of like 1000. Why in the world is it impossible to get 3 small kids to smile and look the same direction?! But impossible is what it is...hey at least this year Danny isn't picking his nose like last year!
Now we have a smiley girl!
Check out the line from the borrowed snow blower...that is about 8-9" that happened overnight
Snowman!
I will help you daddy!
See how good a helper I am!
LJ, not so much, guess it's a "guy" thing...
Later in the backyard he asked for the shovel so he could "help" back there too. How much do you want to bet when he is big enough to actually help with it he will have no desire? I would wager a decent amount...
Getting ready for her school Christmas Concert, she isn't excited at all as it clearly shows:-)
My handsome men!
It was a packed, and I mean PACKED house so this was the best shot I could get...however, if you saw the video, she knew every word to every song and sang her heart out!
Uncle Steve and Aunt Kori sent us a full movie night package with the movie Despicable Me 2, toys for the kids, and candy and Twinkies! It was amazing! The movie was watched as a family that night and is practically worn out from how many times the kids have watched it.
Alex, our elf made a snow angel out of sugar and delivered the kids' ornaments on Christmas Eve morning
Pyper has no clue that it is any important day but is just as happy to be alive as she is every day of the year:-)
Santa ate his cookies and drank his milk while little little Gru read...
Santa, mom and dad, and family were so generous and the kids had an amazing Christmas morning!
Flippies!
Racing cars
The "big" gift from mom and dad. A 7' trampoline for the house, this is just halfway set up here, there is a protective fence all around. Because of the never ending snow this winter, this baby got LOTS of use!
We decided to make it a family tradition of homemade pizza with homemade crust Christmas night and have our big meal be Christmas Eve since Christmas day is spent assembling and playing with new things. Mom and dad don't have much time, and we're a bit tired from the evening in preparations for Christmas morning. Who knows why because Santa brings a lot of the gifts, but yet somehow, we were a bit tired. This tradition will most likely stick because it ended up being so much fun at the end of a long day of playing to gather everyone together; everyone got to make their own exactly how they wanted. Plus they were delicious!
Pyper got to taste her first chocolate on Christmas...weirdly, she didn't really love it, but she has much of her life to change that view and I am sure she will:-)
Dad gave mom an amazing Christmas present, a new sink! The other one before this was the cheap stainless steel, split in half, and only about 4" deep. Imagine the cheap apartment building sinks. I know a sink sounds maybe not the best present for most, but for me, there are no words! I still find joy as I wash dishes, or better yet, have plenty of room to not have to wash exactly after EVERY meal!:-)
So Christmas came and went in a beautiful blur, and before we knew it this little lady showed up, along with her parents, to spend New Years at our house!
Hi Carly Girl!
Cousins! Whats funny about these two is they are both the spitting images of their Daddy's. Amy and I were just the carriers. Don't believe me? Exhibit A in the picture above this one. Scott behind and little girl Scott in front:-)
Look at that smile!
Nana and Papa arrived with the big red Sleigh/Ford F150 filled will way too many presents for all of us! We were all spoiled so we tried to spoil them a bit too!
Can you find baby Carly in the sea of presents?
LJ loving on one of her many gifts:-)
A train track, he played with this thing for hours!
Oh hi little lady!
And the other little lady, thinks the flash is too bright!
Danny got a tool set from Nana and Papa and immediately got to work. Everyone needs a box to chain saw through. Safety goggles are a must, of course.
Trying to get the correct drill bit for the job...
Seriously, think its silly to chain saw in your undies?! This guy would beg to differ!
Cooking beauties!
In the end, gifts are awesome, food is amazing, but family is always at the front of it all!
If getting 3 kids to all look one way and smile is impossible, getting 4 is just downright silly!
Thank you family for an amazing New Years!
Love making new traditions with these growing kiddos and enjoying the joy that the season brings all. Thankful to our Savior for His birth and life to make it all possible!
