Christmas

Stephen was off school for two weeks for Christmas break! I feel like I should be on top of things after such a long break, but one thing I've learned over and over since being a mom is that a break isn't really a break. Every day is the same whether Stephen is at work or not! It was really nice to have him home for a while though. And since we didn't travel for Christmas this year, we enjoyed waking up in our own beds on Christmas morning and just being a family.

We took the kids to their first movie in a theater on Christmas Day. We saw Tangled, and I loved it! We had the theater to ourselves, which was a really good thing since both kids were pretty antsy by the end. I forgot how nice it is to watch a movie in a theater. I think that was the second time Stephen and I have been to a movie since Nate was born. What a treat!

We also LOVED having family come to us. Stephen's brother and his family came to visit the week after Christmas. It was really good to have them here. Their kids (and dog) entertained our kids, so it was very restful - for us anyway! We're really bad at taking pictures when we're with family, so unfortunately we don't have much to show for their visit.

Here's a sample of what we do have from the last two weeks:

 Nate got a tee ball set from Uncle Nathan and Aunt Erica for Christmas.

 We didn't know we have a little Babe Ruth on our hands.
He can really hit the ball - with or without the tee.

 Our gift to Nate was this scooter. Since it was so cold the week of Christmas he mostly rode it around the house. His friend Jack has the same kind of scooter and Nate has been coveting it for months!

 Evie got these blocks from Uncle Nathan and Aunt Erica.
She loves blocks (and Nate likes them too)!

 The main thing Nate asked for for Christmas was a guitar. Aunt Liza got him a really cool one. Evie figured out how to use the microphone that came with it ...

 Nate, on the other hand, couldn't quite figure it out. The microphone is in his ear!

 Nate and Evie with cousin Camo.

 Kate helping open gifts. They brought more Christmas gifts from the Blans.

Evie got a baby and a little baby stroller from Nanna and Granddad. This was her face when she first saw the baby in the package. This little girl LOVES babies!