walking at the nature center

we had a wonderful post-christmas celebration with the stahl's and before we headed home we spent the afternoon at the nature center. it was the perfect ending to a great visit. the weather was amazing and the kids loved walking on the trial and playing on a giant playscape. even graham enjoyed a few trips down the slide! the kids all loved having g and g hold their hands and run and play!

post-christmas with the stahls

we had a great post-christmas celebration with the stahls! more gifts . . . rollerblades for the big girls, a gas station for b.c., and a lalaloopsy for kam! and some really cool p.j.s and toys from they cousins! we had a wonderful christmas dinner and dessert too (kind of made up for the christmas dinner of pancakes that we'd had!). so nice to have everyone together. makes my heart smile.

christmas 2011

from the barbie dream house to the big four wheeler, the pirate ship to the trendy toys, we had some happy bailey kiddos on christmas morning! the look on the kids faces as they were coming down the stairs was awesome! everyone got everything they asked for . . . and then some! we took most of the day to open and play with presents, taking a break fro breakfast and hot chocolate. we were in pajamas all day, hanging out, and playing and watching movies. we had pancakes for christmas dinner! does it get any better than that?

christmas eve 2011

this christmas eve was really wonderful. we went to church, had our traditional appetizers for dinner, decorated cookies, read the night before christmas, got our matching p.j.'s. too!
what a difference a year makes. we have so much to be thankful for . . . so much. a beautiful, healthy family. four amazing kiddos. a new extended family. and a bright future ahead!

lights in belton 2012

this may have been the best year at the belton lights . . . ever! we went early and during the week so the crowds were minimal. we even got to hop out and take some pictures in front of the lights! nothing beats the excitment you can feel in the car as the kids first see the lights and we turn on the music. this is truly the magic of christmas. it's so wonderful that we still get to share this tradition with our friends . . . not wishing time away, but i can't wait until next year.

magical moment with santa

i don't think it gets much better than this . . . the kiddos got some one-on-one time with mr. claus on the g'town square. the girls were a little bit in awe and b.c. was a little shy at first, but after he gave santa's beard a little tug he was comfortable. they got to share their wishes for christmas . . . ken - a caboodle, mck - a caboodle and doll stuff, kam - a pony (not a real one!), and b.c. - a firetruck! not sure we'll ever be able to top this one.

topping the tree

all the kids took a turn topping the tree . . . and then i put the snowman on for real . . . but we left that picture out! the kids did a great job helping to decorate this year . . . with only minimal readjusting necessary! they are really enjoying pointing out all of their ornaments on the tree and talking about when they got them. this christmas is going to be so much fun.

the cards have been ordered!

omg. it is october 14 and the christmas cards have been ordered! :) that's a first! :) it helps that we had pictures taken in july that i was planning to use! :) yay for that! :) now i just have to manage to get them addressed . . . surely i can manage to do that in a month!

celebrating with family

the day after christmas we travelled to grammy and grampy's for a two day visit! the girls had a great time with cousin s and we all loved meeting baby a! what a beautiful, sweet baby! we opened presents and had an amazing christmas dinner (i think it tasted even better when grammy does ALL the work - thanks mom!). we opened presents . . . $5 stocking stuffers for the adults (a hit again this year!) and the kids were spoiled by lots of great goodies . . . lucky, lucky kiddos!
the next day we met for an amazing pizza dinner and got to see the dancing fountains right outside! what a treat! it was so nice to have such a great visit with our family!
it was our first time travelling with "the machine" . . . uh! the dialysis machine! despite lots of alarms in the night from the machine, we were able to travel relatively easily . . . it's like having a 5th child!
after lots of playtime, cooking hot dogs and marshmallows outside on the fire pit, and assembling and decorating a really cool gingerbread house we headed home. a perfect ending to the christmas holiday!

christmas 2010

well, it's so hard to believe it's over, but i am happy to say that this year we made present opening last 4 hours! that's record! we took LOTS of breaks . . . breakfast, hot chocolate, a snack, time to play, but it was nice to stretch things out and enjoy each moment! the kids had a wonderful christmas! b.c. took one look at his buzz lightyear four-wheeler and was in love! he rode it around all over the house most of the day! kam was so happy with all of her pony goodies and her new baby doll! she wanted to play with each thing as she opened it! mck's favorite thing was her belle doll. what a magical look she had in her eye when saw her. she also loved the bed she got for her! ken can't wait to use her sewing machine and worked most of the day on her fairt tale book! gotta love my nerdy/crafty girl! :)
the big hit for the family was the t.v. for the playroom! now we are really ready for friday movie night! now we can enjoy the new couch and watch movies all cuddled up together! what a treat!
we hung out in our p.j.'s most of the day and just enjoyed playing with all our new stuff! we had a yummy pasta dinner, fun drinks, and a christmas ice cream cake for dessert! it's hard to imagine that christmas could be any better than this! :)

christmas day

we spent the whole day in our p.j.'s . . . does it get any better than that? the girls were thrilled with all of their gifts. santa brought them things that they were wishing for . . . kam's "dora soft baby", ken and mck got mp3 players, and b.c. got lots of great "boy toys". they got a surprise gift from grammy, grampy, and gigi . . . a trampoline that is sure to get lots of use! :) we tried to make the morning last as long as possible, taking several hot chocolate breaks to stretch things out! :) nothing like hot chocolate, marshmallows, and a sugar cookie at 9:30 in the morning! we played with the kids all day long and then had a yummy dinner on nana's china . . . in our p.j.'s! :) i think this was the best christmas ever! :)
we traveled to grammy and grampy's house for a belated christmas celebration and dinner on saturday. it was great to see everyone! we had a wonderful gift exchange ($5 limit!) and watched the kids open goodies. dinner was wonderful! we visited with the baileys on sunday for the day. the kids ran around outside enjoying the beautiful weather. gigi was thrilled to see all of them together. the girls loved seeing pa and keep talking about his magic! :)