After enjoying time with my side of the family, it was off to Mah and Dah's house. It is always funny for me to see the differences between the two. All you have to do is add in five more kiddos and the chaos begins! It is so much fun to see all the kids kinda go nuts. I should have taken a before and after of this spot (note for next year) but this is the before.
A few snuggles with the little guy,
grabbing of adult beverages, finding of the seats and it was time for the craziness. Remember we have SEVEN kiddos in NWA and the oldest is five.
Anna (5)
Chaz (4)
Jackson (4)
Ben (3)
Brandon (3)
Campbell (19 months)
Dane (2 months)
Add in my husband, brother-in-laws, sister-in-laws, Mah, Dah and Aunt EA and you have a FULL house. And
lots of laughter and fun!!
This guy (aka Cameron) is "Santa" and hands out the gifts, at least until the kiddos take over. He has his "worker" hat. This thing has been around for MANY years but has been lost the last few years. Luckily my mother-in-law found it this year. It just wasn't the same without it!
and the "Santa in training"
It didn't take long for the kiddos to start taking the paper off the presents like a rabid dog with raw meat. It was insanity!
And then one of my favorite presents (don't worry folks, there are more in the making!!) Mah had been asking for Chaz to paint her a picture for
quite a long time. Well, when you ask Picasso to paint.. it takes a loooong time (on a separate note: when you tell him he can't paint today there is a MAJOR temper tantrum) Anywho, he did it. He completed a painting to his liking and we wrapped it up for Christmas. Now I'm not gonna lie, I had some high-stakes bets on Mah crying as it doesn't usually take much (see throwback to
2009 for a classic Mah crying moment. classic) but no, no crying this year. BOOO!
Isn't it beautiful! He is amazing!
Sweet baby boy with his new lovey. Thanks Aunt Meg!!
The ninja house. This was something we visited MANY times at Target. He loves it. I always find it so difficult to not let them stop, unpack and play with the toys. But if we did that we would be unwrapping into the wee hours of the morning.
Goofy brothers, goofy hat. I told you there are always LOTS of laughs!
This has been one of the best toys. I think Ryan and I may like it more than Chaz, maybe. He loves it though! It is an Optimus Prime mask that talks. Yes, talks. You can push different buttons on the side to have it say different "Optimus" quotes or you can push another button and it transforms (pun 100% intended) your voice into Optimus. Seriously cool stuff. Thanks NC Hills!!!
WAY back before Halloween I saw a commercial for a
Doodle Bear and fell in love. It is brilliant. It is a plush bear that has markers and stamps. You can write on it and when you want to start over you just toss it in the wash. Brilliant!!! I texted Meghan within moments of seeing the commercial to see if I could get it for Anna. She had never seen it before but gave me the thumbs up. A few weeks later she said Anna had seen the commercial and could not stop talking about it. Score one for Aunt T!
You may think he is looking for a present with his name on it. Not really. He was just finding ones he recognized and taking them to the proper owner. What a sweet kid!
HA! Campbell the 19 month old dancing on her toys. She didn't care, she was having a good time! Oh and there is Aunt EA in the background. I am so sad that she was here for a month and I have like 2 pictures of her. Fail on my part!
Ok, now he is looking for his name. Who can blame him, right??
Jackson was a little, just a little, excited to get an Optimus Prime. You can tell these kiddos LOVE Transformers.
The cousins were very helpful in opening Dane's gifts. He can't open them so why not let the kiddos help?!? They thought it was so fun! Then they would take the gifts to Dane and put them within and inch of his face. "Look, it is for you!!" How cute?!?
This is genius. Marcy's mom Sharon, who we adore, bought all the kiddos
Babycakes cake makers and then gave them another box of ever kind of mix you could think of, I must remember this! Genius!
All the kiddos got these cute little guns. Yes, we gave weapons to kids under 5 with sugar highs on Christmas day, whatever. They had a blast!
Chaz wanted a "Finn Nicknissle" (aka Finn McMissle) car for his birthday. He didn't get it so we put it on the Christmas list. He was pretty pumped when he opened it. After all the gifts were opened he took it to Dah and asked if he could take it out of the packaging. He obliged and Chaz went in the corner to play with his new Finn Nicknissle.
Ryan insisted we bring the Santa costume for Dane. I knew he wouldn't really be into it by the end of the day but I obliged.
He was tired, hungry and just wasn't digging it. But he was stinkin' cute, right??
Much happier without the hat!
and a kiss from Momma makes everything better. BIG smiles!
Why was Ryan so insistent on putting Dane in the Santa costume? Because of this. Nope, that isn't Dane. It is Chaz. He liked it just as much as Dane! HA!
But he was stinkin' cute as well! (Chaz 3 months 2007)
Ok, back to present day. After presents and dinner they were pooped. So all the cousins piled up on the couch (sans Campbell who was going to bed for the night) to watch the Grinch. Gotta love the rain boots Brandon!
Here is the look back at the Hill Christmases
2009 and
2010
What a wonderful and blessed Christmas we had this year. We are so blessed to have the friends and family we have. There is so much love on both sides of the family and we simply couldn't ask for anything else. We have fabulous parents who lead by great example and the rest of the family and friends who surrounds us with love in good times and in bad. We are blessed everyday but it is this time of the year that we reflect and understand how truly thankful we really are. We celebrate the birth of Christ and the constant love of our Lord. I hope you all recognize the blessings you have and feel the love from our God as he wraps his arms around you. God bless you all!
Thank you everyone for making this Christmas season one of the best to date. Merry Christmas!
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