Sunday, January 1, 2012

we had ourselves a merry little Christmas

 highlights:

::face-timing with my family to open gifts together (technology is rad)

::Grandma Grapes (great grandma) Chapman reading the Night Before Christmas at our family Christmas Eve gathering


:baking cookies for Santa



::the girls in their cute Christmas Eve Minnie Mouse Jammies (Ellie's first pair of slippers) 

::staying up till 3 am assembling gifts and presents (Santa's got a tough job)

::seeing the girls wait excitedly on the stairwell to come down and see if Santa really came


::seeing silly George-Albert one last time, using Ellie's Christmas Present from Santa
side note: Ellie had a respectable fear of Georgie. i guess that's what happens when a little guy raids your underwear drawer and paints your nose red.

  
{"hey Georgie! that's my bike, not yours!"}
::seeing pure joy on the faces that Santa had, indeed, come (Ellie saying, "i was a good girl, Mama! i was a good girl! Santa came!")




::watching Ellie rip through her presents as if there was a fire (and loving every single one) (while wearing her helmet the whole time...classic)


::seeing Alice sit in boxes and eat fruit snacks from her stocking instead of opening presents and playing with toys (quirky kid)

side note: have i mentioned my girls are polar opposites?

::just sitting back and enjoying the surprises and joy of the kids- and not taking nearly enough pictures to prove how awesome it was 


::being spoiled - especially lovin' my new sunglasses.


::especially the inside detailing


 ::the remote-control helicopters for all the boys- who knew grown men still loved toys this much?


::our delicious waffle breakfast
::the girls all dolled up in the most gorgeous Christmas dresses, hand stitched and sewn by Grandma Lynne (seriously amazing)
warning: too many pictures below. but cut me some slack. that's what you do when your girls are wearing adorable fancy dresses.

side note: she pulled an all nighter from Christmas Eve-Christmas Morning so they could wear these on Christmas Sunday. talk about incredible...the smocking and detailing is exquisite! 



 

::attending Church on Christmas Sunday- such a treat

::Christmas dinner, british style- complete with yorkshire pudding and christmas crackers and crowns. so fun.




::staying over-night a few nights at Grandma + Grandpa's house- the girls were in heaven, and we loved our little family camp-out every night
side note: why is it so funny to wake up to a one-year old standing at her crib and staring at you?

::testing out scooters and bikes and cars for hours and hours and hours, and other toys too





::lots of laughs and movies and cuddles


::seeing the lights at the Oakland temple










::spending time with friends from out of town- we miss you, our friends!, and loooved hanging out (aren't Ellie + Wyatt so cute?)


::lots of baking and treats and eating out lots and lots

{bread + oil appetizer is my ultimate fave and i usually get full on it before my real meal comes}

::having dance parties together (i love how my girls love music- and how Alice loves to dance. oh gosh it kills me it's so cute)



::just having tons and tons of quality time together as a family.


Christmas always goes by so fast, doesn't it? all this prep for a 24-hr day. but it's so worth it and we're loving all of our new toys, spoils, and the love we've felt spending time with loved ones, each other, and thinking of our Savior. thanks for everyone who made it special. Christmas is the best. only 359 days till Christmas 2012!

xoxo

5 comments:

Shaylynn... a girl, a story, a blog said...

Merry Christmas:)

I die over their red roads, every. single. time.

Linda said...

I just love the Chapmans! All of them! I
The pictures are " fa~ bu~ Luus!~ Loved them. The girls are gorgeous in their red dresses. Lynne out did herself! She is soooo talented. Those are " the" most gorgeous dresses ever. They looked adorable in their PJ's... and delighted with their toys because they are GOOD girls ! hehehe I am so happy that you got to fill your days with joy and you are probably exhausted right about now. It's exhausting to plan, carry out, and put away Christmas! But I agree. So worth it! Thank You for posting and sharing and spreading your memories with us. Love you all. 2012 is going to be great! I just know it.

Jenny said...

I am so glad you guys had a merry little Christmas! I can't believe Lynne sewed the girls' dresses! Amazing!

Megan said...

such a happy little christmas post! and of course I want to comment about every little thing, but I will restrain myself. I love that Alice just sat and ate fruit snacks - ava did the same thing until we forceably took them away from her so she'd pose for some pictures. ;) and your sunglasses are darling. love the detailing. the girls' dresses were adorable. and all the traditions are so fun! the end.

Linda said...

I AM SMILING FROM EAR TO EAR AFTER WATCHING THAT VIDEO. THE LOVIE IS SO SMALL! WHAT HAPPENED? SMART MOVE.
ALICE'S HEAD BOBBING AND HIPS SWINGING SIDE TO SIDE WHILE THE THUMB WAS SECURELY TUCKED BETWEEN HER LITTLE LIPS AND FINGERS CLUTCHING THAT LITTLE FRAGMENT OF MY SLIP TOOK THE CAKE. ELLIE IS A ROCKSTAR. I MISS THOSE LITTLE GIRLS!!! January is going to be a very loong month. But! Blessed that pretty soon we will be dancing our way up Main Street! wohoo! Love you Marci~ don't know how I live without you near by. It's a miracle I survive every day.