Christmastime

We enjoyed having Scott off for ten days at Christmas.  We started out with a few days at home...

 Adrianna has followed in my tradition of using the wax from the Babybel cheese to make little creations.  (I'm so proud!)

 And she had fun dressing up.

Adrianna's been telling us lately that it's picture time, when she or Abel are doing something cute.  She loves giving him the arm around the neck, but he's not too keen on that move.

Christmas morning, Adrianna pulled her flower hat from her stocking, while I tried to show Abel how to reach in his.  He was asking with his eyes, "What's the point??"

 Abel also wondered the point of wrapping paper, but he did seem to like his toys.

 Copper and Rusty got spoiled by Steve and Julie while the kids opened presents.

 Adrianna modeled her new "church coat," which we so conveniently found on ThredUp.com.

And of course, the bike from Adrianna's great-grandparents was a big hit (for both Adrianna and Abel!).  Abel was content to sit on the seat, moving the handle bars.

After Christmas, I found this scene one morning.  What a joy to see my two little sweeties coloring together.

On December 28, we headed to visit my family in Colorado...  Adrianna is content for hours in the car, as long as we put on a book on CD.  On the way there, we listened to the 6-CD set of the American Girl, Addy.  It was even enjoyable for Scott and me.

 And what would a long car ride be without a goofy self-portrait?

 My mom and Richard let the kids open presents after we arrived.

 Abel enjoyed having Papa Richard read stories to him.

 On the 29th, our family, my sister's family, and my dad all crowded into Black Eyed Pea to meet with my grandparents and cousin, Carissa.  It was Abel's first time to meet two of his great-grandparents, and it was a special treat to have so much family in one place.

That night, my sister Catherine's family joined us at my mom and Richard's house for a little dinner and cousin play time.  Their favorite delight seemed to be the "jewels."

 On the 30th, we headed up north, to meet my friend and her family at a restaurant.  While we were getting a little snow, they were driving through a LOT of snow.  Their highway ended up closing, and they were unable to meet us.  However, Abel met his first true stuffy love -- High Tops giraffey -- while we were waiting at a Hobby Lobby.  We have never seen him give a stuffed animal a second glance, so when we asked him if he wanted to put this one away, and he said, "Uh uhh," we gave in to our first impulse buy for him.

 That night, we dined at my dad and Debbie's house, and my sister's family joined for a giant present exchange.  (Thankfully, we draw names to give presents, to make things a tad simpler.)

 

 At CostCo on New Year's Eve, Abel gave Adrianna's hat a try.  It was definitely picture-worthy!

 Adrianna and my mom made Trader Joe's apple cake for our New Year's dinner.











Abel got some New Year's tickles from Papa Richard, and the kids ended their night early.  Even we adults did not manage to stay up until midnight!









On New Year's Day, we drove home.  Thankfully, most of the snow had been cleared from the roads.  The temperatures were chilling, and the one stretch (30 miles?) of road that had not been cleared made us very grateful for the rest that had.