Sittin' and Smilin'

I'm sure the day after Christmas is always super exciting, but at our house I was only excited about a couple things.  One, my kids were happy.  Two, the toys were not EVERYWHERE, they were localized to only the places I actually wanted to put my feet.  And three, Vaughn sat up all by himself really well!

He's just so darn cute so excuse my excess!

Seriously, look how cute he is!  That smile is the greatest!

Happy Birthday December Cuties!

Ok, so Chris is a little old to call a cutie, but he certainly is a December birthday.  His birthday as an adult is a rather subtle affair nowadays.  He is so happy with good food and something techie like a movie or video game.  It's almost the same every year.

So this year I went out of my way to make a special dinner.  We had saved a little extra for the holidays and I used it to buy some delicious king crab at Costco.  I was a bit nervous about the crab since the last time we'd had it was in Seattle,WA and it had been caught only 4 hrs before we bought it.  (I know-we were spoiled!)  But it turned out so good.  Add to that a plate full of lemons and a salad and Chris was in heaven!  He's so fun to surprise!  He takes it really well and while the kids didn't enjoy the crab as much as mom and dad, it was dad's birthday so really he's the only one that had to like it!

After that we opened gifts and had some fun.  Then we played some video games and watched some shows.  It was understated but still very fun.  So glad he had a birthday so I had a good reason to spend a little extra on dinner!  Yummmy!!!

Lizzy's birthday is the day after Chris' on the 10th.  We already decided that Liz would have a birthday party with her friends on Saturday, so we had a little family party the day of her birthday.

First we had our regular carpet picnic, pizza and soda, with our family movie - "The Secret of the Wings" - and presents from the family.  The movie was also a gift for Lizzy's special day.  She was so excited to get the movie, but it was twice as amazing for her to get the little tinker bell dolls from the movie right after we ate dinner.  She was so happy and generous.  All the kids were allowed to hold one of the new dolls during the film.  They all had such a great time.

Later in the week Lizzy had a great Dora birthday party.  We had a cute little Dora cake with Boots and Dora on top.  Then we played some games and Chris made a Dora playlist.  Seeing all her friends giggling and laughing and having fun!  Oh to be 3!

Happy Birthday Chris and Lizzy - we love you!

Family Pictures

Now, I know that everyone will be getting our basic family pictures, but here are some of the other ones that we had taken.  Our friend Kim Fletcher took all of these.  

I so loved taking these pix on the beach.  We decided to really play up the Hawaii factor.  We had so much fun.  Even Vaughn had fun and he is still so little!

I really like these mom and dad photos with the kids.  They are so fun.  Ally was actually pretty happy this day, she just didn't have her "cheese" smile ready most of the time.  

This one was a little embarrassing to do.  She insisted and we did giggle quite a bit.  I do love my husband so much.  Glad we have this one even if it still makes me giggle.

This is one of my absolute favorites.  I adore my Ally cat and in this one she looks just as cute and cuddly as she actually is.  It was so fun to take.

 And truly what do I say about this one.  My little V is so wonderful.  I was just trying to keep him happy while other pix were being taken.  Didn't even know Kim caught this moment, but I'm so glad she did.  I don't have so many photos of me playing with my kids.  I'm the family photographer and no one takes pix if the photographer is playing!

 So there you have it!  That is our whole family all playing at the beach.  I'm sure that's the best we'll ever look on a beach here in Hawaii.  The rest of the time I expect we'll be covered in sand and swim shirts!  Loves!