Rounding out December

We took on a Gingerbread Village this year which was mostly an exercise of me letting go.

And then last weekend was the Nutcracker.

Here's Naomi waiting in the back for her first appearance on stage Friday night. I asked her to pose as a ballerina and this is what I got.

Between shows on Saturday we ran home to eat a quick dinner and have a little down time.

Me and my ballerina.

After entertaining these kids for four rehearsals and two shows, on the third show, having run out of craft ideas, I finally got smart enough to bring the DVD player.

Ready for the Saturday night show.

For her last show on Sunday we went to be in the audience instead of back stage.

Our nanny Jess and her whole wonderful family came to see too!

So did Uncle Dave, Aunt Val and Jeremy. It was Naomi's favorite show because she knew so many people were watching. It might also have been her favorite show because we went out for ice cream afterwards.

That night we had a Christmas dinner with the Colorado Harteminks (this is how we differentiate Harteminks in our family), and the cousins exchanged presents.

Annika got this sweet dress up dress.

And Naomi got this fun dress up poodle skirt. That she wants to wear to school and church. 

We had a nice Christmas dinner--even got out the Railsback china for the event.

Christmas Eve was warm and gusty so we went down to the lake, burned a lot of anxious energy, and tried (and failed) to fly a kite. Who knew it could be *too* windy to fly a kite?

See, there's the kite, grounded. And the storm rolling in over the mountains.

This is our church's solution to kids and a candlelight service. Brilliant.

We couldn't get Sarah to cooperate so here are 2/3 of our kids on Christmas Eve at church. We just figured we'd try again when we got home.

Ah, that's more like it.

So we ditched the kids and just got one of us. Clifton is so much better than the kids at looking and smiling and not screaming during pictures.

The girls made pizzas for dinner.

Then we opened stockings.

...which were filled with matching pajamas.

...and this cute little hat that one of the nurses I work with bought for Sarah.

I can't learn my lesson so I try again for a picture of the three girls.

Paci and taggie and Mama as mediator make it a little better.

Remember this one from one year ago on Christmas eve? See, the secret is in the paci. (And I apparently need to add some variety to my Christmas Eve wardrobe.)

Ready with hot chocolate to drive around and look at Christmas lights, which sounds fun and would have been if not for Sarah screaming in the background at least half of the time.

Christmas morning Sarah got this phone from our neighbor. And somehow this was the only gift-opening picture I took.

This rainbow loom? Naomi's favorite. We are mass producing these folks. Get your orders in now.

Christmas night dinner at the Parsons' with 9 kids 7 and under.