Avery had a good first Christmas. she was the only of our 3 children who slept at all on Christmas Eve. she sat quietly while the presents were opened and even smiled an laughed with everyone, before taking her morning nap. seriously, have a mentioned what an awesome baby she is? i couldn't be happier, or more well rested! (okay, i could be more well rested, but i can hardly complain she's such a great sleeper!)
despite being utterly frightening to Maddie, Santa was really good to the girls this year. he left a note explaining that the kitchen and playhouse they asked for were waiting at home, and then hit them with the surprise present of a Barbie Jeep. and princess gear.
they played on the Jeep for hours, a day even, arguing about who was in the driver's seat, before the battery was charged up and ready to go! and when they went, both girls decided they liked the Jeep stationary, or settled in as passengers. Henry got a cool
new Jeep too, and Anna was all to happy to ride with him rather than drive her own vehicle.
Santa did not fail
Nalu this year, giving her a rawhide bone and anti-shedding vitamins. she surprised us all by rooting around in the gifts and discovering her own. everyone was trying to stop her from getting into trouble, not realizing Santa deliberately left the dog a present. we were shocked since
Nalu commonly has to be directed to chunks of meat dropped on the floor by the children. i guess it's a Christmas miracle that she sniffed out her own gift!
another Christmas miracle was the pinpoint accuracy
Ashlyn had in her gift-giving this year. i don't think Santa himself could have predicted the need Collier had for a neon green/yellow sweatshirt depicting the classic canvas by
Brandon Bird, nobody wants to play
sega with Harrison Ford. and really - no one does, so true.
and Austin's life was incomplete without the same startlingly beautifully colored sweatshirt, with a portrait of Phil, that's right, music
legend Phil Collins. not to be outdone,
Corbynn's gift was this perfect tribute to the perfect "man", vampire?
and for me, just what i needed. though i have already trapped my man, we tend to disagree on the future of our family, namely the numbers. those who knew me as a child know that i always wanted a big, no HUGE family.
i'd been overheard saying a good round dozen sounded about right. however, as a more mature marrying-age woman, i realized this may in fact kill me in more ways than one, (childbirth, lack of sleep, teenage years) i decided big was 3 or 4, and was terrified at even those meager numbers.
fast-forward to present time when i have been overheard to say, "the more i have, the more i want," and with 3 i look forward to at least 1 or 2 more now my terror has been transferred to my husband who wonders how to feed us all. well,
Ashlyn is here to help me. she gave me "birth control" gum.
i just pop one of these babies, and say, "well, gotta take my birth control," and pow,
i'll get my fourth child for sure. win/win, right Jase? 'cause
i'm on birth control?
i can't remember/didn't take pics of her other gifts, wait, oh yeah- there was the Liberace paperdoll set for my dad, and air freshener for Collier's new car with a dude skipping and the caption, "skipping, running's gay cousin."
then Christmas night, 3 big packages were opened by 4
rambunctious children. the packages contained
approximately one million beach balls. i don't think i even need to describe how this went over. really, a hit of a gift. that's
grand slam gift-giving Aunt
Tashy!
during the traditional
Christmas naptime for parents, the kids did not nap themselves (oh except Avery of course) but rather, joyfully played with their toys - oh and my makeup. now you may remember the close call i had a
while back thinking the girls got into my makeup- well this time it really happened. these are the faces that woke me up from my nap. (who am i kidding, i never took a nap. really they just roused me from a waking coma.)
yeah. so, in an effort to keep the kids otherwise engaged, Jason invented the hit game, "throw the kids."
it still made a big mess, but this one was easier to clean up!
later that night, we gathered as a family for a delicious Christmas dinner.
friday, we met some friends at the beach and enjoyed going to Collier's basketball game. the girls ate some of their Christmas candy,
and passed out for a short time in the car. at nightfall, we all went to long beach to check out the lights. it was freezing. Avery was only comfortable wrapped in Grandma's coat.
but we still had fun, although this picture doesn't really look like it.
i know some of my family was able to capture the joyfulness that these two cousins displayed that night, holding hands, singing carols, skipping and
running along. but this is the one shot i got. in front of the Rudolf they were so excited to see. can't you tell?
and Saturday, we got to see even more cousins when Uncle Ralph, Aunt Nita, Aunt Lori, Aunt Sandy, Uncle Mark, Brendon, Caitlin, and their families came to visit! oh what fun!
so, Avery is 3 months old. that's right, 3 months old today! are you kidding me. what in the world happened. just yesterday i was pregnant and thinking she'd never be born! this is a warning to everyone thinking of getting pregnant right now, today. WARNING: you will have a baby in October, rush right into Thanksgiving and Christmas, blow past the new year and suddenly be smacked with the realization that you have a 3 month old! take heed.
but seriously, Avery, you are the sweetest most adorable baby. we could not be more blessed than to have added you to our family. you are so mellow and so smiley, we just can't take our eyes off you. your sisters can barely contain themselves when you are asleep, they want to wake you up and play, so sometimes daddy and i have to actually hide you so you can take a nap. thank you for lighting up our lives and giving us a whole new reason to smile! we love you. 
Avery loves her big sisters!
Madeline remained very skeptical, if not afraid of Santa Claus. 
she didn't sleep at all that night and on Christmas morning, when Anna came to say that Santa had come, Madeline froze with sheer fright. she would not come out of 
Jason, every girl dreams about marrying prince charming, tall dark handsome, and all that. surface stuff. but what astonishes me each day, are the ways you have become the man of my dreams, the ways i didn't even know i was dreaming about. the absolute trust i am able to have in you gives me a deeper sense of love than i ever thought possible. all of the 
we also got a new camera, and even though Jason thinks 
Jason taught Anna how to do "
here's Madeline's attempt. 
Avery was an angel as always, seriously a dream 3rd baby. 
later this week, i took the girls to see Santa. i wish i would have brought my own camera! these guys did not even try to take a good shot, and Avery was sleeping! what a waste. 
this weekend, we hit the outside of the house, 
even though there's only 2 weeks left in December. (i was a little Grinch-y and suggested we 