December Thus Far

 The kiddos have been sick for most, if not all, of this month. I think I mentioned the sicknesses in the last post. Turns out Abby and Brie were each fighting a cold AND an eye infection AND an ear infection. And the last time Chelsea had the flu, her tummy developed an intolerance to some foods which made her randomly throw up. I think we have it all taken care of, but we still have a couple stuffy noses. 

 Despite not being able to eat anything but apple sauce this day, Chelsea was excited to perform at her holiday dance recital. She did a grear job!

 The dancers led the crowd in a wave. I wasn't paying much attention, but Brie was, and she raised her hands at the appropriate time. I was quite impressed. (You can see Chelsea's face right in the armpit of the gal with the red tank top. Great timing, I know)

 I was such a proud mama, despite one of the leaders (not a regular teacher) flubbing up and guiding Chelsea's group into TWO major oopsies. (She brought them OFF the dance floor WAY too soon in one song when they should have been still dancing in the mixed age group portion, and then she brought them out on the floor to dance a different song before it was their turn and so they had to walk off and wait behind the black curtain instead of watching the other group dance.) I was more upset about that than I should have been. But it's okay now. Chelsea does not seem to be scarred for life.

 We decided to open our presents from just our family the day before Christmas Eve. We've done our own after the Grandma's house parties before, but it's not as fun if Christmas Day is over. So that was our excuse. :)

 Daddy was so grateful for this cute elf hat from Chelsea.

 Chelsea got me this necklace with a heart on it that you can't see. They had a thing at school where the kids could shop and buy gifts. Chelsea even got to use her own money to buy a present for each member of the family. She was very excited to give them away. It was very sweet.

 How on EARTH did mommy know that daddy would be so excited about this gift???

 Enjoying the new stuff.

 Christmas Eve with the Kellys and Hornbachers.

Chelsea, Gavin, Tyjah

 Going clockwise starting from Rick:

Rick, Brie, Kyri, Gatlyn, Kinda, Beth, Jennifer

 Continuing on:

Jennifer again, Damien, Del, Pam, LaDell, Mike, Diana, Abby

 Fishing all the presents out from under the tree

 I remember when I could fit under the tree like this.

 My girls aren't the only ones that like to dress up.

 I think this is quite an impressive addition to our home library. 

 Who likes to dress up? Brie does!

 Our new game additions

 La La Loopsy stuff!

There is more, but I'm not going to post pictures of everything. I'm very sad that I forgot to bring the camera to Grandma Heit's house on Christmas Day. There were some cute moments that I would have liked to capture. Sad. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! Here's to a great 2013!