My family has always had a tradition of opening presents one at a time, starting with the youngest. So we let the kids open some presents, then we ate, then they opened more presents. The big kids (Max, Rudy, and Lucy) were very excited, but did a great job of waiting their turn, and even volunteered to help the babies, and later the adults, open their presents. The excitement was all in the unwrapping.
Max helping Charlie.
Lucy opening her pillow pet.
Lucy helping Paige.
Lucy barely finished opening hers while Rudy begins his.
Rudy relaxing between openings and reading one of his new superhero books.
Lucy watching Max and waiting for her next turn.
Strawberry "cortcake"!
Rudy was so happy to get two new 'coloring pads", as he calls them These are the Magna Doodle pads that you write and erase on. These were replacements for ones he's had for a long time. He uses them all the time. The little one is great for car rides and the big one for more elaborate drawings at home.
Lucy trying to figure out if Grandpa's gift has any interest to her.
Rudy getting some cat time with Maggie. Since Mario died, he doesn't have a cat to play with- Smokey won't let him within five feet of her, so he's been going through withdrawal, I think. All he wanted to do was lie on the stairs and pet Maggie. Thank goodness Maggie is such a tolerant cat!
The big kids with their pillow pets- Max and Lucy were completely cooperative for these pictures, I'm not sure why they look so miserable. Rudy was dragged away from the cat for this picture, so he decided to be goofy for the pictures.
Charlie checking out the presents.
A rare moment where all three big kids are sitting.
The handsome toothless biggest kid.
The usually very happy to comply with pictures girl making a silly face.
A rare nice smile from the crazy boy.
Paige taking it all in. She tolerated all the noise and chaos much better this time than at Thanksgiving. Maybe she's finally getting used to us!
Max got a dance game for his Wii. So the kids tried it out.
And then some of the grown ups gt involved. It was fun.
I don't have any pictures on my camera, but there was a little sibling rivalry contest between me and my brothers doing Kung Fu Fighting. It's amazing how little it takes to become a kid not wanting to be beaten by her brothers. I ended up in third place - I think one of both of them cheated somehow. :)
And then e took our annual group picture. Next year, we are going to do the pictures first - before the kids open any presents - to ensure they are more cooperative! The pictures, after several attempts, really turned out pretty good.
I don't know why I thought we should push it and attempt a family photo, but obviously I should have known better.
And after sitting for all the family pictures, Lucy wanted to play photographer for a while. These all turned out really good. I left out the one that ended up being just Renee's shirt and not her face. :)
As always, it is great to get together with everyone, and the kids had a lot of fun together (lately it's a crap shoot which way it goes), so it was a fun family day of chaos!
Lucy opening her pillow pet.
Lucy helping Paige.
Lucy barely finished opening hers while Rudy begins his.
Rudy relaxing between openings and reading one of his new superhero books.
Lucy watching Max and waiting for her next turn.
Strawberry "cortcake"!
Rudy was so happy to get two new 'coloring pads", as he calls them These are the Magna Doodle pads that you write and erase on. These were replacements for ones he's had for a long time. He uses them all the time. The little one is great for car rides and the big one for more elaborate drawings at home.
Lucy trying to figure out if Grandpa's gift has any interest to her.
Rudy getting some cat time with Maggie. Since Mario died, he doesn't have a cat to play with- Smokey won't let him within five feet of her, so he's been going through withdrawal, I think. All he wanted to do was lie on the stairs and pet Maggie. Thank goodness Maggie is such a tolerant cat!
The big kids with their pillow pets- Max and Lucy were completely cooperative for these pictures, I'm not sure why they look so miserable. Rudy was dragged away from the cat for this picture, so he decided to be goofy for the pictures.
Charlie checking out the presents.
A rare moment where all three big kids are sitting.
The handsome toothless biggest kid.
The usually very happy to comply with pictures girl making a silly face.
A rare nice smile from the crazy boy.
Paige taking it all in. She tolerated all the noise and chaos much better this time than at Thanksgiving. Maybe she's finally getting used to us!
Max got a dance game for his Wii. So the kids tried it out.
And then some of the grown ups gt involved. It was fun.
I don't have any pictures on my camera, but there was a little sibling rivalry contest between me and my brothers doing Kung Fu Fighting. It's amazing how little it takes to become a kid not wanting to be beaten by her brothers. I ended up in third place - I think one of both of them cheated somehow. :)
And then e took our annual group picture. Next year, we are going to do the pictures first - before the kids open any presents - to ensure they are more cooperative! The pictures, after several attempts, really turned out pretty good.
I don't know why I thought we should push it and attempt a family photo, but obviously I should have known better.
And after sitting for all the family pictures, Lucy wanted to play photographer for a while. These all turned out really good. I left out the one that ended up being just Renee's shirt and not her face. :)
As always, it is great to get together with everyone, and the kids had a lot of fun together (lately it's a crap shoot which way it goes), so it was a fun family day of chaos!
Lucy's outfit looks even more ridiculous in pictures (if that is even possible!). I will be sure to spike their juice boxes with Benadryl before next year's group pictures to tame the kiddies...they did turn out great though considering the drama beforehand.
ReplyDeleteLook like such a great time!!
ReplyDelete