Christmas fun

I know I'm late getting these up -- we've all seen plenty of Christmas pictures -- but try to enjoy them anyway. We had, as usual, a great time in St. Louis. It's always fun to be there. The kids loved playing with their older-aged (23, 19, 17) cousins and their younger-aged (3,1) cousins. Their aunts and uncles were kind and attentive too. St. Louis is a great city to play in and we never run out of things to do. In fact, there were 2-3 things on our list we didn't even get to. Guess we'll have to go back soon. The kids did really well on the drive home, and pretty well on the drive there. Thank goodness for snacks, a minivan, and a DVD player with two screens. I thought it might be hard to have a baby in the car with us, but Kara did great. She is so easy to please and has a mellow personality thus far. I think she's having holding withdrawl, since grandma, cousins, and aunts aren't picking her up at every turn, but she'll adjust.

Now things are in full swing for the new year. We bought Kyle a suit today for his interviews. Those will probably start at the end of January. This week Kara started on rice cereal. I think her 18 pound body requires more than just milk. She's taken to it like a pro. She hasn't taken to sleeping 7-8 hours straight like a pro, but I should have her back on her schedule in a day or two. Until them, I'm feeling kind of tired. School starts Monday for the kids and I can't wait! I have lots to do and it's too tempting to just drop it all when they're home. Never fear, though, they're next vacation is in seven weeks, and they have two holidays off between now and then.
The internet is being positively slow uploading the rest of my pictures, so I will post them another day. Have a great weekend!

Amy

PS -- Day 4 of my holiday detox. Going well so far, but as I was watching Kyle munch on candy tonight so nonchalantly I really wanted a treat. But I am already feeling better, even though I'm not getting much sleep, and I think my no treat diet is the reason. I'll just stockpile my chocolate for later, right? I did discover Chocolate Chex. Only 8g of sugar per serving, and a nice cocoa dusting on some of the Chex. Is that cheating?


The kids in front of Scott and Jill's grand tree. So cute, huh? Pretend you got this picture for our Christmas cards.


Hayden, Jillian, Connor, and Sydney act out the nativity story on Christmas eve. Not pictured: Kyle as the donkey and Kara as baby Jesus. They must have been in makeup or wardrobe getting ready.

Kara's first Christmas! The kids were disappointed for her that her stocking wasn't very full. I don't think she minded one bit.


My best gift -- a kiss from my cute husband. He is so against kissing in public. Is this public?


The girls after three hours of present opening -- why are we still smiling??