Fun with the Falcos

  The Falcos came and stayed with us on their way to and from Las Alamos NM.   We are their "half way house" from Dallas to New Mexico. Chris and I have secretly been sending Gian's resume around Lubbock so they will have to move here.

As soon as they got here Caroline and Sam played in the floor.  Caroline is pulling up on things to stand up so when she used Sam he said "baby Caroline is pushing me."

She thought Sam was was pretty cool and wanted to play with whatever he was playing with. Sam even shared his cars. 

After the babies went to bed we stayed up way too long planning our next adventure.  More on that later.

The Falco gave Caroline her first birthday present.  It was a minnie mouse onsie with a red & white poke-a-dot skirt. I can't wait till she fits into it.  She was very excited to open a present & has been playing with the bag all day. We can't wait to see them again.

Santa Came to the Prathers

Leah was worried we were going to forget about all the present under the tree so she asked several times about when they were going to get opened.  Every time she asked we would say 4:00.  Nana, worked hard to make sure the snacks were ready.

  Stephanie and Kelley make 2 desserts the night before -the chocolate chip salted carmel bars were my favorite. We took a family picture first before the chaos ensued. We started opening presents around 4:30. Leah went first and open her present from Caroline.  Caroline bought Leah a barbie golf cart so her barbies could travel around in style.  Luke has been taking Leah golfing this year so Leah will know how to teach her barbies.  Next Lane went, he opened up little kid Legos.

Caroline opened up her gift from Nana & Papaw.  It was a little house- Just her size. She got a little fussy until we opened a present she could chew on.

Look at those beautiful eyes

Leah got a my twin doll & matching outfit from Nana & Papaw.

Caroline and Lane seem to be attracted to the same toys. Lane got a wack-a-mole toy that the babies shared back and forth.  The other hit of the night was a lion toy Mimi gave Caroline that sang "In the Jungle".  All 3 kids loved watching it and dancing to the music.

I got an entry way table from Stephanie & Luke that I have been looking for since I moved to lubbock.  Nana & Papaw gave me a lamp for the top of it. They are very generous to Luke & I. Even though we are not their kids by blood they still treat as family. Caroline is so blessed to be born into such an amazing family.

Christmas Morning

Caroline woke up early for Santa around 6:00am. The girl is a serous morning person.  Lolly was amazing and took her to play until everyone else got up.  It was the greatest gift I could ask for- Sleeping in-.

Caroline opened up Lolly & Granddad's toy first.  She finally started getting this tearing wrapping paper part down.

 It was an activity walker.  We opened it immediately knowing she would play with it right away. We have this hilarious video of her standing in one place while the walker starts to to move out from under her. She makes an excited squeal when Lolly catches her as if to say, "Lets do that again!"

My parents also got her "The Night Before Christmas"  When Caroline opened it up it was Lolly reading it to her.  What a special gift.  She also got some 18m clothes & the Disney movie Brave.

Chris drinking coffee to get the day started.

Caroline helped open a present from Dondi.  The Las Vegas mouse pad was a huge hit- good for chewing.

Jacee got Caroline some tiny Toms that just about the cutest things you will every see. Even the box was adorable.  

A Christmas tradition at the Carter house- Decorating ginger bread cookies.  I always make mine look like cartoon characters.  Chris put time into his pan & added lots of details.  Jacee got a head start and made 2 pans to our 1.

Another Christmas tradition- Play board games till someone gets tired or mad.  This year it was tired.  We played skip bo till late in the night.  I don't know why but I love this game maybe because I played it for hours with Jacee when she was in the hospital & even when she came home. 

It was a fun Christmas!

Christmas Eve Breakfast

I love Christmas Traditions.  The Prathers have some of the best!  One of the longest in their family is Christmas eve breakfast.  Mimi said at one time it really was in the morning around breakfast time but it has slowly evolved in to lunch as the kids got older.

Mimi has special pig plates that come out once a year.

On the menu:

Dog mush (sausage swirls)

Breakfast Casserole

French loaf

bear bran muffins

There is hot chocolate to drink with a ginger bread marshmallow in the middle

 Caroline loved the Dog Mush.  I was a little concerned because the sausage had green chillis in it and was a little spicy. She didn't seem to mind - maybe living so close to New Mexico she has developed a taste for it. Dog Mush is Chris's favorite too. Christmas breakfast is his most favorite tradition.

All the kids enjoyed playing with Mimi's snow globe.  It was plastic and played Jingle Bells. So naturally they kept taking it away from each other and putting in their mouthes.

Tea with the Girls

On Saturday night Mimi invited all the girls (& Lane) over for tea and sandwiches.  Chris, Luke & Ricky went to Arlington to watch football state finals. They sent us updates throughout the day.  They even ate at Texas De Brazil -one of Chris's favorite restaurants.  

We made our way to Mimi's house & she had some surprises for us.  Leah got a party dress and high heels that she insisted on wearing immediately.  The babies were happy with a Rudolph nose that flashed.  It made the rest of us dizzy but they loved it.

The tea was made out of apple juice and red hots.  It was delicious. Mimi said she has been making this during Christmas for a long time.   It's just neat  that Leah will remember it as "tea".

How Caroline Opens Presents

We opened family presents on Thursday before we left for all our family festivities. Caroline was really funny opening her gifts.

She had help from her daddy.  The wrapping must have tasted good because she kept eating it. Once the mirror toy was out of the wrapping she loved it! It was loud, and had lights and had pieces to chew on.

 Her daddy has been buying Disney movies through out the year as they come out of the vault. She also got some much needed bath toys. After all the fun we used her new bath toy in the bath. Then we put on Christmas jammies, read Jolly Ole Saint Nicholas & went to bed. What a fun first family Christmas.