Peace out 2009!

Well, after Christmas weekend, the fun continued with some visitors...

Brent and Emily (affectionately called Bent and Emmy) came into town on Tuesday and stayed until New Year's Day. Needless to say, we had a blast. Jackson spent most of his time requesting Emmy to read him books (his first crush perhaps?), and Charlotte could not have enjoyed playing with Brent more if she tried. It was so fun to have them here for several days now that we have a guest room! :) Justin and Tricia joined the fun on Wednesday, so we had a full house and a great New Year's Eve celebration. There was lots of good food, conversation, and story telling. And I will say that I have not stayed up past midnight so many nights in a row in quite some time. I am still recuperating. :) It was worth it though.

Jackson's first haircut (a la kimberly)

train outfit from Nana Kathy (Matt Davis's grandma)

Emily read and read without complaint. :)

B's New Year's Fire

The feast...yes that is 120 nuggets and four large fries...chump change.

Brent chose some delicious sparkling wine

Brent and Emily NYE 2009 (3 years and 1 day married) :)

Justin and Tricia NYE 2009

toasting the New Year

Me and B!

Keeping warm and watching fire works

Now after this week of fun, we packed up and headed to Midland on New Year's Day, for Christmas round 3! We rolled into town in the afternoon and had a yummy late lunch fixed by the marvelous tag team of Grandmother, Grandmommie, and Aunt Brittany. And despite three tired kiddos, we couldn't wait any longer for presents to be opened. So the fun began. I am pretty sure Jackson opened all of his gifts, Charlotte's, and Grandmommie's at least. He is more interested in opening then in playing at this point. Camryn and Charlotte would have eaten all of the wrapping paper if they were allowed, but I guess that is part of the fun of babies at Christmas. We received so many wonderful gifts and several I never saw until we got home due to the crazy baby present opening party we had! It was so much fun hanging out that day and the next. And even though Charlotte decided to stay up until 3:30 am, we all survived! Net, Jim, and Kevin Dean were in town, and that made it extra fun to catch up and visit.

It was a fast weekend, but we always enjoy seeing everyone in Midland and Jackson especially enjoys snuggling with Grandmommie at night. Watching Charlotte and Camryn made me wish we lived closer because they are so funny together. Camryn was teaching Charlotte some of her pulling up and walking around the table moves, so hopefully that will stick. And Charlotte will inevitably teach Camryn how to deal with Jackson over the years. :) I cannot believe that these kids are growing so fast and turning into little people with their own personalities. Precious Camryn is only a few weeks from her first birthday! Time flies is all I can say.

Not sure who is assisting who here. :)

Train hat on and opening his tool set.

almost there

matching dolls!

new socks

perfume for Grandmother

Grandmommie covered in her babies!

This was a crazy year but a good one at that. Charlotte Avery is a sweet gift that I didn't expect or deserve, so that alone makes 2009 precious to me. I realized while we were in Midland that I don't take time to observe her and just kiss her like I did with Jackson. I practically coached him through everything, and she just starts new things seemingly over night without any help from me. She is growing up so fast and sometimes it is nice to just slow down and watch her changing. I guess you could say that is one of my goals for this year. Happy New Year everyone!