we are thankful for all the family we have and even more thankful that most of them live in michigan! we traveled across the state and back, but it was worth all the fun memories and time spent with family and friends.
we kicked off the holidays with a visit to santa in GR, that didn't go as well as we'd hoped. but pretty sure as good as it could with a 2 year old and a 2 month old. beckett did great, sat and looked at the camera...ellington stood with me and did actually tell santa she wanted a doll. we also had a chance to visit with sarah and mark {old college friend & husband}. sarah has never met the kids and now we have 2...wow! it doesn't matter how long it's been since we've seen or talked with one another, it's always like we're back in college.
then we started the christmas celebration with a brunch with the Hostetter side of the family, of course the kids enjoyed a visit from their auntie paulette. beckett and ellington were outfitted as Notre Dame cheerleaders...pom-poms and everything for ellington.
family traditions:
1. christmas eve pj & pizza party
this year we enjoyed sharing our christmas eve tradition with josh's family. auntie paulette, aunt anna, uncle bryan, gram & papa joined the fun. pjs were required!!! elle was so excited to open her new jammies and well beckett crashed early before we had a chance to open his, so he got to open them on christmas morning.
2. undies in the stocking
might be {too much information} but that's what we do, and this year ellington got BIG girl undies. she was so excited she put them on over her diaper. hoping to have just 1 in diapers soon enough.
3. new tradition - family gift
josh picked out a family gift this year...PATRIOT outfits
he is always keeping us decked out in his favorite teams. thanks honey for thinking of a new tradition this year.
4. sibling gifts
ellington went shopping with daddy this year for beckett and got him some trucks, she was so excite for him to open them. and in return he got her a fun new puzzle. we have such a cute video of her opening it and saying "thank you brudther, thank you beckett". love that sweet little voice of thankfulness. she also picked out some bones for tackle at the store. which she forced him to eat all day long. he just wanted to hide them for a later time.
a special little hedgehog for our little hedgie
NYE celebration with friends
this year we a week between family christmas so we enjoyed NYE with some friends. i'm not sure the last time i actually stayed up for midnight, probably college, but this year we chose to celebrate 2011 by sleeping. these days sleep is more important!!
here's a few pics of our little man growing up. he is becoming our smiley boy.
whatcha think dad...quarterback or linemen material??
happy 2011
i know the whites are in matching outfits AGAIN...it was ND bowl game, so it was our last time to sport the jerseys.
grammie found matching outfits for all 9 grandkids...wow, i'm sure that was a full day at the mall finding the right sizes. it was so fun to see all the kids dressed up and enjoying one another. they are all at such a fun age, the little ones try so hard to keep up with the older ones. and surprisingly they don't fight! i'm sure that's coming down the road.
so with 9 kids in one house it was hard to find a time when they were all up from naps and fed. good thing my parents have a big house, we still had a hard time finding enough rooms for naps.
snuggling with grammie
snuggling with grampie and ellington's pillow pet
vogel christmas isn't complete without a few special things...
all the kids got pillow pets this year. it's the latest craze with kids and it was so fun to see the kids get excited about theirs. ellington got a pig and beckett got a dog. what a great idea grammie and grampie.
celebrating baby jesus' birthday, christmas story reading, winter birthday celebration, and game time. this year i brought some fun games from the new hit show "minute to win it".
garrett, beckett and ryan...our dapper little dudes. i can't wait to see these 3 get into trouble as they get older. beckett you're in for a lot of fun with these 2 cousins.
and what's the holidays with out a little JUST DANCE
my sister and i trying out her new zumba wii game from christmas. and yes the jingle skirts are a must. thank you olivia for letting me borrow hers and for documenting this event with plenty of pictures.
and finally...
we stayed an extra day with mom and dad and enjoyed some extra cousin time. ellington's favorite person is josie. she calls josie on her {fake} cell phone frequently and asked to pray for her at lunch, dinner, and bed. josie we love that ellington cares so much for you. we hope your friendship continues to grow as you both grow up. olivia you a great big cousin, spending your sunday afternoon pulling these 2 crazy girls around the house just to keep the giggling.
whew...so there you have it, christmas 2010
we love, love, love the holidays and seeing family. thank you to both of our families for making the holidays such a memorable time.
ummmm. not funny.
ReplyDeletewhat, the picture? at least it's not of our faces.
ReplyDelete