Merry Christmas!

Kids thankfully slept in till 8:00am! Ryan said he woke up at his usual 6:30am wake up call, but willed himself back to sleep. The kids were so excited to dig in! I could barely keep up taking pictures. They went through their piles of presents before Ryan or I opened one of ours!

Cannon's highlight was the Toy Story toys. He has carried all of them throughout the house. What an armful!

Brenna got a Baby Alive, an MP3 player (don't tell her its not an iPod!), fashion design stuff, etc. She kept saying "This is the best Christmas ever!!!" I would have to agree... until Cannon and Brooklyn got so sick!

Brooklyn's highlight was her little car. Whenever we would go to someone's house who had one, she would spend all of her time in it. Now, she moves around the house in style!

I love this picture of her with her mullet and hat! She is such a doll! Both Brooklyn and Cannon got a stomach bug. So after opening all the presents, they unloaded their stomach contents into the empty boxes.

Ryan and I enjoyed our Christmas as well! Ryan's big news is he GOT A PROMOTION! I'm so proud of him! Technically, he shouldn't be eligible for one until he's been there 3 years, but they couldn't deny he deserved it! I was also excited about one of my last minute finds, I got him/us a ballroom swing dance lesson package!!! We will have some fun date nights to look forward to! And Ryan got me a sewing machine! I have been interested in getting one, hoping that I am not naturally a horrible seamstress! But I am excited for some new projects!

Hope you had a great Christmas! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

I made the Cameron family traditional homemade Chicken Noodle Soup and enjoyed having Ryan's parents over! Afterwards we made a gingerbread house.

Brooklyn wanted to be every part of this activity as possible! Brenna was the director, coordinated every part of the construction!

Cannon feeling a little under the weather, so he sat with Grandma.

The final product!

Of course they opened Christmas pajama's. They were so excited to open a present early.

Brooklyn is the present!

I love all the kids freshly bathed and in new pajamas. They were so excited for Christmas morning, so they were anxious to go to bed. So were we...., so we could get everything ready!

I toot on you!

I have been thinking about stages of life. For the first 20 years, its called selfish. Really, you don't have to worry about anyone elses needs but your own. Currently, I've stollen two phrases I hear frequently from Cannon as titles for this stage of life we're in.

"I Toot On You!"

and

"I'm talking at you Mom!"

You can guess the meaning behind the first. During our sweet cuddling sessions, Cannon will without fail let a loud one fly and proclaim "I toot on you!" This is a great description of the constant yuck I have to deal with. Diapers. Messes. Crumbs. Toys. Sticky faces and fingers. No matter how much I pick up, tidy, scrub and clean, I am surrounded by yuck! Hence, the title "I toot on you".

The next, "I'm talking at you Mom!" is what Cannon says when I am distracted with my many obligations while he is rambling about some toy or movie or a demand for some more sweets. I find his unintended mix-up using the phrase "I'm talking to you!", in actuality more accurately depicts what is going on. My kids talk AT me! Rarely do we have a give and take conversation. Brenna, now 7, is of course growing out of both the "I toot on you" and "I'm talking AT you" stages. She has given me a light at the end of the tunnel. However, I'm afraid that next stage will be "Tears over everything".

What stage are you in?