Us Ives: December 2011

We LOVE Christmas! The following photos are from Christmas day only ... We have a lot more I want to post, but I need to get them from other people (like the people who actually remember to bring their cameras when we need them!). In the meantime, here is an incomplete collection of Christmas 2011:

Anderson has been such a good boy, and accordingly, Santa came! Anderson was excited to see his gifts (or as excited as a 6 month old gets, I would guess). There was some smiling and reaching and arm-waving. Ryan and I were both thrilled :). (We have plenty of video, too!)

"I wanna hippopotamus for Christmas"

Anderson really liked this one because the baby in the mirror was sooo good looking!

The boys are excited to haul things in Anderson's new wagon!


The race track was from mommy and daddy; the rest were presents from Santa :)

Christmas Eve, we had spent time with Nannie and Papa. We visited Santa (like I said, more photos to come!), and Anderson got to open a lot of great presents. We were all especially excited about this...

Anderson loves it; perfect for a baby boy who's eager for more and more independence. And now that we've stored the pool table at my parents' house, Ryan's man-cave is all set to double as a playroom with space for Anderson's new toys. Good thing Anderson's totally worth it.

We finished Christmas in Montpelier with Grandma, Grandpa, and Great-grandma. It was a quiet day, and we were all very happy to be together. There's never been a doubt, but Anderson is one well-loved and lucky boy!

Needless to say, this year Thanksgiving took on a whole new meaning. The 2 1/2 extra days at home were sweeter, seeing family meant more, even the turkey seemed tastier (let alone the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli casserole, chocolate pecan pie.... where was I?). I've never been so thankful!

Wednesday was a half-day at school, and it is always one of the happiest school days of the year. The kids were happily productive in the morning, so I sat at the art table and made Thanksgiving cards for Anderson's grandparents. Once I got home, he helped me finish them by adding a handprint turkey and this photo:

Oh, the dimples!

Thursday started quietly. Anderson and I got up and had a lovely morning. Daddy was awake to hang out before too long.

At 1:00 we went to the Hammitt's house for the big Parker family Thanksgiving. We're estimating about 35-40 people were there; more little ones each year! We got to spend time with most of Ryan's aunts, uncles, and cousins, and of course Anderson's Nannie, Papa, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Anderson met his great-uncle and great-aunt Jerry and Kathy for the first time, as well as quite a few cousins. This was a good warm-up for the Christmas festivities to come!

Nannie and Anderson (matching)

Anderson and Papa

Nannie with her littlest grandson, Toby

I swear none of these guys were paying me any attention (football was on) when I wanted to take their picture, and yet amazingly they all smiled at the same time. A Thanksgiving miracle. :)

Meredith, me, Casey

After lots of hugs, we headed on to Montpelier for Thanksgiving with the Hardens (Kinderknechts and Cassons, too!) Anderson got to be with his Aunt Lauren and Uncle Kyle for only the second time; they met him back in August. They couldn't believe how chubby he'd become :). I think Kyle said that his chin was putting up a good fight, but his cheeks were taking over- ha.

Chris, Sarah, and Liam were there, along with Chris' parents, my Aunt Mollie and Uncle Tim. I had really been looking forward to seeing Mollie and Tim, and I was eager for them to meet Anderson. The newly one-year-old Liam was sweetly interested in the baby. He was also eager to show us all how good he is at finding his belly button (which he is about to show off in the picture below.)

Ryan and my second feast of the day! We wish we'd worn my maternity pants. ;)

Friday after Thanksgiving, Anderson and I took Daddy out to lunch after meeting the crew at his new branch. Then my sweet boy and I headed over the river and through the woods back to Grandma's house to hang out with everyone. It was a beautiful (!!) day, and we all spent our time on the patio with a fire burning in the fire pit. Liam and Tim did some exploring and visited the miniature animals, but the rest of us were pretty happy to stay put.