Christmasing about

as i'm sure most all of you have,

we've been busy.
but do you remember that Christmas is celebrated 2 days in a row in this family? 2 Christmas eves, two Christmas days, and 2 very long days of sleepless babes.
i'm not complaining..
but yessiree... it is heavy duty in this family.
and because of that i like to pretend i feel more tired than you all this week.
:)
does that work for you?

so onto some of the events...

let's see..

.santa came.
somehow, someway, despite many a hefty threat, minie waddled her way on to the nice list, and well poppy by default remains good and snug there at minimum, until her second birthday.
our house seems just the tiniest (largest) bit smaller now, and all the festivities, excitment, skipped naps, steady diet of cookies, candy canes, and whatever else this seemingly careless parent approved their children to ingest have left the girls ( and me)
with a lovely virus of some type or other.
truly though, i think almost everyone would agree it has been worth it.
Christmas really is magical.

.this was our first Christmas staying at our house and we loved it.
it was so incredibly fun waking up to our own tree with presents skirted about. minie was more than a little miffed that santa ate her cookies she left for him the night before.. but soon nearly forgot all, once she discovered the pony he left in lieu of the nibbled cookies.
that girl...
.poppy louise adores her new chair, and crawled right to it as soon as she made her way down the stairs. as long as she has that, she doesn't much mind when minie claims all the other gifts as her own,
and i am just trying to enjoy this probably one year that will be the case.
.dustin's parents spoil the girls rotten.
i'm pretty sure they way out did our own gift giving to the girls... and well.. i remind you yet again how limited the space in our home is now feeling.
.there was also lots of play time with cousins on both sides,
and i know that more than anything was the girl's favorite thing about this year.
my parent's house is a zoo when we all get together... add the christmas crazy to that mix,
and well... it's sheer chaos.
but i wouldn't have it any other way.

the following pictures are in no particular order. i had intentions of organizing something pretty, but then quickly realized i has close to 15 pictures to upload..
and well, this is what you get.
merry christmas

stole this from my mom's blog.
seems to be the only family shot we've had this entire holiday season.

aren't these cute cousins?

loving poppy's intense stink eye here..
goes to show she does actually mind minie's constant jabs, and steals.

"charlie boy" the pony.
lovingly named by mins herself.

note to self: forget big expensive gifts next year.
the $12.99 princess styling kit is all minie has really cared to play with.

somehow kennan always sneaks my camera and captures something truly beautiful.
christmas night produced this...
her right foot is the 8th wonder of the world.
obviously.

and *phew*...
were done.

it feels nice to be closing 2009. it has been a hard year. a growing year.
i think i feel a stop to some of those growing pains,
and i anxiously await the arrival of 2010.
yet, i still feel like i can close this year with a smile.
and i am grateful.