'Tis the Season

Where have I been all month, you ask? Let's just say we're hoping January is a much healthier month than December has been. If you remember, Maisie's 1st birthday on October 20th was a flop thanks to the stomach flu. So who would have thought that in two months, we would have suffered not one, but two more rounds of the stomach flu. Totally over it! Max started round 2 on December 1st, and it took about two weeks for it to run its course through the entire family. Exactly one week after I was miserably ill in bed all day, Max and Tyler started round 3 when they both woke up in the middle of the night to throw up. And this was on December 22nd - about 8 hours before we were scheduled to leave for South Bend to spend Christmas with Andy's family. We still ended up going and it turned out okay, but it put a slight damper on the holidays (mostly because Andy and I had a never-ending feeling of impending doom). We topped it all off when Maisie barfed just as we pulled up to my friend's house last night for a kid-friendly New Year's Eve party. Happy New Year!

Ok enough moping (it's been a loooooooong month). Here are some pics from Christmas in the Bend! Despite the illness, everyone had a great time and Max and Tyler were really excited about Christmas this year. They really didn't "get it" last year, so this year was so much fun. All month long, anytime someone asked them what they wanted for Christmas, Tyler always said, "Transformers, Transformer Bots, and a Notre Dame football helmet," and Max always said, "Transformers, Transformer Bots, and a Colts helmet." As you'll see below, they got all they asked for and more!

Santa came to visit Nana and Grandpa's house on Dec 23rd! Max and Tyler enjoyed seeing him...

But Maisie did NOT. She completely freaked out and kicked her legs and screamed whenever she got close to him. Pretty funny!

Group shot with Andy's aunt, his cousin & family, his sisters, brothers-in-law, nephew, and of course Nana and Grandpa.

Christmas Eve - Maisie went to church with everyone while I stayed home with sick Max and Tyler.

They took a long nap and pulled through for some present-opening. Max was actually feeling fine that day, but Tyler laid in bed pretty much the entire day.

While we were waiting for everyone to get back from church, Max brought every single present up to me and said, "Mama - who's this one for?" and then he arranged them all on the coffee table. Tyler laid on the floor.

Max, cousin Alex, and Tyler. Alex is 10 months younger than M&T but a few inches taller!

Smiley girl had a spa day and Aunt Katie trimmed her hair and painted her finger nails red!

Maisie and Aunt Kelly

Christmas morning before presents. Tyler, Max, Alex, and outcast Maisie.

Looks like she was happier being the outcast...

Haha!

ND football helmet, jersey, and pants for Tyler!

Max got his Colts helmet, jersey, and pants too.

M&T are currently obsessed with superheroes, as showcased by Iron Man Max...

... and Spider-Man Tyler

After the kids opened all their Santa presents, we had them close their eyes for a special gift from Aunt Katie and uncle Jamie.

Scooters! As Max said, "They're a little wobbly," but I think they will be perfect once spring rolls around.

Story time with Nana before everyone left on Monday. Thanks for a great Christmas, Nana and Grandpa! Hopefully next time we won't bring the plague with us.