Love my kids....

One thing that I must say is that I love observing my kids - when they play, talk or just interact with each other. It is refreshing to see them get along and to take comfort in the fact that they will likely "be there" for each other when they are older.

Our "baby" is now fully potty-trained. It took less than a week, but she is even dry at nights. I think that this is partially due to the support and encouragement of her older siblings - they make such a big deal out of the fact that she is a "big girl" and she LOVES to impress them!


Yesterday was such a fun day for the kids - having the whole week off of school is fun, but paired with new Christmas gifts - what else can be better? I loved watching the two younger ones playing "grocery store/house" - they had food and boxes all set up on one of the couches in the family room and would "shop" and then go "home" and pack away all of the groceries into their little cupboard and then start all over again (sometimes making lunch in between!). They also got out their little cash register to "ring up" their purchases once the 8 year old daughter decided to join in too. What fun! :)

We have one more planned Christmas party - this Saturday. I can't wait - I LOVE giving gifts and this year is no exception - so much thought goes into each gift and I can't wait to see my nieces and nephew tear into it all, although I must admit that it's getting a bit harder for the older ones (17, 15 and 14!!) where as the 5 and 1 year old are still pretty simple. My mom and dad are always pretty easy, as are my brother and sister-in-law. Glad too, that it's not at my house this year - my sister-in-law graciously decided to host, so I don't have to worry about cleaning -YAY! Today I found some great clearance plates, napkins and cups that I picked up so we don't have so many dishes to do - should be a great time!

Last weekend was my dad's family Christmas (again, at my brother's house) and was loads of fun. Some of the aunts, uncles and cousins I ONLY get to see then. The kids got totally spoiled and love their gifts! Again, so thankful that my girls can share - they wanted a Littlest Pet Shop set (over $30) and got it - they are so well-behaved that they didn't even open the package until we got home - but I DID get some pretty good pictures of them all crowded around the box, peering in!! :)