Merry Christmas!

We had a busy weekend of Christmas celebrations!

Here are some of our Christmas creations:

Handprint ornaments for the grandparents

Cookies!

On Christmas Eve we went to Grandma and Grandpa Nelson's house, and also visited Great-Grandma.

Enjoying some oatmeal with Grandma Marilyn

Christmas morning

Opening gifts with daddy

What a haul--and this was only our first stop!

Jax enjoyed some snuggles with Maureen

Silly Grandpa Wally

 In the afternoon of Christmas day, we visited Grandma and Papa.

Mmm, bow

New book

Posing in mommy's old rocking chair with Gus, the world's most photogenic dog

 On the 26th, we went to Great Aunt Amy and Great Uncle Rich's house for another big family celebration.

Evelyn with her Grandma Jean, and baby Morgan with her Grandma Amy

2nd cousins :)

 Our family has been blessed with a baby boom of little girls! Below are Morgan (born in September), Evelyn (born in June), and Stella (born in November 2010)

Someone got all 3 babies' attention-no small feat!

Examining one another...

Stella lets us know we are all done with pictures.

 Finally, we returned home and opened one last gift from Ann, who owns the condo we are renting.

Phew! We loved seeing everyone and Evelyn is so lucky to have received all her wonderful gifts. Now we just need a little time to recuperate from all the holiday fun :)

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Evelyn has a blast at bath time! She has long since graduated from baths on the kitchen counter, and has discovered that it's pretty fun to sit up in her little tub. 

Mmm, comb! Tastes prickly.

She also loves looking at her cute self in the mirror, and after a bath is the ideal time to catch up on some self-admiration.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Christmas season is upon us! Here's how Evelyn has been preparing for her first big holiday...

We visited St. Nicholas at the Lincoln Square Christkindl Market. Evelyn was most cooperative.

On the 10th we celebrated an early Christmas with some of Daddy's extended family. Evelyn got a few fun new toys and some new clothes.

Yesterday we decorated our tree! Evelyn decided it was nap time, but she was quite pleased to find a newly decorated tree when she woke up.

And.... coming to a mailbox near you is Evelyn's first Christmas card! Here's a little preview from our photo shoot:

This one didn't make the card, but hopefully it made you smile :)

Bouncy Bouncy!

Here's how Evelyn keeps her girlish figure :)

Chatterbox

Here's a video of Evelyn doing one her favorite things: sitting in her bumbo, talking, and arranging her toys.

Half-Birthday

Evelyn turned 6 months old yesterday! At her doctor's appointment she weighed 18lbs 6oz, and was 27 inches long.

Evelyn loves babbling and singing, and has almost gotten the hang of sitting up. She continues to dislike the idea of rolling over, although she did manage to roll back to belly once while we weren't looking. Evelyn also loves snatching mommy's glasses off her face, as well as grabbing and trying to devour the forearm of anyone who is changing her diaper. She's also quite the smoocher!

Here are some of her 6 month shots with Snoopy... we know the sun dress is not exactly December-wear, but we couldn't resist showing off those arms and legs :)