Batts Family Christmas

Late Christmas afternoon we headed over to Nathan's parents for one last Christmas celebration.  The kids love hanging out with their cousins and it's so nice to enjoy a good meal with everyone.  Here are some pictures from the party!

 

Caroline's first gift was a shopping cart and she spent the rest of the party marching up and down the room with her cart and baby.

Grandpa Batts is a big tickle monster and the boys just love it.  Two against one and I think that Grandpa was still the winner!

Tommy waiting his turn.

Caroline put my diet Coke in the cart and would stop every few minutes to take pretend swigs out of the bottle.  :)

Henry was a little tired for this party, but a little bit of caffine and he started to get a second wind.  It was a marvelous Christmas!  What a fun season!

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning is always a little late at our house since the kids are exhausted from the night before.  This year the boys were up around 8, but we made them wait until their sister woke up to head downstairs.  Sweet Caroline didn't wake up until 9 which made her brothers a little frustrated!  Tommy even took a shower before heading down.  The kids were so excited to see that Santa had come and Tommy is convinced that he heard Santa in the middle of the night.  It was a fabulous morning- the kids are at such great ages for this!

 

Tommy was able to read Santa's letter all by himself this year!

Tommy's reaction to finding the Michigan basketball game ticket that Santa put in his stocking!

Henry opening his stocking.

Caroline opening up her stocking with Daddy's help.

Waiting for her brothers to open presents!

Henry opening his gift from Tommy.

Tommy was cute this year because he was so excited to give everyone the presents that he picked out for them.

Caroline's new toy was a hit with everyone.

Henry trying out the new sleeping bag!

Plaisier Family Christmas

Christmas Eve was spent with my family.  We went over to my parents house in the late afternoon for some appetizers and to open some gifts.  We had a wonderful time with each other and the kids were so excited about opening their gifts!  We headed to the Christmas Eve service at church and then back to my parents' for more presents and dinner!  It was a wonderful night and we had a great time!

 

Pure joy

The boys all got matching bathing suits :)

Caroline and Andrew just hopped from toy to toy- they had so much fun!

Henry showing Caroline how her new toy works.

Caroline with her new pink sink!  This Christmas was fun because we are starting to accumulate some girl toys finally!  This sink has already washed alot of dishes and she has been using it as a makeshift bath for her baby doll :)

The number one item that Henry consistantly asked for this year was a "rockin' guitar with a strap around his neck."  Wish granted :)

 

Brothers

Cousins before church- Tommy (6 1/2), Caroline (16 months), Henry (3 yrs), and Andrew (13 months)

Cousins in their Christmas jammies.  I love how Henry is trying to hold both babies in this picture!

So fun!  Tommy was cute this year because there were some gifts that he opened that left him speechless.  It was as if he couldn't have imagined actually receiving any of the items he had asked for. 

One of Henry's other "must haves" was a Furby.  Too fun!

Santa Visit

Since Santa was taking a break on Saturday night when we tried to visit him we made a stop at the mall on Christmas Eve afternoon.  This picture is truly worth 1000 words.   Caroline stopped breathing for a full minute while the picture was taken and was whimpering for about 15 minutes afterwards.  The boys loved every minute.  Henry asked for a rockin' guitar and an orange motorcycle (Grandpa Batts has an orange motorcyle!) and Tommy gave him an entire list of items all written down along with some questions about his summer and Mrs. Claus.  It was a fun visit (for everyone but Caroline!)

 

DeVries Family Christmas

The Sunday before Christmas Grandma and Grandpa DeVries had everyone over to their house to celebrate.  It was a fun night hanging out with everyone and the kids loved getting a few gifts ahead of all the others.  This was our official kick-off to Christmas and we loved every minute!!

 

Grandpa traditionally organizes the tarp game for Thanksgiving, but decided to wait until Christmas this year in order to have more participants.  Everyone always comes home with some useful items for the house and the kids have fun choosing whatever they want.  Tommy was the director this year which was a large responsibility, but he did his job well!

The elves this year! Henry, Tommy, Victoria and Ella

Caroline showed off a little bit- she's taken up to about 7-8 steps all on her own.

Christmas Anticipation

The Saturday before Christmas we planned a night of fun for the kids.  They are fairly easy to please at their current ages and we had a wonderful night of fun together!

 

The first thing on the agenda was stopping at the mall to visit Santa.  We didn't realize, however, that Santa takes an hour long break in the evening, so we were disappointed and had to promise to visit Santa a different day.  From there we drove to Fricanos to meet some of the cousins for dinner and then to Bronson Park to look at the lights!  I couldn't get the settings on my camera right, so here is the best picture from the park:

 

After the park we drove down Long Street to see the largest display of lights that we've seen anywhere- it was pretty impressive!  And then back home.

Once home the kids changed into jammies for a picture by the tree.

Caroline loves the tree- she sits and gently touches all of the ornaments for long stretches of time.

Then, after putting Caroline to bed, the rest of us snuggled on the couch with some Christmas candy to watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"  It was so much fun!

The boys ready for the movie!

Henry's School Program

The last day of school before break Henry's class had a little Christmas program for the moms and dads in their classroom.  It was so cute to watch all of the little 3 year olds sing their songs and recite their poems.  Henry enjoyed being center of attention!

 

Ready to sing!

Doing the motions (sort of!)

Henry as a Christmas tree ready to be chopped!

Henry's tree being cut down!

Jingle Bells

Caroline insisted on sitting at the table with the big kids for a snack!

Church Christmas Programs

Sunday, December 16 the boys had two programs at church.  Their worship center program was during the morning service and their Sunday School program was at night.  Tommy was a shepherd in both programs and Henry was an angel (who refused to wear a halo).  Tommy took his role very seriously and knew all of the words and motions to the songs.  We were just surprised Henry got up there for both programs- he didn't do too much singing or motions, but he waved alot and during the evening service he decided to turn around and make funny faces at the big kids behind him.  Rumor has it that he was a big hit with the 6th grade boys :)

 

Tommy is in the top row with the yellow shepherd costume.

Henry is in the bottom center.

Tommy the shepherd

My shepherd and my angel :)