Christmas Day

There is something so wonderfully magical about getting to help Santa and his elves on Christmas Eve. Setting up the toys, arranging the items just so, making sure everything is angled just right for that perfect first glance from the little, awestruck eyes that will soon discover it...it's just pure fun.

I didn't take very many pictures on Christmas Day because I wanted to "be in the moment" more. So, here are the few that I snapped:













These next few pictures were taken Christmas night before and after bath time...

She will probably be mortified by this in a few years, but I couldn't resist taking a picture of her little naked hiney as she played around the Christmas tree :)







Sweet, sweet Molly Ruth. What a blessing she is to our family! Happy Holidays to all of our friends and family. Now, let's welcome a fantastic 2013!

Christmas Cheer

We had a wonderful Christmas season filled with lots of holiday treats, family, friends, and love. Oh, and a nice old man in a red suit snuck into our house one night and left some pretty cool loot, which was a major bonus.

I should mention that Molly Ruth got to meet jolly old Saint Nick for the first time ever this year. Personally, I've never been a fan of people in costume. There's just something unnerving to me about people "in character." I especially don't like it when you can't see the person's real face at all (Yes, I even get a nervous stomach around the characters at Disney, but I'm brave enough to take a picture with them).

But enough about my irrational fears. Let's get back to MR. She did so well! No crying at all and we even got a pretty great shot of the momentous occasion:



Our first official Christmas celebration was on Christmas Eve Eve. We had all of Matt's family over to our house for holiday snacks, gift exchange for the children, and charades. It was our first time hosting a holiday get together and we had a blast!

Opening presents:





The whole group:



Matt, Molly Ruth, Greg (Matt's brother), Katie (Greg's wife), and me:



Our dear friend Molly (Molly Ruth's namesake!) made an impromptu stop on her way in from Memphis and was even able to join us for a few games of charades. It was so nice to see her!



Molly, mom, and yours truly (Sometimes getting MR to cooperate for pictures is a challenge. Imagine that!):

Not quite...



Nope...



Close enough ;)



My sweet mom:









I'll close with some photos of Grandma Marsh and Molly Ruth cleaning together after the party. MR got a play vacuum, mop, broom, etc from her Uncle Greg and Auntie KK. She loves "helping" us clean and Grandma Marsh is loving having a little cleaning apprentice who is eager to learn from the master. ;)









I'll be back soon with a few pictures from Christmas Day!

Trip to Birmingham

On the weekend of December 1st, we all loaded up (Grandma Marsh, Mom, Matt, Molly Ruth, and myself) and drove down to Birmingham for a quick overnight trip to celebrate Mallie Kate's 1st birthday. It was a busy, fun filled weekend!

The weather was warm and sunny (Alabama doesn't care that it's December), which meant that all of the kids (and adults!) gathered outside to play and chat.







My aunt Jill, cousin Tara, Tara's husband Jeff, and their sweet baby, Rachel, drove down for the day from Tennessee to join the fun. I always enjoy my time with them and this particular visit was extra special because it was the first time that we got to meet baby Rachel :) She is a wonderfully happy baby.

Rachel's first time on a swing:





I think it's safe to say that Rachel loved it!







Molly Ruth braved climbing up the playset...







...where she proceeded to have a hilarious impromptu toddler dance party with Hudson. There was lots of stomping, shaking, screaming, bouncing, and laughing.









And then she tried the BIG slide (with daddy's help):



Look at that determination!





I somehow managed to not get a single picture of Mallie Kate's birthday decorations or Mallie Kate in her birthday dress! But, I did try to get a picture of all three cousins in their matching shirts that Aunt Jill got them...





...but MK was partied out.

Rachel, however, was more than willing to sit for a few snapshots ;)







On Sunday morning, Paul and Hilary cooked a nice breakfast and MR and MK got to spend some time playing in their pajamas and acting silly:









Children love Grandma Marsh and her two great granddaughters are no exception.

Happy First Birthday Mallie Kate and thank you to Paul and Hilary for being such great hosts that weekend. We felt right at home (in your beautiful new home!) and really enjoyed getting to have some family time together. It was good for the soul. Looking forward to the next visit!