The snow started just about midnight, so we barely missed having a white Christmas. This was our first significant snow and we all went outside to remove/enjoy it. Jimmy used the snow blower on the driveway and I shoveled while Parker just ran around and pushed his sled.
Parker was very interested in the snow blower. He watched Jimmy go up and down the driveway very intently.
Once the thrown snow got closer he would try to run away from it.
He also loved making a mess of the bigger piles we made.
He is finally being a bit helpful. He got a shovel two years ago for Christmas and is finally starting to use it.
It was a great day to be outside and more snow is coming this week! Stay warm and safe wherever you are!
I ended up falling asleep snuggling with Parker on Christmas Eve and Jimmy got a great picture!
We woke up about 7:30 Christmas morning and Parker was still snoozing. He just wanted to sleep a bit longer and was not ready to wake up!
We opened a couple presents at home, then headed over to my parents for the day.
We opened presents once everyone arrived. Parker still doesn't understand the concept, but had fun playing with the Hot Wheels box!
Everyone was so generous, especially to Parker and baby girl!
Baby girl even got Jimmy and I gifts, in the form of adorable outfits for her to wear. I can't wait to dress her up!
Our nephews loved all their gifts as well!
The boys had fun playing while we finished getting dinner (noon meal) ready.
Prime rib has become our entree of choice and it was served with green bean casserole, mac and cheese, roasted baby red potatoes, pasta salad and buns!
My brother's family had another gathering to get to, but we were able to snap a few photos before they left. Here is the whole clan!
4 generations of "Buxtons."
Parker has been loving the kitchen sink at my parents lately! My mom has been pulling up a stool to let him help. Unfortunately, he loves to turn the water on. It is easiest to pull the handle forward, which is hot! We have to be very good at watching, so he doesn't get burnt.
We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging and easting dessert. I have mentioned how much Parker loves going in the hot tub while over there. My dad stepped out the back door (where the hot tub is) to flick off a bug. Parker saw this and immediately started taking of his shirt. He just assumed it was hot tub time! Nana was kind enough to go out with him for a while.
I hope you all had a great Christmas, ours was the best!
The Christmas fun continued earlier this week with Secret Santa, potluck, and ugly sweater contest at work. All the secret Santa participants filled out surveys to help with gifts. I got a big jug of Arnie Palmer and KitKats on the first day!
Then got a great big box full of cute stuff for baby girl! This was the first girl stuff we have gotten, so I was pretty excited! She will be one cute little munchkin!
I went a bit simpler with this years sweater, just a basic reindeer (you can see last year's here.) I had some brown terry cloth lying around and made the eyes and mouth with felt. The nose is a round piece of felt I stuffed with scraps. I cut the antlers out of cardboard and covered them with felt as well.
The potluck was a winner as well and there were plenty of lower carb options to fill me up.
Lauren won this year with here sequined wonder!
My grandma and Larry couldn't make it up last year due to the weather, but did make it this year. We stopped at my parents briefly on Wednesday night to pick up Parker because my mom had watched him while I worked. We also got a chance to visit with my Grandma and Larry.
We invited them over for breakfast on Christmas Eve, as we have done in the past. It was great to have some time to visit with just us.
We headed to the hospital after lunch to visit Grandpa Herrmann. They had a great potluck put on by families of the patients, which was delicious! Parker also had a good time lounging!
After church we headed to my parents house for soup and games! Soup was the traditional Christmas Eve meal for my dad's side before we switched to a January celebration. My parents neighbors had a free night, so they stopped by too.
We had a full day of Christmas celebration on Sunday. We celebrated with Jimmy's immediate family over lunch, then headed to his aunt and uncle's to celebrate with his dad's side. I had some pretty dapper looking dudes!
Jimmy's dad is still in hospital, so it was a bit strange not to have him there. He always gives the best blessings and prayers before we eat and I really missed it.
The food was delicious as always. Ham and brisket were the main entrees with lots of sides and desserts!
The kids had a blast playing together for a bit before we opened gifts.
I didn't get a ton of pictures from gifts because I was filming most of it for Jimmy's dad.
As always, the gifts were so generous! Parker and I headed over to our next Christmas, while Jimmy headed home. He had been dealing with a mild stomach bug and just wanted to rest. It ended up being a small group since 3 of the other guys were also sick! Both Jimmy's mom's and dad's side Christmases ended up being at the same night. We decided to go to this one, his mom went to the other one and one of his sisters made a quick stop at both. It was mainly just Jimmy's two uncles, a bunch of women and 4 cute little boys!
They are getting to a very fun (and rambunctious) age. Hope you have some great holiday plans with your families too!
