Back with Lots of Pictures!

Hello all! We're back, ready to tackle the piles of post-Christmas and post-vacation clutter that have infiltrated our home. I decided to make you guys a priority, though, and blog before I get to all of that :) I've got lots of fun events to catch up on, so I'll just start where I left off. Get ready for lots of pictures!

We celebrated cousin Maggie Beth's birthday on December 16 at her house. Christa LOVES her cousin Maggie Beth, and they are starting to play together more as they get older. She was so excited for her favorite girl cousin as Maggie Beth opened her birthday presents. Later, we ate at the mall, and the two girls held hands the entire time. It was adorable, and I was so sad I didn't have my camera with me.

Giving Maggie Beth a big hug!

Making a mess out of the Elmo cupcake topper!

Next, we had two very special play dates with some of my college friends. One of my favorite things about Christmas is catching up with people you haven't gotten to see in a while, and seeing our kids play together is the best! Unfortunately, *that* camera is somewhere amongst the large piles of post-holiday clutter mentioned above (I hope). So my dear friends will get their own extra-special post as soon as I find it. (This works out well, actually, because I have a really cute title in mind :)

Anyway, here we are on Christmas Eve, which we spend with my side of the family.

Christa enjoyed helping all of us unwrap our presents! It's true what they say - no presents needed - just boxes to unwrap! (She got all of her toys, anyway, for those of you who were wondering if I decided to return anything from a few posts back. It was a good choice - she got a reasonable amount of new toys and clothes and is having a blast with all of them!)

She seemed to like this fleece pull-over, that was actually a gift to me. Uncle Brandon (my sister, Alicia's husband) helped her try it on.

Here we come to Christmas Day. Funny story here. We have taught Christa some minimal sign language in recent months. Nothing fancy, but enough words to tone down the whining. Well, Cline's brother, Cleve, who is a senior in high school, thought it would be funny to teach my daughter the sign for "poop" one day while I was out doing some Christmas shopping. I returned home to my sweet little girl saying "poop" while making the sign. (For those of you who are interested in teaching your children this amazing trick, the sign consists of wrapping your right hand around your left thumb, and then pulling your thumb out in a swift motion. There is a demonstration available on "Meet the Fockers.") At any rate, both Cleve and my too-young-to-be-corrupted daughter think this is hilarious, and Christa says "poop" while making her version of the sign every time she sees Cleve.... or a picture of Cleve.... or hears Cleve's name mentioned. Then, she proceeds to throw her head back, laughing hysterically.

What does this have to do with Christmas morning, you ask? Well, we got everything set up in the living room where there would be plenty of sitting room. We invited both of our families over to see Christa react to Santa's gifts, and had a room full of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Cameras are rolling, and I am anticipating a beautiful, family Christmas morning with lots of hugging and smiling and tender Kodak moments while my child plays with her new toys in amazement. Everything is perfect, and Cline and I go upstairs to retreive Christa from her room. We carry her down the stairs, excitedly awaiting her response. We get to the living room, and who is the first person she sees? Cleve. And my family Christmas video is now PG rated, because all it shows is my sweet daughter saying and signing "poop" multiple times! (We now officially call Cleve "Uncle Poop").

Here Christa is making the sign.

Christa was excited, but didn't know what to think of everyone watching her.

Later, at Cline's parents, she got this great toy! It plays music and was a big hit!

The day after Christmas we left for the beach with Cline's family. The trip was a much-appreciated Christmas present from his grandparents. We had a great time, and Christa enjoyed playing some football with her uncles.

Also, her 18-month birthday was on December 28, so I had the good fortune to get some beach pictures for this occasion!

And now I'm off to go put some order to my house and figure out my new Hoover floor mate that Santa left for me! I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope 2009 brings many good things to us all!