Christmas pictures

Some of you may know that I like to take a lot of pictures, but what you may not know is that apparently it is genetic. In an effort to get the best pictures from Christmas I asked my Mom, Dad and brother if they would share their pics with me also. Well, what I ended up with was a total of 645 pictures between the 4 of us! (Maybe it's an illness?) While it is nice to have that many, (and sometimes necessary to get a good photo of Anabelle) it can be a daunting process to look through ALL of those pictures to sort out the best. Nevertheless, I have done it and here they are for your viewing pleasure :)

We had a fantastic Christmas that spanned days and felt like we were continually eating and opening presents. Anabelle was truly spoiled by our very generous friends and family!

Christmas Eve we hosted John's Dad -Mike, stepmom -Pat, and siblings Abby, Zac, and Joe- along with Joe's girlfriend Kari. We also had my Dad -Mike, Mom -Candis, brother Mikey and his wife Stephanie. It was a full house, and we had a lot of fun!

Anabelle passing out a gift to Uncle Joe.

Opening presents with Aunt Steph and Uncle Mike.

Anabelle is much better at opening presents this year.

Ooh, The Night Before Christmas.

Christmas morning Anabelle was up by 7:30, and ready to see what Santa had brought. My Mom and Dad were already there, they had come over to watch Anabelle open her gifts and Michael and Steph joined us later for breakfast.

Here she is first coming down the stairs.

Santa brought her a "handy dandy notebook" from her favorite show, Blues Clues.

Before opening gifts, Anabelle decided she needed some energy so she had a snack - banana bread.

And took a break to play with her train from the night before.

Then it was time to get down to business, Santa left clues around the house about one of Anabelle's gifts. Here is a paw print clue on her zoo.

Hey another clue on this present!

Look it's Blue!

Anabelle is obsessed with slippers, Grandma Sue and Grandpa Ken sent her some fun new ones.

You can't tell from the pictures, but the mouth on the crocodile opens and closes as she walks!

Look Mom, a bell from Grandma and Grandpa Smith!

Auntie Tish sent Anabelle some new blocks!

Checking out her new book shelf for her bedroom.

Wow an easel with a chalkboard, dry-erase board and paper for painting!

Aunt Marena and Uncle Adam sent a stroller to take all of her babies and stuffed animals for walks.

Testing out the chalk board.

Building legos with Uncle Mike.

She caught on pretty quickly and built this huge house, with some help from Grandpa.

Thanks Dad for cooking a delicious breakfast!

Relaxing on the couch after a fun morning!

After breakfast and some playing, it was time to take a nap. When we were all rested, we headed over to Michael and Stephanie's for some more gifts and a wonderful dinner.

Mikey and Steph had a HUGE tree!

Auntie Steph and Uncle Mike got Anabelle a cupcake making set and an apron, she loves it!

They also gave her a doll crib and high chair for her babies.

Baby Charlotte got her first gift- some matching pj's with her big sis Anabelle!

Sporting our new matching aprons (love that smile on Miss Belle's face!).

Sitting on Grandpa's lap.

Sneaking crackers before dinner.

Yum! Christmas dinner!

Can't forget dessert.

Whew! Are you still with me? Congratulations! You made it though all the pictures :) Hope you all had a Merry Christmas too!