MN Christmas (part 3)

Lucas was slightly interested in opening presents...he wanted to eat the wrapping paper.

It was fun to watch Breck and Cullen open gifts...very different approaches, but they both enjoyed it.

After a little break, Lucas had a lot more fun hanging out and opening presents.

He also got really good at taking things out of the box.

Here he's staying thank you to everyone for the wonderful gifts of clothes and toys.

I love Breck's response here...

The Pearce family Christmas 2012 photo...what a special group of people. :)

MN Christmas (part 2)

Brent brought over some of his old toys that Breck & Cullen were totally impressed by.

Lucas cheesing it up.

Lucas had his tougue out of his mouth more than he did this week...occasionally it was cute. Thankfully that phase has passed.

Lucas playing with Great-grandpa & grandma Johnson.

A great shot of Nathan & Shawn...they were the center of the party.

Lucas reaching out to great-grandpa.

Breck & Lucas with Grandpa Pearce...just hanging out.

Mommy trying to get a puckered-lip kiss from Lucas...it didn't happen. :)

Grandma/Mom reading to a few of her boys.

Lucas in front of the tree.

Lucas is in winter gear preparing for this first snow experience. He wasn't thrilled out it.

What a sad face.

But once he had someone to play with...the snow and cold became more fun.

The Pearce grandkids.

And the annual family pictures...Brent & Courtney...great shot!

Stacy & Steve...another nice picture.

The Burns family...good looking group.

Our family.

Grandpa & Grandma with the grandkids.

MN Christmas (part 1)

We were fortunate enough to spend a little over a week visiting family this holiday season. We started in MN and then went to MO. After an 11 hour drive, we were thankful to be out of the car for a few days; the winter storm really hit Iowa.

Our first day in MN, we had lunch with Lori and Haydyn (her oldest). I remember when Haydyn was Lucas' size...and it doesn't feel like it was all that long ago.

I was also surprised to see how much Lucas enjoyed play with Mazie. With my fear of dogs, I was nervous Lucas might be a little unsure of them but it was the complete opposite...he loved her. But really, Mazie is a great dog...a good one to introduce Lucas to.

Cullen was serious about something here...love this face.

On Sunday before Christmas we went out to Hutch to visit the Pearce family. Here is Grandma with the great-grandkids. I don't think I had one with everyone looking in the same direction.

A cute shot of Cullen and Lucas.

Lucas with Grandpa Pearce...he was a happy boy with all the people around.

And here are the grandkids with Grandma Pearce.

...and my sisters/brother & in-laws with Grandma.

Santa

We decided to take Lucas to see Santa as he likes facial hair and hats. Luckily we were right...he did well. A lot better than one of my first interactions with Santa - sorry uncle Nut. Here are Nathan and Lucas as we reached the front of the line.

Lucas was a little unsure of what to think...but as long as he saw daddy he did just fine.

But he got a little nervous, so he put his head down...

and then realized he was ok and flashed a smile.

And once Santa got him turned around, he could admire the great white beard. So cute!

And finally, here Lucas is in the winter wonderland.

He's a curious dude.

Holiday party

We had a few friends over before heading out for Christmas. The Heusers, Obalils, Gentrys, and Clevelands joined us for dinner. I had fun snapping a few pictures of the kids playing. It's so fun to see the kids grow and interact.

Lucas looking at Harper who's looking at me while Campbell (Cam) does her own thing.

Cam & Lucas considering giving me a smile.

Nora...just chillin.

Cam giving a serious face.

First attempt at a group picture.

A few more of the kids looking in the direction of the camera.

A few smiles...

Cam & Nora's weak attempts at smiling for me.

Logan watching his sister to figure out what's going on and what he should be doing.

Logan being a little monkey.

We have many fun gatherings to look foward to...and to see how quickly these little ones grow up.

2013

Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful time during the holiday season with family and friends and that 2013 is off to a great start for you. We were blessed to have a fantastic time seeing many wonderful people. It will take a while for me to sort through the hundreds of pictures taken in the last couple of weeks, but I'll get caught up at some point. :) Blogger has also changed how I upload photos, so I need to figure things out. Sorry you need to wait on new photos.