Just Us Christmas Morning (and our "almost" picture-perfect night!)

We had a blast with the whole family for Crossley Christmas, but since everyone needed to leave Christmas Eve we spent Christmas Day as JUST US... the Tolmans. It was fun being our own little family and opening gifts with our baby girl.

Decorating the Christmas Tree Adventure

       Go back a few weeks and I'll tell you ALL about decorating the family tree. Trav & I had a Hallmark image of how this event would go- we'd drink hot chocolate, listen to Christmas carols, Annabelle would happily put each decoration safely on the branches, and the family bonding would be overwhelmingly beautiful. We were dreaming right? Now take that picture and think the exact opposite! Okay that's a bit dramatic... you can keep the family bonding because Trav & I laughed most of the night at how far we were from our "dream night!" 

        Annabelle was throwing ornaments across the room, unplugging the lights, refusing to eat dinner, ripping open the fake presents on the tree-- happy one minute, in time-out 2 minutes later! Let's just say our picture-perfect night ended with a huge sigh of relief after our munchkin was asleep;)  

Christmas Morning

       Fast forward several weeks to Christmas day. We had a great morning. After a wonderful breakfast we opened gifts and watched our baby girl get excited on Christmas for the first time! She got a Princess crown & wand for the bathtub, Mrs. Potato Head, little red wagon, food & cutting board, a beautiful dress, coat, & blanket from Grammie, blanket & piggy from Grandma Tolman, sticker book from cousin Kelti, and a few other little things. Funny tidbit-- Annabelle has been a bit scared, okay terrified of Santa since we sat her on his lap but after we told her Santa gave her Mrs. Potato Head she seems to be a bit more open to liking the jolly fella;) 

        Travis got all things redneck! Camo shirt, bow target, gun target, & range finder. Wow. He is definitely embracing the Southeast Texas living! 

        Most of what I got enhances my love of cooking-- an ice cream maker, KitchenAid pasta roller attachment, fondue pot, piggy timer that oinks when time's up, and other fun things. Let's just say we all felt very blessed this Christmas!          

 

Our Beautiful Princess 

The funny moments in life are the ones you remember the most. Here's to making more fun memories that make you laugh (like our attempt at decorating the tree or Annabelle's Santa freak-out) for years to come! Merry Christmas!

     

The Tolmans

Crossley Christmas

Better late than never but... "Ho, Ho, Ho Merry Christmas!" Annabelle has been saying that all. the. time. This year we spent the holiday season with my family. It was wonderful & crazy with everyone under one roof! I love Christmas-time. The world seems more at peace, energetic, and loving. You can truly feel the spirit of Christ as you remember his birth and the perfect life he lived.

Our first stop was Nannie & Gramps. We drove through the Livingston Light Show, ate great Mexican food, Chinese gift exchange, and had Nannie's fun great-grandkid presentation! After Nannie's we celebrated Keith & Rhiannon's marriage with family & friends. We ate gumbo (yum!), let their adorable boys entertain us, and just had fun. The rest of the week was spent playing nerf wars, eating amazing food, DVD gift exchange, (an attempted) Nativity Play, shootin' guns, and game night. Enjoy some pictures from our wonderful Christmas!

Nannie & Gramps

Nannie telling the sweet story about the orphan & the gift of an orange

Trav & Aaron looking mischievous after shooting an orange floating on the lake!

Our sweet Princess 

Crossley Time! 

It was quite the adventure with the newest addition of 3 adorable boys and two Princesses. Sadly Annabelle got sick the day everyone came in and wasn't her perky self but we still enjoyed the holiday with our sick angel. Enjoy our family pictures!

 

Pine cone hunt for Danielle's wedding

She's doing a winter wonderland theme and Mom is going to glitter pine cones!

She "paid" the kids 1 M&M per pine cone 

(obviously the bribe didn't work on Annabelle's since she's just watching the boys hard at work!)

Christmas Eve Night 

DVD gift exchange, Delicious food, Ticket to Ride (new favorite game!), & tons of laughs:)

The DVD gift exchange is one of our favorite parts of Christmas! Mom & Dad collect movies throughout the year, wrap them up, and then we do a Chinese gift exchange with the "adults" in the family. You can either open a new movie or steal an opened one, and after 3 owners the DVD is yours! Believe me, there's plotting going on between couples and it gets quite heated/comical when two people want the same movie! 

 Christmas "Morning" (Sunday Dec 23rd)

Aaron, Janene, "Banna"

Trav, Me, Annabelle 

We opened stockings first and when Annabelle found her Thomas the Train toothpaste nothing else mattered! She wanted to brush her teeth RIGHT then! We couldn't distract her with the bubble bath, giant reese's cup, or Princess shoes she got and so she brushed her teeth at least 3x that day;)

Keith, Rhiannon, Cy, Seth, Joshy

  The Nativity... presented by amateurs;)

Merry Christmas,          

The Tolmans

Santa?? Major Freakout!

Let's just say Annabelle's first experience with the white-beard man in a red suit was a little less than pleasant! We were in Onalaska this past weekend visiting Nannie & Gramps and took Annabelle to their small town Christmas festival. Since we were just dying to get a picture of Annabelle with Santa we ignored her protest and put her on his lap. Does that make us bad parents? Possible, but what we got was a picture that we'll laugh about for the rest of her life!

We were pampered the ENTIRE weekend! No stress, just lots of love and a chance to relax, which we L.O.V.E! Annabelle loves to visit the "big pool" (Lake Livingston) and really took a liking to Gramps "monkmee" jokes and Nannie's undying love & attention. Annabelle was sure to give them a choir concert complete with a music book standing on top of the fireplace. Thanks for a great weekend Nannie & Gramps!

She loves baby oranges!

The Tolman's         

November Wrap-up (Pumpkin Patch & Thanksgiving)

Christmas is underway but I couldn't let Thanksgiving pass without posting our fun activities and saying how grateful I am. I feel truly blessed this year. My husband is absolutely wonderful- one who has unbelievable patience, loves pillow talk, and truly shows his love for me and Annabelle everyday. I couldn't be happier! Annabelle is our creative, intelligent, opinionated two-year-old that keeps us laughing everyday! She seems to get more hilarious everyday and I love her sweet kisses, "squeezes," and cheerful nature. We feel blessed to have the peace the Savior brings and feel his love surrounding our family.

This month we went to the Pumpkin Patch with the LeBarons. It was a blast and trust me when I say it's always an adventure with two toddlers and two husbands who wish they were toddlers;) We enjoyed an amazing week with Aaron, Janene, and adorable Miss Savannah. Annabelle entertained Nannie with some of her favorite activities. Thanksgiving was different- food poisoning took over the Crossley home, thus resulting in Janene and I taking on Thanksgiving dinner alone! Everything turned out great and it's always fun to be with family. Enjoy some pictures to wrap-up the Month of THANKS!

Pumpkin Patch

 

  

Hay Ride & Feeding Chickens

THE BEST Slide Ever!

 

 Thanksgiving/ Aaron & Janene Visit!

Such an Adorable Family!

Pushing "Banna"... these two were something else!

Lots of Love,          

Team Tolman