On the 2nd Day of Christmas...

We were THRILLED to host all of Eric's siblings here for a Christmas celebration this year! We LOVE getting together with that whole side of the family, and its really special when ALL the siblings gather in one place at one time.  We are hoping the rest of the sibs want to make this an annual tradition at our house, as we LOVED seeing everyone together and it was obvious the kids had a blast!

We finally got to meet our youngest nephew, Sawyer! He is sooo cute, and such an awesome baby! So relaxed and really happy to be amongst the chaos and excitement his cousins were sharing.  I was really happy that Whitney REALLLLLLY wanted to hold her baby cousin.  She doesnt have a whole lot of exposure to babies since she is amongst the youngest in our group of friends.  She didnt want to let him go, but got excited when her other cousins, Corbyn and Callie, walked in the door. Whitney gasped and yelled, "Corbynnn!! And CAWWIE!!",..which startled Sawyer and made him cry pretty hard.  Thus, activating Whitney's tears, as she felt bad for making the baby cry.  She is learning, and is very excited to have a baby "of her own" in the house :) 

Eric's twin brothers, Parker and Dawson are great uncles to allllll the nieces and nephews, and we are so happy they joined us for the festivities!

I LOVE the chaos and confusion and excitement of a full house at Christmastime...especially when its OUR house! :)  

And of course, we made some pretty decent attempts at grandkid pics before the outfits were shed and dress-up clothes took over :) Wrangling babies and toddlers and big kids is hard work!

...but we made it happen! Whitney looks grumpy or sad, but everyone else looks fabulous! She wasnt really grumpy, so Im bummed that she appears upset...but it is what it is. :) 

We attempted an "oldest grandkid with the youngest grandkid" pic, but Whitney didnt want to leave Sawyer's side :)

The girls all decided that, instead of hunting for the "perfect" gift or toy for each niece and nephew, we would all buy books. We bought for Kyle, Dean, Corbyn, Callie, and Sawyer, and then Whitney received books back from each of her cousins! It is a nice way to build a good library, and books are great for all ages! Whitney LOOOVED her Berenstain Bear books!

I think we all agreed that books are a great tradition to continue, and the adults will continue doing the ornament exchange. Keeps the meaning of Christmas in sight at a time when shopping and toys and big gifts can be overwhelming :) 

All the kids chipped in for Papa's gift this year...we got him the big "Papa's Keepers" stepping stone, and then little stones with each grandkids' name on it.  He's up to seven stepping stones, with more to come in the future! He said he might hang them on the wall instead of stepping on them ... and he happily declared this his favorite gift of the year :)

Whitney got to open her presents from her Great Aunts and Uncles (simply because I wasnt watching her like  hawk, and she opened her books and just kept opening all the other presents that were meant to wait til Christmas morning...woops!) and she loooved her squeaky shoes and play doh and bubbles and dresses from her Aunt Cindy, Aunt Carol, and cousin Devin! I hate that we didnt get a chance to see them this holiday, but know we will plan ahead next year to make sure we get a visit in!  

And despite Whitney-the-Panty-Flasher, our Bass Family Christmas picture is pretty cute!

Daniel Crystal, Melanie, Parker, Dawson, Jake, Me, Eric, 

Martha, Gary, Christina with Sawyer

Kyle, Dean, Whitney, Lynzie with Callie, Joe, and Corbyn

Merry Christmas!!

And I know I have mentioned it here before, but it certainly bears repeating...I really truly have been blessed with some awesome sisters-in-law.  It isnt always easy to get together (maybe we should plan a SIL/girls' weekend the way the boys do their Man Trip???!) but we always have fun and fall into place as though we have known each other our whole lives.  Facebook makes it easy to stay connected through pics and updates, but nothing beats a good laugh with these girls on my couch :) I love those moments when we all say, "Im SO glad you said that! I was thinking the SAME thing!!" and then laugh like its the funniest thing we've ever heard. :) I know from past experiences and from girlfriends with SIL drama that its not always easy or fun to try to be FRIENDS with someone God has made your FAMILY....but these girls make it easy AND fun. I am so grateful God has made Crystal, Christina, and Lynzie my sisters. 

OK...pics from Christmases 3 and 4 will be up tomorrow...and Eric is off alllllllll week, so we'll have some pics of progress in Grady's nursery! Life. Is. Good!