The Nalley Family

The Nalley Family
Eddie, Stephanie, Brooklyn, Chandler and Gibson

Monday, December 31, 2012

Christmas 2012

Christmas Eve day I asked B if she wanted to help me make brownies for Santa.
She said yes, but she just wanted him to see them and NOT eat them.  ;)  

We went to a Christmas Eve service at our church that night (somehow I didn't manage to get a single picture of the kids in their cute Christmas clothes???).  Then we came home, put out the reindeer food that B made at her school, set out the brownies (she decided she'd let Santa eat them after all) and some milk, and then put the girls to bed.  While I was putting the girls to bed, we heard reindeer bells, giant footsteps and someone on our roof saying, "Ho, ho, ho...Merry Christmas."  We must have been one of the first stops on Santa's routes!!
The girls were really excited to see what all Santa had brought them.
Chan was initially most excited about her new lipstick!
Brooklyn's reaction was PRICELESS!  
Every new thing she discovered was accompanied by a gasp and her very dramatically saying, "Oh My GOODNEEEEEESS!!"
Gibson was there, too!
After the girls had a chance to play with their new toys for a minute, they got dressed and headed to Mimi's with Eddie.  Gibson and I stayed behind to round up all the loose ends and headed that way a little while later.
Then we were all reunited again.  Along with the rest of the family.  Truly impossible to get 9 children 8 yrs old and younger to all have a decent smile in the same picture.  This is the best I could get!
Gibson especially felt the love this Christmas!
The thing he gets the most compliments on is the shape of his head!
It's PERFECTLY round.
And after looking at these pictures, I think I'm starting to see why.
He's constantly being held!!
Eddie had to go back home Christmas night and I had wondered where I might set Gibson down after he was gone...where Gibson would be close enough for me to hear him, but high enough to be safe from all of the children.  Apparently, that was a needless concern.  I had about 20 pairs of hands eager to hold him!
And he was such a trooper.  Being held by lots of tiny people and being passed around constantly, he very rarely got fussy and except for the people who were present during daiper changes or the bath, I don't think anyone ever heard him cry.  


Cousin Kid Meal!
Mom used a cookie cutter to make grilled cheeses shaped like presents.  Clever!
Any other Christmas in the past, that might have been a deal breaker for my picky little B, but not this year!!!  We've been working so hard on this and she totally got into the spirit of things!
Sweet cousin time.
I think the big girl cousins, Lawson and Reese, think of Chandler as their own personal baby doll.
And she is more than happy to get the attention and play the part.
Here is Reese putting make-up on her.  (Chan's dream come true!)
And she got her very own bag of hair things (curling iron, flat iron, hair dryer, etc) that she immediatly fell in-love with!
More sweet cousin time...

The dreaded bath!  He HATES them and screamed that WHOLE TIME!
Lawson and Hudson LOVE babies and were amused enough to tolerate the screaming.

If you are alarmed about the baby on the ledge next to the kiddos, don't be.
Mom and Dad got B & C very realistic looking baby dolls for Christmas.
Very Freakishly Realistic looking.  =)
One of the other things that made this Christmas very special was that it was a WHITE one!  It made it VERY SCARY for Eddie who had to drive back by himself that night, but also made it pretty fun for these kids who rarely get to see snow!
(p.s. That is B in the black hat being held by her Uncle Brady...kinda hard to recognize her without her blonde curls or a big bow!)  Chandler was more into viewing the snow from inside the warm house.













Monday, December 24, 2012

Pre-Christmas Festivities

Santa Comes to School
This was the girls 1st time to see Santa this year and it's always fun to see their reactions.  B has ALWAYS loved Santa and this year was no different!
 Last year, Chandler DID NOT like Santa holding her, but this year?
 ALL ABOUT HIM!!  
And, surprisingly, all 3 children were very cooperative for a group pic!
We had a little time before school started to get the girls pics in their cute little Christmas outfits...



B's School Christmas Party
 They all wore their pajamas
 And they had "The Polar Express" Theme
 The teacher read the story and then they passed out presents to each child...this is B getting hers.
 In the story, only children who "truly believe" can hear the bells given by Santa.  So at their party Santa came and brought each one of the kids a bell.  Very cute!
 They did lots of fun crafts (including making reindeer for Christmas Eve night!) and then exchanged presents at the end.
It was a really great party, except they had HOT chocolate for the kids which created lots of HOT drama for our little Brooklyn.  =)  (didn't seem to "burn" or bother any of the other children)  Love her!

Chandler's School Christmas Party
 A terrible virus went thru our house and "my day" was the day of Chan's party so I didn't get to go.  =(
Fortunately, Eddie was home that morning and got to take her and go.  He got her up and dressed.  This hair (bow included) was leftover from the previous day...I didn't have the strength to redo it and surprisingly doesn't look THAT bad!!
 The details I got from Eddie were not very descriptive:  They ate and did a gift exchange.  BUT he did take this awesome picture!!  Good job, Daddy!
I could NEVER get her to pose like that!!

Carroll Family Christmas
Every year we host my mom's side of the family for a Christmas Family Re-union.  
We play games,
 eat,
 and get to spend some quality time with cousins we rarely see or getting to meet the newest members of the family.
 The group this year was WAY smaller than usual, but was probably my favorite yet because we got to spend more time with everyone at once and getting to catch up more with the few that made it!

Santa and Spaghetti
 My good friend, Koli, and her parent's have "Santa and Spaghetti" at their house every year and go ALL OUT!
 Every year gets a little bigger and better.  They personally prepare such a feast that I think the parents look forward to it just as much as the kids!!
 Koli's sisters dress up like elves and just LOVE on all of the kids!  
 It is so neat and special!
At one point they gather us all in a room to start listening for Santa!
 So much anticipation (attempt at the self-facing camera).
And Santa never dissapoints!





Before we eat, Koli's Dad does a quick scripture read/devotional and prayer to give this night a little more spiritual depth and to help us all keep perspective on the real meaning of Christmas.
And this year we added some Christmas caroling at the very end of the night.  So fun!
Here is 1 more picture I took of the kids because they were just being so sweet and playing so nicely...
Ha!  I only realized when I got home and was looking at my pics that they weren't playing so nicely!  B and Kessler are VERY QUIETLY playing tug of war with a toy.   =)
p.s.  For the party, I straightened B's hair and curled Chan's...you can really see Chan's pretty curls in this pic!