Christmas with the Valentini's

If all the excitement from the morning was not enough, we had more fun...and more presents waiting for us at my parent's home. When we arrived, my Uncle Bill and Grandma MeMe were already there waiting for us. Elizabeth was so excited to see everyone...and to see all of the wrapped gifts.

Each year, I have traditionally been the one to had out gifts. Each of us mans are spot and I create a pile near where each person sits. It is my job to make sure that everyone has a least a couple presents in their pile until all of the presents are opened.

Well this year, I had a big helper. I would take a present from under the tree, tell Elizabeth who it was for, then she would bring it to them.


This worked great until Elizabeth decided that she wanted MeMe to have all of the gifts. Elizabeth would go to each pile, steal the presents, and bring them to MeMe.


Elizabeth is such a big girl. Once she got the idea of what she was suppose to do, she didn't need my help opening her gifts.


Here Uncle Bill is modeling the handmade scarf that he received from Me, Matt, and Elizabeth. We hope that it will keep him toasty warm this Winter season.


Can I just say that I LOVE The Office. Thanks, Grandma...for the Season 4 DVD.


My dad has wanted a BlueTooth Hands-Free Headset for a while, so Matt and I splurged and got him one this Christmas. Are you happy dad...you finally have your "Blue Teeth".


I have been knitting a lot this past year, so I was excited when I received a KnitPicks Circular Knitting Needle Set, along with some knitting books, and some other Namaste accessories. Now I am ready for any knitting project that may come my way!


My Uncle Bill received some really neat things this Christmas. He got a new sweater, some after-dinner liquors, a couple of games, and some new books.


Elizabeth absolutely loves this Laugh & Learn Piggy Bank. It sings songs and counts when she puts in a coin! She'll have hours of fun with this toy. Thanks MeMe!


Matt received some amazing presents this year. He got some video games... Lego Star Wars, Ninja Gaiden, and the new Prince of Persia. He also received some photography books. One of this favorites was The Photographer's Eye.


Here my mom is modeling the new robe that she received from Me, Matt, and Elizabeth.


My mom and dad gave Elizabeth this darling Cabbage Patch newborn. She was so excited because she loves babies. She yelled "Baby!" as soon as she unwrapped it. I had a Cabbage Patch when I was little...and I loved her. It is so great to see my own child enjoy something that I did when I was younger. Thanks Mom and Dad!


Here is Matt with one of his many video games. He is going to have a blast over the next little while. He sure loves his XBox 360 and all of the fun games there are to play.


Matt caught this cute moment. Elizabeth was just sitting on the couch, snuggling her baby. She leaned down and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. It brought tears to my eyes because I do this with Elizabeth all of the time. She is such a darling little mommy to her baby dolls!


An unexpected favorite this year, was a table and chairs from MeMe. Elizabeth loved to sit in her own chair and eat her snack from her own table.


Thank you to everyone that made this day so amazing. We are truly blessed to have so many people around us that love us. Your thoughtfulness is humbling. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Christmas with the Freebairn's

Every year, Matt's parents have a Christmas Morning Breakfast. I look forward to it because Karla makes most of my favorites. I love her cinnamon french toast and her crumbly muffins. This year Grandma and Grandpa Thayne, along with Aunt Betty were able to join us. I love seeing them, so this was a real treat.

Here is a picture of Grandma and Grandpa Thayne opening the gift that we gave them. They really liked the photograph of Elizabeth that we selected. They received a pot set from Karla and Kelly and a book and DVD from Adam's family.


Aunt Betty was really excited about the El Divo DVD that she received. This photo is of her opening the photograph that we gave her.


Elizabeth really enjoyed opening her presents...and boy did she have a lot of them. Kelly and Karla sure to spoil Elizabeth. She got some new outfits, along with a bunch of new toys.


This is the cutest little doll that I have ever seen. Elizabeth loves babies... so this was a real hit. I had to take it out of the package right away. Elizabeth could not stand it, she was so excited to be able to hold her. Elizabeth received the Disney Cinderella Baby; Kena received the Disney Ariel Baby; and Kate received the Disney Bell Baby.


Here is Elizabeth with her new shoes. They are little baby clogs. I am such a shoe person, so I just died when I saw these. While this picture was being taken...I was thinking of all of the cute outfits that Elizabeth could wear with them.


Kena was sure excited about Christmas. She is such a cute girl. Here she is with one of the many new outfits she received. Hopefully it will still fit her when we go to DisneyLand in the fall. The red with white dots will match perfect with Minnie Mouse!


Kate loved the blanket that she received from Grandma. Nice and warm!


Elizabeth was so excited as she unwrapped this DVD from Adam's family. She got one look at the Backyardigans...and could not get the paper off fast enough. She "oooooohhh'd" the whole time she was opening it and then tried to run into the TV room so we could start watching it. For the rest of the time, she just sat there holding the DVD.

Matt and I received some amazing things too! I got a new Namaste Bag, along with some Namaste accessories, and some books. Matt received the new ExpoDisc he wanted, along with some books and the Fable 2 video game he has been excited about.

Adam received this cool Seinfeld Scene It game. I cannot wait to play it the next time we are all together. I will more than likely lose...but I will have fun playing!


Here is Tifani helping Kate open her shopping cart from Grandma and Grandpa.


For Christmas, Matt and I gave Kena and Kate matching coats from Gymboree. Kena received a lime green one, while Kate's is bright pink. They both look darling! I hope they stay cozy warm during these cold winter days.


Here is Jack snuggling up to the train blanket that we got him as part of his gift. He is such a sweet little guy and was perfect while we all opened our gifts.


Karla is in the process of re-decorating her home, so Matt and I got her this plate set that will match her new decor.


As you can probably tell from this next photo, we had a duplicate gift incident. Adam and Matt were so sure that Kelly would love this game for the Wii that each of them told Tifani and I to buy it for him. Unfortunately, Tifani and I did not communicate our purchases...and the rest is history. Oh well, Kelly will have some fun exchanging one of them for something else!


Thanks, Freebairn Gang...for an amazing morning. We are so blessed to have you as our family. Please know that we love you and appreciate all that you do for us!

I love Christmas!

Elizabeth was so excited as we entered her room to wake her on Christmas Morning. As soon as she saw us she said "Ho Ho Ho". It was the cutest thing I have ever heard. As she came around the corner and headed down the stairs, she got so excited. She took one look at the tree and the presents and squealed with excitement. She had a huge grin on her face the entire day!


She got the hang of opening presents right away. She was so good at ripping the paper. On every present, as soon as she ripped the paper enough to see the gift she would say "ooooooohhh!"


As soon as Elizabeth got enough of the wrapping paper off to realize that there was a baby inside the package, she screamed "Baby!"


And then gave a huge, cheesy grin!


Santa was sure good to us! Elizabeth received so many fun things... but I think her favorite was a bowl...yes, I said a bowl!

I am so blessed. I have a wonderful husband and a beautiful daughter. Life does not get any better than having a place to call home and someone to love!

Christmas is Here!

Merry Christmas! We love you and hope that your day is filled with excitement and happiness!

Santa's Coming...

Every year, since my Uncle moved to Utah, we have celebrated Christmas Eve with a Trim-a-Tree Party at his house. I am all about tradition and look forward to this day for the whole year.

As soon as we walked in, and Elizabeth saw the empty tree, her eyes lit up. She ran over to all of the ornaments...grabbed a box...and went over to the tree. She was so disappointed when we told her that we were planning to eat dinner first.


Once dinner was done, she was ready to go. Uncle Bill gave the okay and we started decorating. Elizabeth was a big helper. She would take ornaments out of the box and bring them to each of us to hang.


Here she is helping Grandma. Elizabeth really likes the Christmas Balls because she can see herself in them.


MeMe was so nice to help Elizabeth find hooks for all of the ornaments.


Candy Canes anyone?


Uncle Bill finished the tree by hanging Ziggy. Elizabeth even said "Ziggy" as he hung it on the tree.


Poor Grandpa. He was try to take a little nap, when my mom decided to climb on top of him. When Elizabeth saw all of the fun, she had to join in. Believe it or not, she climbed up all by herself and laid down.


One of our family traditions, is Uncle Bill reading the Night Before Christmas. He read it to me when I would visit New York. He even sent a tape when we were apart so that I could listen to him reading it. Well we started up the tradition again by reading it to Elizabeth...this year makes two years in a row!


Once all of the eating and decorating were out of the way...It was present time! We always open a little gift from each other on Christmas Eve. MeMe gave Elizabeth this darling dog. As you can see, Elizabeth loved it!


Elizabeth did a great job of opening presents. She would rip the wrapping paper all by herself and would say "ooooooooohhhh" as she did it!


I got some really great things. One of my favorites is this knitting calendar. It provides a knitting pattern a day! I guess I'll be busy in 2009.


Matt had to work earlier in the day but he made it in time for presents. Elizabeth and I picked out a RToo Potatoo for him. He seemed to like it!


My dad always gets so excited when presents are involved. He is a big kid at Christmas Time.


By the end of the night, Elizabeth was running around helping everyone open their presents. She enjoyed all of the festivities! I cannot wait to see how she is tomorrow!