Christmas 2010

Yes, I'm just getting to this...

And we didn't take that many pictures--at least, not that many of anyone but Claire and Anya, mainly, lol

We were at 3 different houses over Christmas, so we'll start at the very beginning :) It's a very good place to start... (Sound of Music, you know?)


Christmas Eve at the Coleman's

Claire thoroughly enjoyed running around their house, checking everything out...


I need to adopt little Becca to come and play with Claire all day :)

Nieve, Becca, and Stephen signing Christmas Cards for the neighbors


Anya

Christmas Eve at the Pace's


Solomon & Anya just hangin' out, watching the tube!

Sam-o being Sam-o


Auntie Jessica and the kiddos


Hangin' out on the couch. Wait, is Joe making a face there? How odd...that never happens.

Probably the only decent picture of me since the baby lol :) So I had to post it. Jessica with Anya.



Ava pushing Claire in the doll stroller--this is one of Claire's favorite pastimes

Who needs toys when there are kitchen utensils to play with? Claire, Ava, and Sam had fun running around with a strainer and a wire wisk, with Uncle Joe running after them.

Christmas Day at the Taylor's

YUMMMMMMY breakfast of Ebelskievers!


Someone likes Ebelskievers :)


Typical Christmas Morning--pajamas, no makeup, no showers, etc. :) (Except for the Gollaher house when we were little and had to clean our rooms, shower and get dressed before we could come down and open presents--what kind of crazies raised us???)


The jammies Grandma & Grandpa Taylor got the grandkids... "Mommy's Monster" is so perfect for our little...angel...

Anya, just being cute!

Glow sticks are a staple for pretty much every holiday at the Taylor house--Christmas stockings, Easter baskets, Halloween, etc. Claire doesn't mind them at all.




The one gift we got Claire, lol. A Dora Snow Princess or something like that.


Figuring out the Sit n' Spin


My brother, Joseph (I call him, "Joezinho" actually), spent the day with us too! Claire had fun with TWO "Uncle Joe's!" She was so cute with him and said "I love you, Uncle Joe" a few times, actually :)




Anya likes her new little toy!


With Aunt Millie!

This is actually the day after Christmas...I was on my deathbed, and Claire spent the day at Grandma's again...with Daddy too.

And here is Claire on her big wheel or trike from Grandma and Grandpa Gollaher! She loves it! We missed you guys! Christmas in Hawaii 2011??? What a great idea :)

Thank you :)

I was very excited to get the mail this Christmas season :) Hopefully next year my door will be FULL!!

And yes, I am a dork and put up my own Christmas Card. I just liked to look at it, OK?

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Here is the Christmas Card we sent out in December...

Wanted to post this sooner. I am SO behind.

Dear Family and Friends,

It’s Christmas time again! Wow. Time flies, that’s for sure. Our family has been so blessed this year. On September 29^th, our little Anya Corinne was born. Just two months old, she has started to smile a lot and show her personality little by little. We just love our sweet angel. Of course, Claire loves her…in the form of at least one daily body slam.

This year, Jordan has worked really hard—both at his job and as a daddy. Just a few weeks ago, after 2.5 years of graveyard shift he FINALLY was switched to days! It has been so much fun having him awake when we are awake on his days off! This past year he has also decided to return to school full-time next fall to pursue a BS in Computer Engineering with an eventual Masters in Electrical Engineering. He has chosen to attend the University of Utah and is really excited to be a student again.

Janessa has been pretty busy with the girls! A mother of one is…challenging, but a mother of two…well, let’s just say that some days she just wants to check herself into the nearest mental institution (However, this year, she was mostly pregnant, and ANYTHING is better than that!) She’s also been working at ridding herself of the bowl full of jelly that has replaced her abdomen. Besides giving birth to Anya, the main event/milestone this year has been the dreaded and unavoidable 3-0!! That’s right, she is OLD. But still happy. She’s always got some craft or art project in the works, and loves connecting with friends and family.

Now for the fun part of the letter: Claire. She is hilarious. So fun. And so wild and crazy, we just want to pull our hair out sometimes, but it’s all worth it. She is quite the talker! Every day, we are astounded by the words she learns. Her two recent favorites are “discombobulate” and “constellation.” She repeats everything and loves to get a reaction! Mommy and Daddy’s favorite is her constant “I lub you…so much!” She says this all the time, many times just out of the blue. It just makes us melt. She can also say prayers and thanks Heavenly Father for her family and also for elephants and monkeys. Recently, we took her to the theater for the first time (yeah, not that great at sitting through a movie yet…) to see Tangled. She called it the “Flying Barbie” movie. She loves animals and her favorite cartoon is “Diego” (he rescues animals), but she is starting to really be interested in princesses, Barbies, and fairies. A girl for sure!

As 2010 comes to a close, the following verse comes to mind:

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room…

This Christmas season, we make a renewed effort to prepare room in our hearts for the Savior. He was born for us. He died for us. He atoned for our sins. He is our perfect example. And, most importantly, He loves us infinitely and desires to welcome us into His presence again. And as we invite Him into our hearts, He will bring us peace, love, and joy this season and in the coming year.

Merry Christmas with love,

The Taylor Family

Too Many Kids in this Tub

There's too many kids in this tub
There's too many elbows to scrub
I just washed a behind that I'm sure wasn't mine
There's too many kids in this tub.

-Shel Silverstein

We had the Taylor Family Party last week and it was...fun...to say the least! But the best part was when my sister-in-law, Jen, decided to see how many kids she could fit in the tub...I mean, scratch that...,kitchen SINK!! That's right. She said her max was 3, I think, but this time, she got 4 in there. I told her she's a REALLY good mom because I could never allow my kids to make that kind of a mess. She replied with: "We're at Grandma's house!" Sadly, Claire truly does make the biggest messes at Grandma Taylor's house...but she allows it, let's be honest :)