let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Our second time having snow...and we sure had fun playing in it...

We are starting to get used to this.

Averie in the snow...5 years old

Me in the snow...2 years old (& yes, wearing Averie's scarf)

Averie making snow angels...she always does that right when she gets out in the snow! Daddy taught her how to make those!

Just chillin'...

...and running.

Pushing dump trucks through the snow...

...filling up our buckets with snow...

...and attempting to make...

...snow castles!

Sure was a fun morning in the snow!

white christmas

Well, we did have our first white Christmas...but, the snow fell from dinner time until we woke up the day after Christmas. But, that's still considered a white Christmas, right?

So, we were super excited. We got bundled up and headed outdoors. And, first things first...I had to make a snow angel!!

Brady had fun just walking in it...it was about 5 inches!

He loved it, too! He was all smiles!

Having fun in the snow!

We made snowballs...

...and more snowballs!

Lots of smiles from me, too!

Brady even walked out there and just sat in it...

...and took it off Daddy's car for him!

Then, we grabbed our beach toys and attempted to make snow castles and such!

We just had fun digging in it!

Afterwards, we headed inside and got all warmed up with some hot chocolate. It only took a sip for each of us to get warmed and start playing inside! :) What a fun morning for playing in the snow!

christmas night

On Christmas evening, everyone headed over to Oma's house for dinner. (I had already spent the afternoon there so that I could hang out with Oma...I also helped her with her make-up...compliments of my make-up kit. We had fun together!) Even Poppy, Nana, Uncle Blair, Aunt Blip Blip, McKinly, and Aunt Lindsey's parents & brother joined us as well. We were excited to have such a large group for Christmas Day dinner, and we are thankful to live so close to family.

The Karaffa Family on Christmas Day

Me...Averie Grace

Brady Joseph

Us with Oma

Us with Daddy...enjoying one of our favorite treats...a stropwaffle! It's a Dutch cookie...yummy!

The Van Wingerden Grandchildren...all 14 of them...ages 17 to 2 1/2 years old!

(L-R top row: Paul, Sam, Eric, Grant, Noah, & Andrew

bottom row: Jackson, Brayden, Brady, me, Stephanie, Carter, Kaitlyn, & Zach)

Oma with her grandchildren

Oma with us...her favorites :) Just kidding!

Poppy & Nana with Brady & me...isn't Brady's face funny? I think he was tired of taking pictures!

And, the whole Karaffa Family

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas...we sure did!

christmas morning

Good Morning, Christmas Day...we were super excited when we woke up. Our day started with our gifts from Santa. I got a iXL (handheld gaming system) and a Hello Kitty puzzle, and Brady got a tool bench with tools. We loved it! Then, we ate a yummy breakfast...belgian waffles (Aunt Helen gave Mommy a double Belgian waffle maker, and Mommy used it Christmas morning...yummy!), turkey bacon, yogurt, and bananas. Afterwards, we all sat on the couch to read the Christmas story in Luke 2. We prayed as a family and then exchanged our gifts. Such a wonderful family morning. We are glad that Oma could join us for most of it as well.

Here I am...Christmas morning...in my Christmas jammies!

Brady and me...he wasn't fully awake yet :)

Our annual tradition...a self-family portrait...surprisingly, we got everyone in it on the first try!

We loved opening our gifts again...books, games, puzzles, toys, etc. Brady is really into construction and farm vehicles right now, so he loved these books!

I was super excited about my vanity set as well! I put make-up on Oma about 5 times that day!

Every time Brady would hand out a present, he would give it a hug...no reason why...he just did!

A sweet smile for Mommy before giving Daddy his gift!

Lovin' the My Little Pony stuff...

...while Daddy likes his new shirt...

...and Brady likes his boxing gloves! (Oh, and Mommy loved her ipad! :))

After we open our gifts, we get to go through our stocking. Daddy helped me with mine, and Mommy helped Brady with his...and we helped Daddy & Mommy with theirs! :)

I liked the toiletries, socks, and panties, but I also liked the markers and games as well!

Brady was excited to see what was in his stocking...

The toothpaste made him smile!

He dug right in to find some markers, toiletries, socks, and books. He also found a pack of big boy underwear...since he will start potty training soon after Christmas (& hopefully be potty trained before baby arrives)!!

Making sure he got everything out!

What a wonderful morning. We really enjoyed our time as family and are thankful for Baby Jesus...the reason we celebrate Christmas!

christmas celebration...karaffa style

On Christmas Eve, we celebrated by attending a Christmas Eve service with Oma at her church. It was really good...Brady & I even got to sit in the service with them. My favorites were the singing and the lighting of the candle. Afterwards, we had Poppy, Nana, Uncle Blair, Aunt Blip Blip, and McKinly over to celebrate Christmas together. We had a fun time together!

Our family picture before we got in our jammies!!

(L-R ~ UncleBlair, McKinly, Aunt Blip Blip with Baby Boy #2 due mid-April), Nana, Poppy, Me, Daddy, Brady, & Mommy with Baby #3 due Feb. 4th)

Poppy & Nana with their 3 grandchildren

Our Family

After enjoying some appetizers and desserts, we got to change into our jammies before opening gifts. We were comfy and ready to go!

I loved opening presents again...

...and so did Brady!

I got all sorts of goodies from everyone, like puzzles, games, clothes, and books. I loved this Hello Kitty alarm clock/CD player for my room!

Brady just loved opening the gifts...he got all sorts of awesome goodies as well, like books, tools, snuggie, smart e bear, and more!

More opening...

...and more fun!

My Great Mamaw, Great Aunt Cookie, and Great Aunt Deb gave me this Hello Kitty Karaoke machine/CD player. I have already had so much fun being a "star" in our house...jammin' to all sorts of fun music!

"Sure, Mommy...a quick smile...but then I have to get back to opening my gift."

Meanwhile, Brady doesn't look up...he is too busy opening!

Great Mamaw, Great Aunt Cookie, and Great Aunt Deb sent Brady this deluxe power tool set. He LOVED it...and plays with them all day, every day! Each tool makes noise, and he is always busy at work...fixing something around the house!

We all gave Poppy & Nana a big frame with pictures of us in it. They really liked that!

Here is Brady...ready to weld something!

I am really into puzzles right now. So, while Brady was busy welding things together with McKinly, Daddy, Nana, and I were busy putting together one of my Tinkerbell puzzles from Uncle Blair & Aunt Blip Blip. It took us some time, but we got the 100 piece puzzle all put together! We had a great time!

After our gift exchange, we finished the night with watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." It's a favorite in our family. Then, it was off to bed so Santa could stop by. We sure had a fun night!