Christmas (Mathiesen Style)

We make a fashionable entrance...

We get to eat yummy treats...

We play fun games...

We enjoy the baby...

who enjoyed her first Christmas!

808 Christmas Morn

Matchy Matchy.

Remember Ellie's present for Anna?

It was a giant sheep dog!
Ellie knows Anna loves to dive bomb them!

This is Ellie thanking Anna for her new baby doll.
Ya know what baby it was??
It's one of those from Target when you walk past and the ENTIRE aisle starts cooing and crawling?
Ellie loves it.

We're ready to toss it.

BUT.
She can keep it, after all...
Anna went to Target all by herself and bought it.

Baby Jesus, I Love You!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Tim and I would have been dressed up
but we were dressed as "Lynn and Steve," can't you tell??
(We were in a skit for the Christmas Eve services.)

Anna LOVES her ugly bird!

Ellie has been playing with this stick for a couple days.
Yesterday it was the camel's head.
Today it's her flute.

My attempt at a cute picture.
I ended up with a finger in my eye.

If she knew what it'd be like
to sleep under the tree...

Ellie's World #3

We had some visitors yesterday.
These visitors brought someone NEW with them!!!

Here's BABY BARRETT!!!!
I love her!

Here's Chuck.
He's funny.

Courtney's funny too.
I have some MUCH funnier pictures of her that I took too.
But for some reason she said I can't show you.

I let Courtney take a few of me too.
I'm kinda funny too.

Down there.

Down at Grandma's had a big party
for a soon to be 1 year old - Rylee!

The happy Rylee clan.

Ellie got a cooking lesson in Spanish from
Auntie Ambar along with Stephie's neice, Erika.

Grandma and Ellie played in the snow!

Anna and Rylee are played and played and played...

Around here.

Ellie went nuts when Daddy put up lights around our front door!

First Christmas program at church!

There's still sillyness.

Ellie's first Preschool program too.

This little lady is practicing walking and getting 3 teeth...

when I get bigger, like this...

While putting Ellie down for her nap, I was reading her Dr. Seuss' "ABC" book. Part way through she stopped me and said, "Daddy, when I get bigger, like this (raising her hands as high as they would go), I can climb up the stairs all by myself, and get ready for my nap and read this book ALL BY MYSELF! Yeah!"
I guess it's natural for us to desire independence, but I hope she'll enjoy having us read to her for at least a few more years...

Little Helpers

Ellie was such a great help!
Too bad ALL the ornaments I gave her
went on a total of 3 branches.

This little one helped too.
We only got one of her ornaments put on...

because she didn't want to let it go...

and then she wanted it back.

But in the end - ah well - it's our tree and we like it.

First Attempt

Anna will stand by herself if you help her forget she's doing it!
Cousins in matching dresses!I had to...

in order to get this one.

Giving of Thanks

So thankful to a faithful, loving, creative, and giving God.

I have all I need in HIM and because of HIM.

This week at 808

Anna is the same size Ellie was
when Ellie was 14 months old.
In fact she's pushing out the seams.

Super Ellie.

Ellie bought a Christmas present for Anna this evening.
She told me what she wanted to get, and she found one!
Check back after Christmas to see what it is!!!

(She even wrote out the tag all by herself!)

Teeny Tiny

A little blurry, but cute anyways.
Tim's cousin, Chuck, is a NEW DADDY!

This ADORABLE teeny tiny little lady
was chatting with Tim.

Daddy and Daughter.