We had my friend Lori take our fall family pictures near the end of October, 2010 and she did an amazing job! She is now our official photographer! (http://www.wix.com/mltnichols/ellebphotography) Here are just a few of the good ones :)
I love that face! Laughing or crying....it's so sweet :)
I love this face too :) Aidan actually had strep while we were taking these photos. He was a trooper! We didn't find out he had strep until a week or so later (it was in his bottom...apparently toddlers don't get strep in their throats very easily, but can get it on the other end. It is really hard to diagnose, which is why this poor baby had it for so long! Everyone thought it was just a bad diaper rash.
THANKSGIVING 2010
We had Thanksgiving at my parents house with a ton of people! Uncle Jim, Aunt Jill, Diane and Jerry (Bethany's parents), Bethany & Kyle, Tommy & Marisa, Shelley and our family. It was so much fun!
Bethany, my mama, Diane and Aunt Jill
Such a great cook!! For some reason I did not inherit those genes....poor Josh!
Always a beautiful table at my mom's house
Josh, Shelley (Aunt Seesha), Aunt Jill, Uncle Jim and Kyle
They're so cute :)
Toast to the cooks!
Our sweet fam
BOYS' CHRISTMAS TREE
We are the crazy people that put up all of our Christmas decorations the 1st of November every year!! I know that it sounds crazy, but it is so much work to get all that stuff up that I want sufficient time to enjoy it before I have to take it all down...so by New Year's I don't really want to look at it anymore!
The boys decorated their tree a little after Thanksgiving due to the destruction that it was going to take before Christmas. Aidan is pretty good at keeping it decorated, but Roman thinks it's sole purpose is for him to tear off all of the ornaments. This usually results in Aidan yelling, "No baby, no!"
They are both "helping" put ornaments on their tree
Beautiful! This is in their playroom. Next year I MIGHT get a bigger one for them for their room (they may be sharing a room next year....we'll see :)
COOKIE DAY!!
Every year we have Cookie Day at Cathy's house where we spend all day making, decorating and eating cookies. I've been going to Cookie Day since the first year Josh and I started dating (2003!), and 7 years and 2 kids later we'll still doing it!
Daddy telling Aidan that this is the only cookie he can have before lunch...
Aidan thought that meant, "This is the only cookie I, Daddy, will be giving you before lunch, but you can take as many cookies as you want off the counter."
Grandmama, Aidan and Roman
Josh and his mommy :)
Roman! He loves to fly
I have learned that 2 little boys LOVE to get into EVERYTHING and they NEVER sit down
This is Benjamin!! He was only 2 weeks old at Cookie Day. Jimmy & Melissa are now Foster parents!
Cathy, Melissa & Grandmama
Aunt Emily ("Big Em"), Aidan, Samantha and Little Emily
Decorating cookies! Roman desperately wanted to join the fun. Next year sweet baby :)
Aidan decorating his cookie!
This resulted in eating a ton of green icing with a little bit of cookie :)
CHRISTMAS EVE 2010!
Since we celebrated Thanksgiving with my parents, we celebrate Christmas Eve with them and Christmas day with the Dupree side. Christmas Eve was awesome! We went to an incredible Church service on Marietta Square at the newly renovated theater, The Strand. It was a great sermon and then we went back and had an amazing dinner.
Pappy and his grandbaby #2
Shell, Mom and Marisa
Daddy and Romy! I love the Oregon Ducks blanket in the background :)
Pappy & Nana
Tommy and Marisa
This starts the sequence of events called, "The Little Man Wins." Uncle Tommy and Aidan had an all out sword fight...
Uncle Tommy takes a stab at Aidan...
Aidan fights back...
and has Uncle Tommy on his knees begging for mercy...
AND WE HAVE A WINNER!! AIDAN!!
Then, of course, they kiss and make up :)
Another beautiful table
Even Lil Pill is in her Christmas outfit!
My boys
All of my boys now :)
Uncle Tommy and Marisa got Aidan & Roman 150 little balls to play with! Josh and I immediately thought about how fun that will be for us...haha :)
Giving hugs
Nana & Roman opening gifts
Pappy putting together Aidan's toolbox
Aidan LOVED opening gifts this year. He kinda got the whole "Santa" thing. He does know the birth story of Jesus and he liked to carry Baby Jesus around the house saying, "Swee Baby Mama...swee baby."
Dad is the official "dish washer" at all of the events we have!
CHRISTMAS DAY MORNING
This was at our house Christmas morning! The boys, mainly Aidan, were excited about what Santa brought.
Boots!! Aidan is obsessed with shoes ("shoos")
They loved Christmas morning
CHRISTMAS LATE MORNING AT MIKE & CATHY'S
We usually do Christmas morning at our house, and then we go to Mike and Cathy's for breakfast and to open presents before we head on over to Grandmama's and Granddaddy's to spend the rest of the day with everyone.
Grandpa and Aidan at breakfast
Aunt Em and the boys
I love this picture
Aunt Em got them a kitchen!! They are totally obsessed with it and love to "cook!"
Aidan loves to make us "coffee"
Our house Christmas Day!! We had a white Christmas!! It was the first white Christmas in Georgia in over 100 years!
AT GRANDMAMA'S & GRANDDADDY'S ON CHRISTMAS DAY
Roman's first Christmas bib
Benjamin and Roman next to each other :)
Granddaddy and Mike in the family room (the boys room! They watch football/tv there every Sunday while the girls eat at the table and then move into the living room to talk :)
Joan (Cathy's sister) and Emily in the kitchen
Little Emily
Melissa feeding baby Benjamin! He's actually wearing Roman's old baby clothes :)
Cathy & Joan helping Eddie open his gifts (He's Granddaddy's cousin)
Grandmama and Benjamin
The girls' (Sam and Lil' Em) got Cathy multiplication cards to help her in math as a joke :)
Christmas....it was amazing. Although spending time with friends and family is sooooo great, the best part of it all is that Jesus Christ was born and we're celebrating his birth!! It is because of Him that we're saved today.
SNOW DAY THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS
Aidan helping Roman with his bottle
My best friend & sister, Aunt Sheesha, came to play with us!!
Josh and Shelley are Pantagonia freaks
SNOW DAY: JANUARY 10, 2011
Today we got about 5 inches of snow! It hasn't snowed this hard in a long, long time!
Our house!
The boys sledding! Aidan loved it....Roman was not too sure
Down by our dock
Behind me is usually the lake
Pulling both boys in the home-made sled through our woods! Poor Josh pulled them for our mile walk :)
Pulling the boys by our dock...
They liked to lay in the sled :)
pulling the boys back up to our house...
The back of our home. It's so pretty when it snows here! Josh is still pulling the boys...he got a major workout.
2010 was an incredible year of change. Roman was born, Josh and I got baptized and totally committed our lives to Jesus Christ, we went on a ton of trips with family, 2 of my very best friends and family got married, we got to celebrate the holidays with the best people we know (besides our sweet family that doesn't live in GA!), and now we're ready for 2011!!
2011 is going to be a great year. We already have some fun trips planned and a beautiful wedding to go to. I'm running a half-marathon with Bethany and Emily at the end of February, Roman turns 1 and Aidan will turn 3, Josh turns 30!!!, 2 new baby boys will be joining our family in February from 2 of my cousins, and I'm sure the good Lord has amazing things planned for us that will glorify His beautiful name.
Life is good. Thank you Jesus :)
