Christmas 2007

Well, we managed again to pull off Christmas for 9 people and are still alive to tell the tale... Ren and I managed to stay up until 1:30 in the morning putting together a climbing toy for Gid and a ride-on tractor for the younger kids. We also got them a ping-pong table, but couldn't lift it so we wrapped it in its hiding place, an outdoor shed. Then Ren came up with a great idea to make a Dora the Explorer episode on video for them which lead them on a hunt for the big presents. We held a Dora the Explorer bowl with a picture of Dora and Boots on it in front of the video camera and did the voices of Boots and Dora telling the kids that Swiper the fox swiped the last Byers Christmas presents! Then we drew a "map" and showed them they'd have to go past the tractor parking, through the parky park, navigate the bucket swamp and then they'd find their big present in the spooky storage shed. Of course, we did this at 1:00 a.m. and I got slap happy with my bloopers, so it took a while to get me to stop laughing so we could finish. The kids thought it was hilarious. It was fun but we were exhausted the next day and Ren woke up sick with a sore throat.

Anyway, here's some assorted pictures from decorating the tree, Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

Hannah and Zach decorate each other instead of the tree!

Jen shows Eli some of the ornaments on the tree (Eli managed to break three ornaments this year in his quest to pull off as many ornaments as he could).

Jonah gazes happily at the tree.

Jen and Gid cuddle on Christmas Eve (that's the official story, though anybody who knows Gid, knows that he is NOT a cuddler!)

Here's Cody and Gid playing ball (I'm sure that's a traditional Christmas Eve activity for you as well?!)


Usually on Christmas morning the kids gather at the top of the stairs for the annual Christmas torture of having to sit there while Ren and I videotape all the presents and stuff Santa brought, narrating as we go. "Wow! I can't believe he brought that!" "Look at all these presents! Whoa!" Then the kids yell, "Mom! Stop torturing us!" It's very heart-warming. But our new house has a basement, so the kids gathered below on the landing and the usual stair picture has a very funny angle to it.

Hannah loves penguins this year, so Gideon got her a penguin for Christmas. She named it Jeffrey then changed his name to um..something else. Who can keep up with the whims of a teenage girl?


Curty got roller blades and full pads for Christmas. Here he is modeling them along with his dino jammies.

Eli is obsessed with the movie Cars so he got Cars cars, Cars racetrack, Cars t-shirts, and Cars shoes. He has to hold ALL of his cars in his hands at one time, which makes it hard to do anything else, but he is sooooo HAPPY!

Giddy and Eli got rocking horses that whinny and shake their heads and tails. They adore them.

Here's the ride-on truck/tractor thingy. We got it for the three littlest, but Jonah and Cody discovered they are within the weight limit, so they drive around the neighborhood in it, considering it their personal vehicle. (They asked me if they could drive it to school -- how long would it take to go 3 miles at 3 1/2 miles per hour?!) Zach and Hannah are hoping for a golf cart for themselves next year. A funny sidenote: I had Zach and Hannah with me at Wal-mart and we passed boxes for ride-on vehicles. Hannah immediately asks in a disgusted voice, "Who would buy their kids one of those?" and Zach supports her saying, "Yeah, little kids aren't big enough to drive without causing an AFV moment." Well, they were actually voicing an opinion I had expressed many times, until I saw how much fun the kids in our neighborhood were having with their Barbie ride-on cars and we succombed to the neighborhood peer pressure. So, here's Curty driving Eli around the back yard.


Hannah and Cody model their new Christmas bathrobes while playing ping-pong.

Apparently this version of the game required you to make fish lips while returning the ball!



Merry FishLips to all and to all a Happy New Year!