Grandpa and Bebe Come To Visit

Dad and Kim flew in on Christmas Day, and it was so nice to get to spend part of the actual holiday with them.

{mattie rose helping her bebe open gifts}

{ohhh these two}

{bebe was glad to have such big helpers to open her gifts}

{and when bebe was done, mattie rose was glad to help grandpa}

{dad's new hat from my brother}

{mattie rose and her bebe}

{again, way too busy to look at the camera}

{trying on grandpa's hats}

{silliness}

{"wait grandpa, give it back"}

{mattie rose a little unsure of it all...}

{snuggle time}

{warming up}

We spent the day after Christmas shopping for some good deals. And the following day, the weather was so nice, so we headed to the park. There is a great ADA-accessible playground in town, which I love because it's not messy sand or dirt to have to clean off the babies. 

{do they even look old enough to be grandparents?}

{just a-swingin'}

{working on her swing}

{grandpa giving her some pointers}

{then it was james' turn}

{he was so proud of himself}

{if ya wanna play, ya gotta carry your own clubs}

{buddies}

{it didn't take long for mattie rose to snuggle up with grandpa. there is just something about watching your daughter sit in your dad's lap. pulls at the heartstrings. just a bit.}

{and of course, whatever one does, the other has to do as well}

This trip was way better than all the others, because we had almost a whole week together. It wasn't rushed, and we could just spend good, quality time together. But of course the day they left came way too fast! COME BACK GRANDPA AND BEBE!!!!

Christmas Day 2013

It was so fun to wake the babies up on Christmas morning. Wait. Let's be honest. There was no waking them up. They are always awake at the crack of dawn.

We had a quick snack of a breakfast, Daddy read the Christmas story out of Luke, and then opened a few gifts.

{babes on Christmas}

{james and daddy reading}

{someone only wanted to open gifts}

{this is just funny to me}

{mattie rose digging in}

{sweet boy}

{loving her new outfits}

{i love when he sits like this. and then the physical therapist in me comes out...}

{that face}

{needed a banana break}

{james checking out daddy's new pictures for the office}

{just playing with his new cars}

{she loves to doodle these days}

{playing in our tunnels from momma mc and dayay}

{and no christmas is complete without some snuggles}

Once presents were opened and the mess was cleaned up, we had another surprise for James and Mattie Rose. Grandpa and BeBe were on their way!!!!

McShan Christmas 2013

Since the McShans typically celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, that's where we headed. I did a horrible job taking pictures. Rather upset about it. The kids were exhausted and delirious and getting them to even look at me with a camera in hand was not happening. 

{momma mc and her grands}

{helping james and mattie rose open their new pop-up tunnels}

{opening up some pretty shoes}

{daddy and his girl, who had her tongue out all night}

{sleepy boys}

{new day pack for hikes with my honey}

{rockin' them beats}

{new rides}

{just a boy and his bike}

{a little help from dad}

{took a break to play in his house}

Memphis Christmas 2013

We spent the weekend before Christmas in Memphis celebrating the holiday. And boy did we celebrate!

We exchanged presents with the O'Dells, babysit for a sweet new friend, opened up lots of presents with MeMe and Pop, and had brunch with Santa and Mrs. Claus. 

{silly girl in smocking}

{sweet baby harper - almost 1 year old}

{abbi is getting so big}

{mattie rose and abbi checking out the goods}

{loving our new book from japan from abbi and harper}

{just love that face}

{abbi figuring out her new toy}

{this is what 18 years of friendship turns into. couldn't have ever dreamed it.}

{my sweet goddaughter loves her auntie corky}

{so does this one...love her "cheese" face}

{this just melts my heart. abbi loving on james}

Later that night, I had the pleasure of babysitting sweet baby Barrett. He is the son of my Phi Mu lil sis, Megan. Megan's husband Brandon is from Collierville, and they happened to be in town for a wedding. Meg texted me that morning asking if I knew any good babysitters in the area (not knowing we were in town too), and I just happened to know of a very qualified and experienced "babysitter." ;)

{jolly little man}

{auntie am came by for a visit too}

{mattie rose playing mommy}

{aunt court teaches all her little ones about selfies}

{he looks content, right?}

{who's got the touch?}

{a little hokey pokey before bed}

The next morning, we celebrated by eating some breakfast and exchanging gifts. Mom had instructed us to bring Kyle's truck instead of my little car. Two little people were about to be two very spoiled little people. 

{snuggles with our pop}

{getting ready}

{bailey and me}

{mattie rose was more interested in her presents than taking a picture with mommy}

{the ladies in our matching loungewear}

{a greasy daddy and his excited little girl}

{the men, plus mattie rose}

{someone was super pumped about his "baaaa"}

{last year, the sound of tearing paper made her cry, this year, she was a pro at shredding it to pieces}

{big boy got a tool bench}

{obsessed and in awe of her doc mcstuffins doctor's kit}

{gah that face gets me every time}

{we love bailey}

{just lounging and drawing pictures on her new chalkboard}

{my buddy, though you wouldn't know it by the picture}

{meme, aka Santa, and her babes}

After presents were opened, everyone showered, and we headed to the country club for brunch with Santa. The big guy.

{high fives were as close as james was coming to sitting on santa's lap}

{these two had a death grip on mommy and daddy}

{the harder they cried, the more we laughed. awesome parents.}

{chowing down}

{feeding meme}

{missing someone}

{clinging tight to mommy's leg. adamant not to get near santa.}

{james decided santa may have been safe enough to share bumps with}

{pop and his boy}

{meme and her girl}

{sweet moments with our bay-bay}