Christmas Cheer

"Just act like you love the dolls."

Actually, Josh and I were trying to stop the picture takers as they pulled out these "foreign dolls" and gave them to the kids. We were too slow in our attempt.

Our fake tree... can you tell? With a little pine scented fake tree spray from Bath & Body, I bet you couldn't.

The Masterpiece. Or not. :) It looked way better in real life.

Lots of kids from the Anchor homeschool co-op celebrating Christmas with a relay!

Yeay, new jammies from our Aunties & Uncles & Cousins in Monroe! (Thanks so much!! They all fit!)(and have been worn every night since they arrived).

Our annual cookie decorating party. This year the girls kept commenting on how sweet the frosting was. However, after eating dinner at a Chinese restaurant together where one of the dishes was fried bread dipped in sweet & condensed milk, I wasn't so sure how the icing could be much sweeter! Anyhow, we had a great time.

Speaking of milk... This is one of the gifts from our good Chinese friends... sweet milk in a pop can. Dassah was not quite sure what to do with it :).

We had lots of fun on Christmas! Christmas eve we hosted for dinner and Christmas day we went to our friends' house for soup, salad & bread. So yummy. We also enjoyed packages from my mom and sister!

Cade loved his slinky before he even realized it's step descending capabilities. He also put together most of his legos already and has played lots of "War" with his new card deck.

Dassah's very own baby from Auntie Nanny!

For our immediate family, Lily decided she wanted to do a name exchange like they did on her "Boz the Bear" movie. She wrote up the names and found a box to put them in. For the most part, who we picked was a secret except for Caedmon's immediate challenge that he bet no one would ever guess that he had dad.

So, I was in charge of Lily & Dassah, and Josh was in charge of Caedmon and Vivianna. Their group also picked "Baby #5". So this is what the baby got for Christmas. Josh thought it was fitting that his name "Dan" is written on his shirt because that's what Hadassah calls Josh since she can't say "dad" very well yet. To: Baby, Love: Dan, Hadassah might have written.

I bought a mutual gift for Vivi & Dassah. Vivi didn't mind letting Hadassah tear open the paper. All she wanted for Christmas was the boxes anyway.

Hadassah was thrilled about her sand and water table. At least she was AFTER we filled it with water and small dollies.

Caedmon got a Bow & Arrow Set from Lily. "Guess what I got for Christmas???" Is still his favorite line. That's a good sign.

Lily got a "small barbie sized doll" play ground and a sweatshirt dress from Josh. I was surprised at how little time it took to put together for having hundreds of tiny pieces.

(I got a bottle of awesome smelling perfume from Viv).

Josh got a new tie (homemade) from Caedmon... oh yeah, and black dress shoes by request. Who says they don't look good with sweat pants?

"Either frown or pretend to smile if you liked your christmas gifts kids."

Merry Christmas!!

wild & crazy

(the hair due)

sweet & sophisticated

(again... the hair)

beautiful!!

Viv on the go

with a little help

Viv's one-year picture re-do

Jing jing and the kids watering their Chinese Chia Pets

Then decorating cookies. Jing jing didn't think the frosting was too sweet :).

AND FINALLY... LILY TURED 6!!!

We are so proud of our talented, loving & social first child.

Here she is with her friends Bright, Zion & Hallie (her new barbie from her friends) (and Caedmon).

Birthday Morning

Josh & I got Lily Barbie soap & lotion. We also got her a "Seek & Find" Bible, but it arrived a couple weeks later.

Xiao Li gave Lily a pair of slippers and a little figurine.

The ear-muffs are from Caedmon. And Josh surprised Lily with a notebook and a little dog toy.

Here we are on the way to "Baby Dream City," a pretty amazing activity center (despite the name) for 3 to 15 year olds.

We fit 8 adults and 7 kids in Shao's trusty blue van.

Dinner at McDonalds

This beautiful pillow and pajama pants were made by Nathan's mom!

As we were buying tickets, the workers came out singing a little song. I'm not so sure what it was about, but I'm sure the lyrics were as great as the melody.

5 Little Astronauts

Jing jing brought the birthday cake! Lily was expecting it to have a bunny on it, but was perfectly content with peaches instead.

Emergency! Get the oxygen mask!

Some funky music came on accompanied by disco lights... we were all tempted to bust a move.

(note: this is just a mural, not actual snow capped mountains.)

Waiting in line for the best part...

The Baby Unit at a Hospital!

Lily enjoyed this the most by far. It was adorable to watch her soak up every word/ action from the teacher nurse. The girls had the chance to cloth the babies, give them a little massage and set them back in their little beds.

Punching out after a long day of hard (FUN) work!