The little boys and I enjoyed a day at Mema's house doing some holiday crafts. I hand sewed a stuffed toy for Samuel's stocking (it's hard to buy gifts for a 4 month old who is a second child... he doesn't yet play with toys much, and we already have so many from when James was a tiny babe). We tried to get James to do a painting craft that included canvas and masking tape that should've made this awesome snowflake print, but he was totally uninterested. Womp womp. So, I painted it instead and they turned out alright. Maybe we'll try again another year. We also made gingerbread houses from graham crackers, and that was a big hit. Lots of fun, and James enjoyed snacking on his house.
Pierce & Reagan (and friends) played their 5th annual Christmas show this year in downtown Raleigh. It was their best show yet and I am so proud of all of them! I thought that it was a miracle pulling off the show last year, but this year had us all in a much busier place (multiple babies, careers and schooling - almost everyone on stage was either in medical training or working on a PhD). They had a few new songs - Casey on It Came Upon a Midnight Clear and Stuart on O Come, O Come Emmanuel - both were extraordinary. Read more about their Christmas album Epiphany and my thoughts on last year's show and my husband playing music.
We haven't been able to go to many resident dinners this fall (though we did go to a lot in September right after Samuel was born and Stuart was home with us, mostly to keep our sanity and get out of the house), but we made sure to drop by for a little bit for the Christmas dinner. We are so blessed to have this group of friends of colleagues in our lives during this season of training!
The next several photos are from Acree Christmas in Zebulon. Stuart was post-call on Christmas Even, then had Christmas day and the day after totally off. We were in Zebulon on Christmas Eve, when we had our traditional nice dinner of standing rib roast and all the fixings. Katie was in town (always our favorite) and Matthew and Meredith were there with Canaan. So nice to have all of our people at home!
(Stuart setting up a tripod to capture a group photo... See his success below!)
Merry first Christmas to Samuel (and Canaan)! The day after Christmas, we woke up at home and celebrated again. The next few photos are from that morning.
Later in the afternoon on the 26th, my Aunt Val and her family came for the Wilkerson-Acree Christmas gathering. We used to go to her house most years on Christmas Eve for brunch or something, but we haven't done it in a few years, and now that there is a new generation, we decided it was easiest to host it right in the middle of where everyone lives - our house! The older kids decorated gingerbread Christmas trees (ice cream sugar cones and green buttercream frosting) and played outside.
Stuart had a few days of work over the weekend, then we left for our trip to visit the Pierces in Arkansas on December 30. It was Samuel's first plane ride, and James' first as a toddler. Gosh, it sure is easy to take a baby on a plane compared to a toddler! Samuel did pretty well, and I just nursed him if he got fussy. James, on the other hand, did pretty well overall, but did have a few total meltdowns and there was just nothing we could do!
Below are the few photos I have from the trip, but Stuart has a lot more that I need to gather from his phone. Most of our trip was spent by James playing with all of his cousins (and there are zero photos below of that!). So, check back soon for more about our AR trip...
James playing Stuart's tiny violin that he had when he was 3 years old (his parents had it restored and gave it to him for Christmas).
James trying so hard to play in this bounce house... He couldn't even climb up on his own. One of his bigger cousins came to his rescue, and after having a lot of help, he had a great time!
Celebrating New Year's (at 8:30pm)
Samuel meeting Mimi
Samuel meeting Jenna
Ok, check back for more soon...!
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