Christmas Day, afternoon
After our morning extravaganza with the Streeter family and the giant turtle present, we headed over to the Purington house for afternoon with Ben's cousins (Jack and Julia) and Jake's brother and sister-in-law, Sam and Kathleen. Jake's parents were there (obviously) as well as Jake's Aunt Cheryl, who was spending Christmas with her sister.
There aren't as many photos from Christmas afternoon, apparently I was tired of photographing! It was also more difficult to shoot from where I was sitting and holding the baby and opening presents. So, just a few more photos from Christmas afternoon.
Jack was very excited to open his presents. He just turned 5 (on New Year's Day!), so he's at the perfect age.
Also at the age where he won't really 'smile' for pictures. Silly boy.
Gigi and her grandsons
After his morning nap, Ben was ready and happy to open more presents! Especially since it meant ripping up paper and trying to shove all of it into his mouth.
Ben and Julia. Isn't she adorable?
Jake with the babies. None of them are looking in the same direction.
Ben had a great 1st Christmas!
We were all pretty tired by the end of the day!
In previous years, Jake and I would have 4 Christmases to attend: my parents, his parents, his grandmother's, my grandparents. It involved a lot of scheduling and tight deadlines and traveling on a day that was not necessarily the best weather-wise. This year we decided that we'd only do TWO christmases: one with my parents and one with his. Jake's grandmother had passed away this summer, so the Vallencour cousins were getting together late on Dec 26th instead of the 25th and we also decided to visit my grandparents in Ilion and my cousins on the 26th as well. Thank goodness we did that! It was SO MUCH EASIER and less stressful to be able to spend quality time with our parents and siblings and to have some time to relax in the afternoon after all the presents were open. I'm glad that we've been able to modify our Christmas traditions to allow some breathing room.
There aren't as many photos from Christmas afternoon, apparently I was tired of photographing! It was also more difficult to shoot from where I was sitting and holding the baby and opening presents. So, just a few more photos from Christmas afternoon.
Jack was very excited to open his presents. He just turned 5 (on New Year's Day!), so he's at the perfect age.
Also at the age where he won't really 'smile' for pictures. Silly boy.
Gigi and her grandsons
After his morning nap, Ben was ready and happy to open more presents! Especially since it meant ripping up paper and trying to shove all of it into his mouth.
Ben and Julia. Isn't she adorable?
Jake with the babies. None of them are looking in the same direction.
Ben had a great 1st Christmas!
We were all pretty tired by the end of the day!
In previous years, Jake and I would have 4 Christmases to attend: my parents, his parents, his grandmother's, my grandparents. It involved a lot of scheduling and tight deadlines and traveling on a day that was not necessarily the best weather-wise. This year we decided that we'd only do TWO christmases: one with my parents and one with his. Jake's grandmother had passed away this summer, so the Vallencour cousins were getting together late on Dec 26th instead of the 25th and we also decided to visit my grandparents in Ilion and my cousins on the 26th as well. Thank goodness we did that! It was SO MUCH EASIER and less stressful to be able to spend quality time with our parents and siblings and to have some time to relax in the afternoon after all the presents were open. I'm glad that we've been able to modify our Christmas traditions to allow some breathing room.