the holidays. part 1.

Ok. Due to the large volume of pictures I took over the holidays, I've decided to share them with you via A Slide Show. It has taken me a ridiculous amount of time to get this all set up. No, really. A ridiculous amount. So, with that in mind, I've decided to give you the highlights {in bullet form...get excited} of our holiday festivities with the Bauerlein side instead of using large amounts of words to describe every moment. Besides, they say a picture is worth a thousand words and I need to save as many words as possible for my conversations with Sir Talks Alot.

Now. Without further ado, I give you The Highlights followed by a RIVETING slide show. {If you want captions, you'll have to visit my facebook profile. Apparently, you have to upgrade to "premium" with One True Media if you want to actually tell a story with your pictures. No thank you. I'm all about free...well, in this case anyway.}

• Austin and I decorated the tree. It looked great, and I'm convinced that's because all of the candy canes were grouped thisclose together on one side of the tree.
• Besides the close knit group of candy canes, my favorite part of decorating the tree with Austin was showing him Daddy's ornaments and his First Christmas ornaments. Later he would proudly tell all of our visitors that, "this is me!" or "this is Daddy!" when pointing to said ornaments.
• We all got to experience Austin's first Christmas program. I dressed him in his cutest red sweater, dropped him off at his class, and waited excitedly to see him ham it up with all of his friends. I should know by now that things rarely go as planned... He cried. I sat with his class. And it was like none of it ever happend afterwards.
• Austin got to help Gigi, Claire, and me do some Christmas baking. He loved every minute. So we bought him some play food for Christmas. Here's hoping our little chef will be making dinner SOON! ;)
• Christmas Eve brought lots of exciting events and gifts. The sisters were thrilled to recieve Snuggies from our Granny. Austin, however, was NOT thrilled to see his Mommy wearing it. He cried for 10 minutes and not even the new Hot Wheels could save the day. That didn't stop us from seizing the moment and taking multiple Classy with a "K" pictures!
• Austin decided he wanted the zebra striped snuggie to be his.
• He asks to wear it every time he sees the pictures. Or opens the blanket drawer. Or just feels the need for a snuggle.
• Luke and I made cookies with Austin for Santa. We chose sugar cookies with M&Ms, and by we, I mean me. I learned alot about Santa that night. For example, sometimes he prefers his cookies sans the M&Ms, and Dr. Pepper is his drink of choice for the big night. Can't wait for Austin to tell all his friends he leaves a big glass of Dr. Pepper out for Santa on Christmas Eve...
• The Keiffers started a new Christmas morning tradition...a visit to our local IHOP for some pancakes and hot chocolate. And oh yeah, some Dr. Pepper too. You know, for "Santa."
• Christmas was at our house. We ate. ALOT. I think I'm still full.
• We all celebrated my mom's 54th birthday. Good times were had by all, but how can you not when funny girls like Claire and Britt are present. We loved making the night special for the Birthday Girl! :)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

After celebrating Christmas "Bauerlein style" my little family headed up to Dallas to celebrate with the other Keiffers. I'll post pictures of that next. We loved every minute we got to spend with our families and continue to feel blessed beyond measure where they are concerned! Hope your holidays were merry too!! :)