Daddy Fun and Daddy Snuggles

In the days leading up to Aaron's deployment I tend to get a bit obsessed with taking pictures of him and the kids. I want to be able to remember these precious moments while Aaron is far from us and reflect on these images to bring back the smiles when the tears want to fall.

Christmas 2010

We had such a fun Christmas, both in Michigan and back home here in Kentucky. The "theme" for Colton's presents seemed to be "we need to buy more batteries!" and Clara's was "princess". The kids had a blast. Here are a few favorite pictures from our holiday.

Merry Christmas!

What a great way to start off Christmas! We were in Detroit for Christmas and Santa made a special visit to our family gathering. It was so incredible! Growing up, Santa and Mrs. Claus always made a special visit to our Christmas Eve family party. I have dozens of magical memories of myself, Keri, and our 13 other cousins all running around with anticipation, giggling with excitement, and watching with amazement as Santa passed out presents and made us smile. It was so wonderful to see the next generation of "Schmidt" cousins experience that same magic.

Grandpa and Grandma "Sally"

Kalightoscope

We enjoyed a day in Louisville going to the Galt House and seeing the Christmas display, Kalightoscope. It was so cool! It's a display of Chinese lanterns done in large scale. I really can't explain it and I know the pictures are not going to do it justice. But, here are a few of my favorite displays.

The Galt House also has a life-sized gingerbread village. Again, the pictures don't really convey how wonderful it looks, but take a look at the list of "ingredients".

Some other favorite photos from the day.

It was a great day for our family. Maybe we'll even be able to repeat it again next Christmas.

Colton is 7 months old!

Seven months old. All I can say is, "I love watching this little man grow!" He is so stinkin' fun and adorable. Not crawling yet, but scooting a lot more and still spending a lot of time on his hands and knees. He's babbling things like, "ba ba ba", "ga ga ga", and "ma ma ma". It's so fun to "talk" to him.

18 lbs, 28 1/2 inches, and nothing but drool!

Loving that smile that looks just like Daddy
(That's the mouth, not the mess!)

The big guy with his big guy cup

Breakfast with Santa

We went to Breakfast with Santa yesterday. It was a very nice event put on by the FRG at the hospital on post (where I work). They had several craft projects to do and of course, the big man himself, Santa was there. Clara had a great time with the crafts, but would have nothing to do with Santa! Guess she's still at that age, sweet thing. Colton, on the other hand, couldn't stop staring at the bearded guy - too cute!