Doggone It!

Tucker and Wrigley had a great time wearing each other out during our visit.

Wrigley especially enjoyed having the run of so much wide open space.

Boone Buddy a/k/a Baby Boom

The littlest reveler at Christmas was also quite possibly the sweetest. Here is "Baby Boom" (as Osten calls him) sleeping on the couch.

And here is "Boone Buddy" (as Piper calls him) catching some shut eye in his bouncy seat.

Here's a shot of the little guy wide awake while his mommy burps him. What a handsome little fella! It looks like there might be another redhead in the family . . .

And here's one final shot of him with Uncle Fran and Teaunee.

And the "Grammi" goes to ...

... Piper and Marci!!

Grammi got some quality time with her two favorite little girls, who seemed to enjoy her attention immensely!

Sit 'n' Spin

Osten and Piper each got a Sit 'n' Spin for Christmas. It took them a couple of tries to get to spinning . . .

. . . but they were having a ball in no time!

Marci even got to take a spin!

Woah!  Spinning can make you a little giddy after a while . . . especially when you're wearing your bootsies and your cousin's stocking cap and toting your new screwdriver!

Let It Snow!

The weather was more delightful than frightful this Christmas, but there was one day in particular that was a bit nippy. Osten and Piper happily donned their winter gear for an outdoor adventure.

Osten was so proud of his mittens!

And his Spiderman hat came in handy for keeping his ears warm.

Really, there was no snow on the ground, but this picture has nice winter-wonderland effect!

In Search of Snow

There might not have been any snow on the ground, but there were white flakes in the air at a local children's museum. Osten and I took a trip to check out the indoor snow exhibit. Osten rode on a snowmobile . . .

. . . and slid down the slide.

The snow was hard to capture on camera, but there were quite a few flakes coming down. Osten loved watching them fall through the air.

But the best part was throwing the foam snow balls!

Men Working

Osten has long been a fan of "men working," and he still shouts in excitement every time he spots any kind of construction worker in action along the road. At the children's museum that we visited over Christmas, he finally had the chance to try his hand at some work on equipment that was just his size!

He changed a tire . . .

and drove a John Deere tractor.

He also tried his hand at a life-sized operation game!

Rose-Colored Glasses

Over Christmas, Piper and Osten had the chance to share (and not to share) many toys, including Piper's rose-colored glasses.

Judging by both of their reactions, viewing the world through rose-colored glasses ain't all that it's cracked up to be!

Rip It

Christmas morning was so much fun this year. There were tons of presents to rip open. Some of them were more difficult than others.

This wrap job worked well as a teething toy.

Piper used her new sit-n-spin to get some leverage on her gifts.

All of the excitement was just exhausting!

Chain Gang

Osten and Piper made a paper chain, and for a very short while it made a pretty decoration on the bannister.

Then Marci got a hold of it!

So much for the chain!

Gingerbread Creations

Osten and Piper spent one morning putting together a gingerbread house.

As it turned out, they had more fun playing with the icing and decorating their new cutting boards.

Somehow, all of the sugar made them a little hot . . . ??

Here are their fabulous creations! The blue one is Piper's, and the red one is Osten's.

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Here are a few shots from the Christmas pageant this morning. Osten made for a rather unruly sheep, but he thoroughly enjoyed himself.

Don't be fooled by the sheepish grin. Apparently, this sweet costume did not do much to contain his wild side.

Here's the renegade sheep, back in the fold!