Stephens Family Christmas

 We started off the Christmas celebrations a week before by heading to Gigi and Papa J's house to spend the night!  We had a yummy Papasitos dinner and opened presents.  It was such a perfect evening and the best part was watching Jack, Griff, and Ella playing together.  There was so much laughter and it was an evening I'll never forget.  

Griffin has quite the sweet tooth and loved Gigi's tray of chocolate chip cookies!

 Sweet Ella loves her Gigi

 Papa J helping Griff open his wooden pizza set

Jack loved the easel and magnetic letters we gave him

 Ella got her first baby doll

 Aunt Lala and Uncle B gave Griff a remote control, he LOVES it!  It shoots foam discs, and Jack and Griffin had SO much fun playing with it.  Griff would shoot Jack and Jack would scream in excitement, they had us laughing so hard!!

 Jackson loved opening his presents

 Gigi must have been extra good because Papa J surprised her with a VERY sparkly, beautiful watch!

 Love these two!

 Gigi and PPJ gave Griff a trampoline and the boys had a great time jumping on it

 Ella with her drum and purse

Such a fun night!!!

Someone's in the kitchen with Mommy

 I love baking during the holidays and it's twice as fun (and messy) with my little helper!  Griffin still loves to help me in the kitchen, and he's a great taste tester.  Can't wait until next year so I'll have two little elves in the kitchen with me!!!

 Can't wait to show his girlfriend this one some day!

 Not sure how much actually made it into the oven but we sure had fun!

Griffin's Christmas at Grace

Griffin had his Christmas program and party at Grace last week.  He did such an awesome job singing all the songs and doing the motions with them.  It was precious and we were so proud of him.  After the program, we had his party.  Lluvia and I were in charge of organizing the party and it turned out really cute and all the kids had a great time!  After the party Griff and RJ cuddled up on the couch at our house to watch Polar Express while Lluvia and I enjoyed a moment of peace over a cup of coffee...such a great day!

Breakfast with Santa

 Saturday morning, our neighbors The Todd's, had a breakfast with Santa party at their house.  Sara did an awesome job on all the details and the kids had a blast.  They even had a "Holiday Cheer" bar set up for the adults with make your own mimosas, poinsettas, and bloody mary's, so fun! Griffin loved the roller coaster car in the backyard and Ella enjoyed playing with all the kids.  Santa came and I swear he was strait from the North Pole!  We even managed to get a decent pic of the kids on his lap.   

Both kids actually like Santa this year!

 Ella playing with new friends

 Ella getting a push from her buddy Reid

 The girls

 Ella skipped her nap so she spent a lot of time "relaxing" in the swing

 Walking home after the party

My boys

Best Buds

I went to Griffin's class on Tuesday to take some pictures and got to see these two buddies in action.  There are 3 boys and 7 girls in Griffin's class.  All the girls were quietly coloring or playing together in the kitchen and these two were running circles around the room and I might have seen a dog pile at one point...ha!  I can't wait to see what they're like at 16...on second thought maybe I can!!!

God is Faithful

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Thanksgiving

 We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  We went to Uncle Ben and Aunt Carrie's for Thanksgiving lunch.  I love that Jason has such a big family, it's loud, and crazy with tons of kids running around...just what holidays should be!  Griffin and Ella had a great time playing outside with all the kids.  After lunch, we drove to Austin to the lake house.  We had the best weekend and really relaxed and enjoyed the kiddos.  On Friday, Lauren, Gigi, and I went to Fredericksburg to do some shopping and then met the guys and babies in Johnson City to see their amazing Christmas lights!  If you're ever in the Austin area for the holidays, their light display is amazing!  Of course I got zero pictures of that :(.  The guys played golf on Saturday and Griffin LOVED swimming the the hot tub and sleeping with Daddy in the bunk room.  It was the perfect holiday, all about spending time with family!

Gigi and Papa J with their grand babies!

 The baby whisperer

 Ella Boo in her turkey dress, she GOBBLED up her Thanksgiving and loved everything!

 Thanksgiving is over so it's time to break out the Christmas clothes...YIPPEE!

 Ella loves her Papa J

 Sweet Jackson eating his waffle

 Griffin Bear had SO much fun!

 Feed ME

 Jack was so sweet to Ella all weekend, giving her hugs, helping her with her paci, and even feeding her.  I need him to come over more often :)

This is what I'm most thankful for!!

Out of the mouth of babes...

Today we were checking out at Target and Ella was making all sorts of grunting noises in the cart.  The lady checking us out said, "Oh my, you sure are talkative", and Griffin responded with, "She's going BROOOWWWN poo poo, and it's DIAREEEETTA!"  Give me a shovel so I can dig a hole and hide!  Ha

A Special Visitor

 Santa made a special visit to our house Monday during nap time.  He left hot cocoa and oreo pops for Griff and Mommy and a few little marshmellows for Ella. :) Santa also dropped off a special present for the kids, Elf on the Shelf!  Griff was so excited about his new friend, and decided to name him...Elf (so original, think we're going to try the naming thing again next year).  When I told him Elf would be watching his behavior and reporting back to Santa, and he quickly asked me to take him off the mantle...ha!  After some convincing Elf is a part of the family and working out nicely.  Griffin loves to find his new spot every morning.  I just love family traditions, some old and some new!  

 Looks yummy!

 Trying out an oreo pop

 First drink of hot chocolate...

 He loves it!

 And Ella had her first sweet treat, a marshmellow...

 She LOVES them!

 Unwrapping Santa's present

Thanks Santa for such a fun treat!