Christmas at Grammy and Grampy's

And the holiday fun continues!  We were so excited to get to Columbia City so we could celebrate with Grammy and Grampy, Uncle Jordan, Uncle Paul, Aunt Miranda, Will, and Amelia.  It's a good thing Grammy and Grampy have such a big house because with that many people (plus 4 dogs) we certainly needed it!

The last time we saw the Kinter family was around Thanksgiving time last year.    I can't believe how big Will and Amelia have gotten.  It was so sweet to see all of the kids together once again!  Plus, they looked super cute in their matching PJs Aunt Miranda got them.  I only wish we all lived closer together so we have play dates more often.  Our entire visit was just cuteness overload!

And I was an auntie heaven!  It was too fun to get to play with my favorite niece and nephew (and of course Olivia).  The kids all played so well together!  We'll have to Skype again soon!

Opening presents on "Christmas morning" was so much fun.  Again, we were all blessed so many awesome gifts.  Olivia received her own kitchen plus lots of play food and dishes.  We have the perfect spot all picked out for it at home.

Since we aren't able to see each other in person as often as we would like, we were excited to have some family portraits taken.  The photographer had a very nice studio, but we also had a few pics taken outside while it was snowing.  They came out great!  They will be nice to have and remember what a fun visit we had!

Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's

After the fun celebration at our house, we headed to Valparaiso to celebrate with the Szafarczyks.  As usual, Grandma and Grandpa planned lots of fun activities for us and even had Santa deliver some of Olivia's gifts to their house.  We also missed a pretty big snow storm that hit Fishers.  Who knew we would go to the land of lake effect snow and see very, very few flakes?!?

Christmas morning was lots of fun.  I was super excited to find the same set of PJs from last year for Olivia in a bigger size.  I'm sure there will come a time where it will be impossible to convince Olivia to wear matching PJs (it's hard enough to get Josh to do it!), so I'm loving it while it lasts.

Later that night, Uncle Jimmy, Uncle Drew, Aunt Lisa, and their dog Charlotte also came over for Christmas dinner and to open more presents.  Olivia was an excellent helper.  She passed out the gifts and helped everyone open their gifts (whether they wanted her to or not!).  We were all very blessed by everyone's generosity and received some very nice gifts.

The next morning, Grandma and Grandpa gave us a very nice bonus gift...the gift of extra sleep!  They entertained Olivia (or perhaps she entertained them!) while Josh and I caught a few more winks.  I saw these pics afterwards and it looks like she had a lot of fun reading with Grandma, passing out candy (one of her favorite activities of this visit), rocking out with Elmo, chilling with Angus, and watching her favorite cartoon.

Once we were all feeling rested, we headed to Chicago for our now annual Christmas trip. Our first stop was the Shedd Aquarium.  Olivia loved looking at all the fishies and of course running as much as possible!

She also had fun meeting some new friends and playing in the camping area of the Great Lakes exhibit.  If Olivia wants to go camping in the future, I think that sounds like the perfect adventure for her to have with Josh.

And even though it was freezing outside, a very nice security guard took a family photo with a breath taking backdrop.  You just can't beat that skyline!

After our fun trip to the aquarium, it was time to head to our hotel for some yummy pizza and a good night's sleep.  The next day, our little fishie went for a swim in the hotel pool. I don't think you can beat a view like this for your morning swim!

After our swim (and a really good nap!) it was time to hit the Mag Mile for some shopping!  We were also excited that Uncle Drew and Aunt Lisa were able to join us as well.  Olivia was so well behaved!  It was a great trip and unlike our trip last Christmas, no ear infections!

The next day we had one more yummy breakfast and one last visit with everyone.  And check out the matching "Szafarczyk Racing Team" shirts.  I'm sure we will be invited to participate in the Indy 500 this spring. All in all an absolutely great trip to the Region!