Charlie, almost 8 months.
Such concentration!
Maddox, 14 months
Again, such concentration!
Phebe, about 9 months
I think they all look like they have a lot of musical potential. Time will tell!
We celebrated with our kids on Christmas Eve, starting with lunch, appetizers, and gifts in the afternoon, then church and dinner. Since I have several services to play for (4:00 and 10:30), we have to fit everything in between my mad dashes out the door with armloads of music. We had the added distraction this year of a non-heating hot tub, a plumber trying to figure out the problem and offering advice, and then a decision to drain it. Always something!
The tree was overloaded with gifts, as usual,
and the table looked great!
The guys spent some down-time before the grand opening.
Kyle found his favorite chair,
and Corey played Santa.
Charlie was the star attraction as he celebrated his first Christmas.
Between teething and a bad cold, we were "mopping the deck" with kleenex all afternoon. Poor baby! He was in a great mood, though, and had fun learning how to open the packages.
Hmmmm, wonder what silly remark Chuck just made?
He loved these little characters on wheels - thanks, Phebe!
He also loved the wrapping paper!
He'll be hammering on this workbench before we know it!
Charlie loves his cousin, Maddox!
So big!
Maddox is really good with him, and he had fun helping Charlie play with some of his new toys!
Corey still plays a mean drum.
See the expression in Maddox's eyes?
Corey caught it perfectly in his present to us, a 16x20 original oil painting! It's now hanging in our entryway, and it may find it's way to the mantle after all the Christmas decorations are put away. Awesome!!
Corey is a great host, and he makes a fantastic carmel latte! 
Kyle entertained Maddox, or vice versus?
He really gets into opening gifts!
Corey got him an easel with all the accessories. Maddox will be able to paint right along with his dad!
Oh, a shirt - how boring!
A Spiderman hippity-hop!
What could this be?
Joyce and Paul joined us for a lunch of chili, cinnamon rolls, pineapple, and cheese sticks (sounds like a CF school lunch!).
After lunch, we all piled into cars and went to a movie. The guys went to True Grit, and Joyce and I took Maddox to Gulliver. We missed our usual gathering with the Catlin clan this year, but they were in Illinois visiting Tom and Kim. We'll get together in January!
We stopped at Scenic Cafe for an early dinner. What a beautiful setting, and even better food!
We brought lots of presents for Chuck's mom, some for Christmas and some for her 85th birthday, which she will be celebrating next week!
Now it's about time to take down all the decorations,
and put them away for another year. 
HOW old is that dude?
Maddox was entertained for awhile with some coloring, but they only gave him one crayon - how uncreative! Orange got pretty boring after awhile.
Jenna and Andy forgot toys for Charlie, so Andy found a ToysRUs close by and bought him an early Christmas present. I think our kids had this same toy!
Ummm, how many birthdays have we celebrated together? I think about 38 or 39.
Kyle always comes up with some interesting cards.
Chuck's cake was a little the worse for wear. It had kind of a rough trip - first, I dropped it in the driveway before we left Cannon Falls (it actually flipped upside down), and then Kyle sat on it when he slid into the booth at the restaurant. Good thing it was only one layer. It may not have looked so great, but it sure tasted good!
There, that's better.
Happy Birthday, Grandpa!
Only 6 candles? Guess we all know how to count by tens. :-)
My trusty timer worked again. The Lindors are missing,
Hey, who is that kid?
Can I touch him?
He looks like fun! He even smiles!
How about a hug?
