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After a busy morning, we headed to Uncle Rick and Aunt Roxanne’s house for the extended Batson family Christmas celebration. Here’s everyone in attendance.

Per tradition, we had to take a silly one as well.

Dot decided to start a conga line.

We draw names for gift exchange. Maggie drew Leah, and her gifts included a few books. She may not have expected that Leah would require an immediate reading of them.

Leah also got a monkey hat with some mittens. She enjoyed wearing them, but she also enjoyed trying to put them on cousin Mike.

Here she is wearing her monkey hat herself.

Mike also got a hug from that monkey.

Update: I’ve been informed that this was not a hug at all. This is actually an attack, in which Leah’s monkey gloves are eating Mike’s shirt.

Uncle J and Leah played a duet on the piano.

Leah had an accident requiring an outfit change, but we had no clothes for her to change into. Thankfully, I'd gotten a t-shirt for one of my gifts, which made a nice dress for Leah.

It was great to see everyone. Being so far away, we don't get to see them very often. Thanks so much to Rick and Roxanne for hosting.

The next morning, we moved on to opening presents with Jen’s parents and their descendants. We got to it pretty quickly as the day was packed with things to do.

As the youngest, JJ got to be first in the rotation.

Jen made JJ a dinosaur sweatshirt. He loved it, and just kept saying “dinosaur” over and over. He also loved that it had pockets, though he needed a little help getting in and out of them.

Jen made her mom some lovely napkins.

The girls love opening presents.

Leah wanted to hug G'Mom and Grampa to thank them. I'm not sure about her face here. She really was happy to hug Grampa.

Jen also made JJ a car play mat. After taking the cars for a spin, JJ is intently putting them back in the garage.

JJ loved this wooden toolbox, as did the girls. They all played with it a bunch over the course of the trip.

We've been in Alabama for less than 24 hours, but it's been action packed and will continue to be. So, Leah decided to go down to the basement to watch a movie by herself for a little down time. As an introvert myself, I can relate.

While Leah watched, the others played with their new toys. Meanwhile, the adults got ready for the next gathering...

Less than 48 hours after we finished opening presents, we were on a plane headed to Alabama to keep on celebrating. The girls sat with me as always. And of course, it’s important to review all the safety procedures before taking off.

The first stop on arriving in Birmingham was to go see Great Grandma Dot. She’s recently moved into a new place in the Alzheimer's unit where she lives, so we went by to check it out.

Our next stop was Aunt ‘Chelle and Uncle J’s house, where the entire Batson family gathered for an evening soiree. JJ loves his Grampa, especially when he’s giving him snacks.

I think Grampa’s about to get this little cutie from behind.

He got him.

Leah loved hanging out with the single ladies, especially Maggie.

Emmie may only be four, but she kept the older girls giggling with her stories of her boyfriend.

Leah captured the attention of Sadie and Mary with some interactive learning on the iPad.

JJ’s already got a knack for the harmonica.

OK, maybe he needs a little more practice before we call him an expert.

That's all I've got for the first day of our trip, but there was still a lot more family and celebrating to come.

After taking in the beauty of the bluff, we had a good visit with the Savannah family. My aunt and uncle threw an oyster roast for EA and Scott to celebrate their recent nuptials. Our family was not shy about digging into these oysters (at least those of us older than 6).

As always, the hammock is the girls' favorite destination at Grandaddy's house.

They do love to hug each other.

Molly and Leah love for me to swing them in the hammock. Getting a picture while I swing them requires a really wide angle, but I think it works.

These girls love their great Grandaddy.

We headed to Grandaddy's house in Savannah to visit the extended family. First stop was of course, the dock. They had beautiful weather in the mid-60's in the location that is my definition of serene. The river was so still, it was great. I got several pictures of the bluff.

In the calm, the clouds roll in.

Grandaddy's house is in an incredible location. This picture is shot from the dock looking back at the bluff. Grandaddy's house is in the center, with the old plantation house to its right.

Hammock, still river, disappearing sun. Serenity.

The golden light of the sunset illuminates the Spanish moss on the bluff.

Sunset on the bluff, as seen from the back porch

We're tickled pink
and thrilled to say
It's a Pinkalicious Party for
Leah's 4th birthday!

When Leah requested a Pinkalicious party for her 4th birthday, she and Molly also requested dresses made by Mom. The girls looked through their Pinkalicious books and picked out the dresses to replicate. Leah's dress is inspired by the classic Pinkalicious dress, while Molly's is inspired by the nightgown in Silverlicious.

A Pinkalicious party must include a reading of the original Pinkalicious book.

Leah didn't care for all of our cries of "no peeking" when playing Pin the Cherry on the Cupcake.

The girls decorated pink wands.

And then played Pinkalicious Bingo.

Aunt EA and Uncle Scott continued their tradition of cards including audio. And like before, it's a favorite. Someone else took a video of the same card, if you're interested in what it is.

All eyes on Leah. Well, except JJ.

Leah's wanted some Stompeez ever since Molly got a pair, so she was very excited to get this pair. She actually ended up getting two different pairs for her birthday, and she loves them both.

I love birthday parties just as much as my girls, since it's a creative outlet for me too. :)

We all wore pink for the occasion - even Chad!

JJ made sure Pinkalicious's little brother, Peter, was represented. Apparently JJ had an important call to make (or maybe it's that he loves listening to his daddy's music!).

The My Little Pony purse and wand are just Uncle Scott's size.

The morning of her actual birthday meant more presents - this time from our Alabama visitors. Leah is the very proud owner of this Sofia the First book.

She requested a fancy 4th birthday dinner: grilled cheese sandwiches and cupcakes from Oh, What a Cake! It was nice to have quiet dinner after a busy birthday weekend.

You can see all the pictures from the birthday weekend on Flickr.

After spending the week in New York, G'Mom and Grampa joined us back in Maryland. We decided to take a trip down to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. And to get there, we had to take the fun route of riding the DC Metro. This was actually the girls' first ride on the Metro.

Leah studies the subway map carefully. Not sure how she's seeing it with her sunglasses on while we're underground.

We thought of making this trip because Molly's been asking to see dinosaur bones. Well, now she can see them, but I think this allosaurus is staring right back at her.

Some of the dinosaurs were very big. Those tiny figures under that tail are Molly, me, Grampa, and G'Mom.

Look. Up there. Swimming dinosaurs.

Look, Dad, look. Big prehistoric birds.

They had a hands-on area for kids to play with archeology-related things. Leah was a big fan of the binoculars.

They had a few microscopes that the kids could use to look at fossils up close.

There were some things (like this rock) in the main exhibits that said kids could touch them. This rock in the gemstones exhibit made a good seat.

Lots of shiny things. Naturally, pink and purple things were favorites of the girls.

Purple. And you could touch it, too.

The girls got to see the Hope Diamond up close and personal.

In the Insect exhibit, the girls got to see a tarantula.

Leah wasn't scared of the hairy spider at all, putting her face right next to the glass. I had a slightly different reaction.

After the bravery of my daughter, I got up close with the spider as well.

Grampa and Leah check out all the butterflies starting to emerge from their chrysalides.

After the museum, the girls got some popsicles on the national mall.

They made a mess, but enjoyed them thoroughly.

Snacking on the mall with the museum in the background.

Here we are, after a very fun trip to the museum, with the dome of the museum in the background.

Grammy's Mother's Day present from us was a jar featuring artwork by Molly. She originally drew the artwork on a mug with Sharpies and we baked it, but that was a dismal failure, so this was the backup plan.

Grammy looks right at home reading the card to Leah. As a retired school teacher, I'm sure she's done this quite a bit…

We gave Grams an invitation to tea at Tea on the Tiber in Ellicott City. This is the moment she realized that EA had put a phony event on her calendar to ensure she was available to go.

The next weekend, we all had a great time catching up at afternoon tea. It was fun to try many different teas, but Grams's choice of acai berry tea was the winner. Next time, I want to try afternoon tea at Moulin de Paris in Pasadena.

Due to the snow, we spent Boxing Day at home playing with new toys. Leah got some fun salon toys, so the girls had to play with them as soon as they got up.

Molly and Leah enjoy playing Angry Birds on the iPad and iPhone, but now they can play a physical version too. G'Mom and Grampa tested it out with the girls.

Molly got a bunch of early reader books, but Leah loves them too.

Molly had to try out her new roller skates inside since the weather outside was not cooperating.

After things calmed down, Molly got to watch Brave for the first time. What better way to watch it than wearing a Rapunzel dress, reclining in a snow sled, eating popcorn?

We had a nice visit with G'Mom and Grampa. They were able to capture a rare still moment with the girls on the couch.

Santa brought the girls a bunch of dress up clothes. Leah immediately had to put on the wedding attire, including veil and heels, which she wore for the entire time opening presents.

Molly was excited to finally get to see Brave thanks to getting it on Blu-ray from her sister.

This looks like a big present.

It's a scooter!

The girl's 1st cousin twice removed, Ann, restores very nice dolls and makes clothes for them. When Molly was younger, she gave her a very nice American Girl doll (also named Molly) which she continues to love. This Christmas, Leah got this very nice Madame Alexander doll, Wendy, along with a few very nice outfits to go along with her. It looks like she'll be a prominent figure in our house for years to come, too.

After opening Wendy, I made the girls close their eyes for an unwrapped surprise gift. Matching doll nightgowns!

After finishing opening presents at our house, we headed to Grams and Pop's house to open presents there. This music box from Aunt EA was a big hit for Leah, and we've been hearing It's a Small World over and over since she opened it.

We always open one present at a time, going around the room from youngest to oldest. So, Leah spent a lot of time waiting patiently for her turn to open another.

There were lots and lots of dress up clothes this Christmas - for the girls, for their dolls, and even for Molly's bear.

Grammy was in town to partake of the Christmas festivities too.

EA's boyfriend, Scott, loves all things bacon. So when I saw this recipe for Candied Bacon Fudge I had to make it for him. It got thumbs up from all who tasted it. Chad even said it was the best chocolate-bacon combo he's had!

Grams is shocked at the ceramic trivet with custom artwork created by Molly we gave her.

The blanket I made got a thumbs up from Pop.

Of course, Minnie Mouse is always a hit.

The one gift Molly kept talking about getting were these Unusual Unicorn Stompeez Slippers. When you walk in them, the eyes pop up due to the force of your foot pushing air from the bottom up into the eyes.

Nice pearls Aunt EA (given by her boyfriend Scott).

For Pop, EA (with help from several of us) put together a video montage of pictures throughout his life.

After seeing the video, the girls wanted to see some of Pop's Navy stuff, including his sword.

The girls tried on some of Pop's Navy hats. Before Chad took this picture, Aunt Caroline told them to make the biggest smiles they could. She apparently has not learned that you don't tell little kids that, as it will inevitably result in these faces.

Commander Sellers and Aunt Caroline got in on the hat fun as well.