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A few days after Christmas, G’Mom and Grampa came in town to visit. Of course, this meant we got to keep celebrating Christmas. One of the first items of business - exchanging gifts.

What will it be?

Leah is always excited to get some new Legos.

Grampa had asked for this grill-top cast-iron griddle. He also suggested to have it shipped to his house, but Jen didn’t notice that suggestion. Fortunately, he managed to get it into his luggage for the flight home.

And G’Mom got a calendar with all her favorite grandchildren in it (I won’t tell you which grandchildren didn’t make the calendar ;)

After opening presents, it was time for more fun (and lots of pictures of everyone there). Molly immediately broke out her new karaoke stand to rock out. And yes, that’s some wrapping elastic in her hair.

Hello again, Grammy. Merry Christmas to you.

Charlie often keeps his hands in the air like he just does not care.

And here’s Charlie sleeping on his paternal grandfather. He sleeps a lot. Like a baby.

Jen was a busy bee at her sewing machine this Fall. She bought fabric to make Aunt EA, Grams, Aunt Caroline, and Aunt ‘Chelle (in Birmingham) matching infinity scarves.

The scarves around their necks seem to have had an interesting effect on the expressions on their faces.

Four generations

And now the whole family. I believe this the first picture of this whole group. Kids, parents, uncles, aunts, grandmother, and great grandmother.

I even got to hold Charlie a bit.

That evening, we played a little Uno Attack (a new game Leah received from her cousins). It’s lots of fun when the cards start shooting out (assuming they’re not shooting at you).

Merry Christmas to all!

Unlike last year, both girls got a good night sleep. They did get up early (around 6:00, they say), but not ridiculously early. They waited patiently till 7:00 (the time we told them they could wake us). Then we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus (as we always do) and headed downstairs. There we found that Santa had not missed our house. I think Molly’s excited at what he brought her.

The girls are really into Star Wars, so we got them some Star Wars themed gifts. These pajamas were the first they opened.

These shirts continued the theme, and were the perfect thing to wear to see The Force Awakens in the theater two days later (tickets were already purchased).

Molly was excited to model her new hoodie with her karate dojo’s logo.

After opening presents at our house, we hopped in the car and headed over to Grams’s house to continue the present party. We always go in age order, which means Leah has always been first. Not this year, though - Charlie is the new first. But Leah didn’t have to wait long before it was her turn. This vest will keep her warm if this winter ever gets cold.

One of the hot toys for the girls now are Shopkins, so Leah was very excited to get this set. All the Shopkins are now set up in their room.

Uncle Scott is a Star Wars fan as well, so Jen made him a R2D2 apron, which will go perfectly with his R2D2 measuring cups from Aunt Caroline (next to his elbow).

After opening pajamas for baby Charlie and being impressed that Jen made them, Aunt EA and Uncle Scott were stunned at the knight hoodie that Jen made for Charlie to wear when he’s a little bigger. Uncle Scott and Aunt Caroline have already placed orders for adult versions!

Leah got a plush Fear toy though her expression appears to be one of Joy.

We had a few mix-ups on our gift list this year, so Jen was amused at a duplicate set of bowls that Grams gave her.

After some intense present opening, Charlie was in need of some reset. Aunt Caroline was happy to provide a place for him to lay his head.

Here they are from a bit further back so you can see Aunt Caroline as well.

That wasn’t all the Christmas fun, but that seems like enough for today. Tune in tomorrow as the fun continues.

After church, we headed over to Grams’s house for dinner. Grammy was excited to hold her first great grandson.

Charlie is wide-eyed looking at his great grandmother.

You may not have noticed that under Molly’s ugly sweater was a cute top. After realizing that she did not have a festive outfit for Christmas Eve, Jen made Molly a new winter tunic. Molly has been loving high-low skirts and dresses lately, so this new tunic was a bit hit.

Molly decided to bring her viola along to Grams’s house for a Christmas concert. She's only been learning for 2 months, but she's already doing great.

Per tradition, we opened one present on Christmas Eve. Leah was excited about her DigiPenguin.

As was Molly.

Jen and I received a new Apple TV. Thanks Grammy!

The tradition continues…Jen made the girls new nightgowns to wear on Christmas Eve.

Also per tradition, the girls put out cookies and milk for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer.

Then it was time to read ’Twas the Night Before Christmas (also a tradition) and then have the children nestle all snug in their beds.

While Jen and I got to meet Charlie at the hospital, Molly and Leah were not so lucky. Fortunately, Charlie came home from the hospital yesterday, which meant Molly and Leah got to meet their new cousin. They were so excited to meet this sweet little guy.

Of course, they were excited to hold Charlie. Molly was all smiles for her little cousin.

Charlie checks out the world; Molly checks out his face; Jen and Leah check out his feet.

Charlie is really studying Molly here.

Leah loved to touch Charlie’s soft little face.

Charlie has soft chubby cheeks, but his hands are old man hands. Long, thin, wrinkled fingers. Here they are up close.

Eventually, his mom did get a chance to hold him.

The girls gave Jen a chance to hold him, but they didn’t go far.

Molly loved chilling with Charlie, but she also would get tired of it and want to get up. Leah, on the other hand, couldn’t get enough of him.

So cute!

It didn’t take long before he was back in Leah’s lap.

Leah could not stop stroking his hair.

Yay for Charlie! And good luck to Aunt EA and Uncle Scott. We can’t wait to see you guys again.

Aunt EA and Uncle Scott had their first child Thursday evening. Welcome to the world, Charlie.

Jen and I didn’t get to see Charlie right after his birth, but we made sure to get to the hospital the next morning to meet him.

It’s been a while since I’ve held a baby this tiny.

Jen can’t hold back the kisses when around such cuteness.

I failed to get a picture of Aunt EA as a new mom, but I did get one of Uncle Scott as a new dad.

Congratulations Aunt EA and Uncle Scott! And welcome to the family, Charlie (or Charles, if you prefer). Your cousins can’t wait to meet you tomorrow after you get home (non-sibling children were not allowed to visit in the hospital during flu season).

In October, we flew to Memphis to visit G’Mom and Grampa. Aunt ‘Chelle, Uncle J, Emmie, and JJ drove up to meet us there for a family weekend.

Our first night in Memphis, the girls requested to read The Book with No Pictures at bedtime. Emmie had never read it, and the girls were excited to share the hilarity with her.

The hospital Grampa works at was holding the Pumpkin Run while we were in town, and we decided to join in the fun. It included a 5K, a 400m kids fun run, and a costume contest. Molly and Leah had to wear last year’s costumes as this year’s costumes were not ready yet.

The event wasn’t just a run. They had lots of things to do, including this inflatable obstacle course.

The kids were ready to run. Well, at least the girls were.

Emmie is fast - she was the first of our family to finish the race.

Molly finished strong.

And Leah was close behind.

All the kids got medals.

Here are the runners/walkers for the 5K. Aunt ‘Chelle and Uncle J were kind enough to stay with the kids so the rest of us could run/walk.

I managed to run my best 5K in a long time thanks to the relatively flat course. I came in under 26 minutes, which isn’t that fast, but isn’t super slow either.

Bob ran as well (more on that later), and Jen and Susan walked together. Jen and Susan thought about stopping at the 2 mile mark, but decided to push through to walk the entire 5K.

They were greeted at the finish line by a waiting little girl.

And here’s all of us after the race.

Our family won our category in the costume contest. Yet another victory for the Super Sellers.

G’Mom won 3rd place in her age category.

A congratulatory hug for G’Mom.

Grampa won 3rd place for his age group as well.

Grampa got a hug for his victory as well.

The kids ate a lot of pizza while we were in Memphis, which they were very happy about. Here they are eating pizza for lunch on Saturday. They’d already had pizza for dinner the night before, and at the race earlier that morning.

Memphis is known for its barbecue, and the Commissary is one of the best places to get it. It doesn’t have a lot of room, and you’ll have to wait a while for a table, but it’s so good. I’ve been cutting back on my calories, so I saved as many as possible (including those from the 5K that morning) to allow me to really enjoy this meal. Those were some delicious calories (1,548 by my count).

On Sunday morning, the kids were all enlisted to ring the hour at the start of the church service.

G’Mom and Grampa’s bell choir played a couple songs during the church service.

Here’s all of us after church.

And then it wasn’t long until we were back at the airport headed home. Thanks to G’Mom and Grampa for hosting us.

Back in March, when Molly opened her birthday card from Aunt EA and Uncle Scott, I was recording her. Aunt EA and Uncle Scott are known for giving fun singing cards that the girls love, so I wanted to capture their reaction. Little did I know that there was a bit more of a surprise than we were expecting. I wasn't allowed to share this video at the time, but I thought I'd go back and do so now.

Yes, we’re expecting a nephew around Thanksgiving, and this is how my sister told us about it. I wish I had kept recording, but I was so shocked I immediately hit stop. In case you couldn’t guess it, Jen’s next word was “way”.

We arrived at Grammy’s place and immediately ate lunch. We hung out for a while chatting (and doing a bit of tech support) before checking into our hotel. Then Grammy took us out for dinner and ice cream.

The next day, after going out to lunch, we headed to a playground. The girls played for a while, but were tempted by the pool next to the playground. So, we eventually changed into our swimsuits and the girls and I swam while Jen and Grammy chatted.

The pool had recently received some fancy upgrades including a retractable roof and this fun water slide. After passing a deep water test, Molly was allowed to use the slide (over and over). It wasn’t huge, but it was fast and shot you out so you almost skipped along the water. Thumbs up, Molly!

After some baths, we headed to a pizza place for dinner. While we waited for our food, Leah made sure to show Grammy her lost tooth.

Grammy took us to a fantastic ice cream shop called SweetTreats both evenings, which the girls loved. They let you create your own flavors, then sit outside to enjoy the delicious treat. Thanks, Grammy!

After a couple days in Highlands and just under two weeks on the road, it was finally time to head home. The 11 hour drive home was uneventful (and included a delicious lunch at Zaxby’s). And then we finally got to sleep in our own beds again.

The drive to Highlands was only about 4 hours long, but that doesn’t mean nothing worth writing about happened.

On the way to Highlands, we needed to make a bathroom break. When we discovered the rest stop was closed, we were forced to stop at one of my old favorite places that does not exist in Maryland - Krystal. And since we were going to have a late lunch in Highlands and Krystal’s burgers are so tiny, it seemed only prudent to have one to tide us over.

As we got closer to Highlands, Jen glanced back to find this in the backseat. These girls were troopers on all these travels.