Our annual Pajama Brunch is in it's 7th year! Wow!
I love this tradition. We started it the first year we were married with our group of friends - 4 couples including us - and it is one of the most relaxing Christmas celebrations we have each year. Just a casual morning with friends... still in our pj's... eating yummy brunch food. We did used to have a gift exchange up until a couple years ago, but we've since decided to just get together for eating and hanging out without the gifts.
So I thought it would be fun to take a look back on each of the years of our pajama brunch. We've always taken a standard picture of all the girls on the couch in our jammies, but there are a few others as well.
2004
I've always loved decorating my table. But just newly married and loaded with new linens and decor from wedding gifts, I had so much fun setting up for this brunch! Check out the lack of dining room furniture in the background along with the unframed mirror just hanging randomly in the middle of the wall.
This is Craig's cousin (and my good friend!) Julie. Her husband Mike is to her right. And the other Mike is in the blue sweatshirt and cuddling our baby puppy, Brutus, who was then just 4 months old.
Kelly, Jill, Julie, me and Brutus
2005
I've got my candy cane apron on (a random gift from my wedding shower) and I'm whisking up our syrup! Also, notice the hideous old kitchen. And the even more hideous blond highlights in my hair. Ick.
The dining room is set again - a little differently this time.
This year I tried a "scrambled egg muffin" (like mini quiches baked in a muffin pan) and overnight yeast pancakes with homemade cinnamon syrup. Here's our group... Oops! I didn't get Jill in this picture!
Kelly and Jill getting ready for gift opening. You can see Craig's and my old stockings from when we were kids hanging in the background.
I loved those green, flannel, snowflake jammies from Vic's. I used to get a new pair each year for Christmas for awhile.
This was the year I was pregnant with Will.
Ya, I know he's the only boy in the "girl picture", but our new baby Will (6 months at the time) was just so pretty, wasn't he? Too bad he always wore such a serious face. :)
A rare shot of the guys. They're not the biggest fans of getting pictures taken. Oh! But Kelly and Steve are engaged this year!
I love this picture of Jill and Julie during our gift opening.
Kelly & Steve are newlyweds!
Will has grown a lot bigger! (18 mos)
And now I'm about 20 weeks pregnant with Sophie. And woo hoo! New stockings! I think this was also our last year of gift exchange.
The guys: Mike, Mike, Will, Craig and Steve.
And probably my favorite pajama brunch picture ever: a group picture! I love it!
The table is set for one less adult this year - Mike Weddle was traveling on business I think? But Will has taken a place at the head of the table in Craig's old spot. Haha! And the high chair is out for our newest member to pajama brunch.
Welcome Sophia! (7 1/2 mos) Matching polka dots with Auntie Jill.
This year, our friends brought gifts just for the kids. How thoughtful!
Will is 2 1/2 now!
And Kelly is expecting in March! She has endured a very rough pregnancy. Sophia is Kelly's Goddaughter.
This year I served a couple different French toast casseroles (one orange, one blueberry) and an egg casserole. And Kelly brought her AMAZING homemade cinnamon rolls. Oooh! It looks like we also had sparkling grape juice with this brunch.
Sophie would not look at the camera for our girls pic. :)
And that brings us to 2010!
The dining room is set again - a little differently this time.
This year I tried a "scrambled egg muffin" (like mini quiches baked in a muffin pan) and overnight yeast pancakes with homemade cinnamon syrup. Here's our group... Oops! I didn't get Jill in this picture!
Kelly and Jill getting ready for gift opening. You can see Craig's and my old stockings from when we were kids hanging in the background.
I loved those green, flannel, snowflake jammies from Vic's. I used to get a new pair each year for Christmas for awhile.
2006
Our group around the table again. Oh, look! This is Steve's first year, I think. He was new to the group and we were all totally psyched that he fit in perfectly.
This year I kept it pretty simple with scrambled eggs, pancakes and breakfast meats. But I did try a new cranberry nut torte that I thought was pretty good (on that cake plate in the middle).
This was the year I was pregnant with Will.
2007
Ya, I know he's the only boy in the "girl picture", but our new baby Will (6 months at the time) was just so pretty, wasn't he? Too bad he always wore such a serious face. :)
A rare shot of the guys. They're not the biggest fans of getting pictures taken. Oh! But Kelly and Steve are engaged this year!
2008
I love this picture of Jill and Julie during our gift opening.
Kelly & Steve are newlyweds!
Will has grown a lot bigger! (18 mos)
And now I'm about 20 weeks pregnant with Sophie. And woo hoo! New stockings! I think this was also our last year of gift exchange.
The guys: Mike, Mike, Will, Craig and Steve.
And probably my favorite pajama brunch picture ever: a group picture! I love it!
2009
The table is set for one less adult this year - Mike Weddle was traveling on business I think? But Will has taken a place at the head of the table in Craig's old spot. Haha! And the high chair is out for our newest member to pajama brunch.
Welcome Sophia! (7 1/2 mos) Matching polka dots with Auntie Jill.
This year, our friends brought gifts just for the kids. How thoughtful!
Will is 2 1/2 now!
And Kelly is expecting in March! She has endured a very rough pregnancy. Sophia is Kelly's Goddaughter.
This year I served a couple different French toast casseroles (one orange, one blueberry) and an egg casserole. And Kelly brought her AMAZING homemade cinnamon rolls. Oooh! It looks like we also had sparkling grape juice with this brunch.
Sophie would not look at the camera for our girls pic. :)
And that brings us to 2010!I set out our stemless wine glasses for the occasion.
This year, we had to squash NINE of us around the table - 8 adults plus Will. Sophie was still in her high chair and our newest member (Cecilia - 8 1/2 mos) was in a portable seat off to the side of her parents. I'm hoping next year we could use the kids picnic table for a kids table in the living room and if Cecilia's not ready, she could use the high chair. Eight is about the maximum number around our extended table.
This year we had a sausage and egg casserole, a big fruit salad, and apple pancakes with apple syrup (I made some of the pancakes with raisins, some with pecans and some just plain apple), and of course Kelly's mouth-watering cinnamon rolls.
Our group. Can you see Cecilia's head poking up between Kelly and Steve?
Will thoroughly enjoyed the cinnamon rolls.
I can't remember how many years Kelly's been bringing them but the cinnamon rolls have come to be expected at this gathering. They're, of course, homemade and she leaves them just slightly under-done so that they're super soft and gooey. Oh. My. Goodness.
Welcome to the group, Cecilia! And notice she's wearing the same jammies Sophie did last year? I absolutely LOVE seeing all of Sophie's clothes again on Celia!
This year I slacked and forgot to get MY kids' Christmas jammies washed up in time. We've had them for a little while but I just left them hanging in the closets with the intention of getting them out before Christmas. Oops!
This year, we had to squash NINE of us around the table - 8 adults plus Will. Sophie was still in her high chair and our newest member (Cecilia - 8 1/2 mos) was in a portable seat off to the side of her parents. I'm hoping next year we could use the kids picnic table for a kids table in the living room and if Cecilia's not ready, she could use the high chair. Eight is about the maximum number around our extended table.
This year we had a sausage and egg casserole, a big fruit salad, and apple pancakes with apple syrup (I made some of the pancakes with raisins, some with pecans and some just plain apple), and of course Kelly's mouth-watering cinnamon rolls.
Our group. Can you see Cecilia's head poking up between Kelly and Steve?
Will thoroughly enjoyed the cinnamon rolls.
I can't remember how many years Kelly's been bringing them but the cinnamon rolls have come to be expected at this gathering. They're, of course, homemade and she leaves them just slightly under-done so that they're super soft and gooey. Oh. My. Goodness.
Welcome to the group, Cecilia! And notice she's wearing the same jammies Sophie did last year? I absolutely LOVE seeing all of Sophie's clothes again on Celia!
This year I slacked and forgot to get MY kids' Christmas jammies washed up in time. We've had them for a little while but I just left them hanging in the closets with the intention of getting them out before Christmas. Oops!All three kids got to open a couple gifts from our friends again. It's so nice of them. Will and Sophie got some cute new books, a puzzle, a calendar and an owl bath towel.
Isn't this so cute?
Sophie likes it!
Mike snuggles in for Jill to read him a new book: Memoirs of a Goldfish. Such a cute and funny book!
Pretty Celia
And our girl pic this year was unfortunately after Sophie layed down for her nap. But Celia was bright-eyed and happy to join us!
This year after we ate, we all gathered around Mike & Julie's laptop to check out pictures from their trip to Japan. Wow! What an incredible experience. Mike owns his own karate school and they went as part of a group for that. Mike got to perform in front of some of the head masters in Japan! The food and culture looks very interesting there! Oh! And I may have a surprise guest in an upcoming WIWW post! Can you guess who it is? ;)
These are some of our very best friends. They are like family. (Actually, some of them ARE family. Haha.) And we always love getting together whenever we can. Everyone gets along with everyone and no matter the time between our visits, it's always comfortable and fun. I also very much appreciate their willingness to come to our house to make it easier for the kids. We are very blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives!
Isn't this so cute?
Sophie likes it!
Mike snuggles in for Jill to read him a new book: Memoirs of a Goldfish. Such a cute and funny book!
Pretty Celia
And our girl pic this year was unfortunately after Sophie layed down for her nap. But Celia was bright-eyed and happy to join us!
This year after we ate, we all gathered around Mike & Julie's laptop to check out pictures from their trip to Japan. Wow! What an incredible experience. Mike owns his own karate school and they went as part of a group for that. Mike got to perform in front of some of the head masters in Japan! The food and culture looks very interesting there! Oh! And I may have a surprise guest in an upcoming WIWW post! Can you guess who it is? ;)
These are some of our very best friends. They are like family. (Actually, some of them ARE family. Haha.) And we always love getting together whenever we can. Everyone gets along with everyone and no matter the time between our visits, it's always comfortable and fun. I also very much appreciate their willingness to come to our house to make it easier for the kids. We are very blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives!
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