I'm just gonna dump a bunch of pictures from the final days leading up to Christmas and some of our 12 Days of Christmas into one picture-filled post. I will do my best to keep the stories and comments short. Hopefully the pictures tell a story better than I do.
This year was our first year of STAYING PUT! We decided last year that we would no longer travel for Christmas. We will wake up in our own home and begin to establish some family traditions of our own. Things were hectic, as usual, and I didn't get to put into place all of the ideas I had for this year, but I am totally cool with all that we did manage to do. We had a wonderful Advent and Christmas season, and I look forward to adding traditions in years to come.
In the midst of birthdays and birthday parties, the boys and I found time to work on some homemade art to give as gifts to Eli's teachers and to the grandparents. Found this fun idea on Pinterest (gotta give credit where credit is due...) and decided to try it out.
I loved the results....and Jude loved making a mess. Not sure if anyone will actually hang these, but the boys had fun....
He was happy with the finished product, and he loved the process. All that matters, right? And look who snagged Mommy's candy cane lollipop! He was so darn proud of himself. What a mess!!
We also attempted homemade marshmallows this year to give as gifts with hot chocolate. Although messy, it was super easy and super yummy. So yummy that I decided my coffee deserved a treat as well. Mmm!
Aunt Kristi got a gingerbread house to make with the nephews, and as usual, Eli was excited about a project. I think Aunt Kristi ended up doing most of the work, but the cousins had a great time decorating it; sampling all the candy as they went, of course.
Matt's sisters, Ann and Kate came up to spend Christmas with us this year. It was wonderful to have them join us. We spent a lot of time going back and forth between our house and my parents' place. With 2 of my sisters and their hubbies/families in town too, we wanted to get as much hang out time in as possible. Lots of family fun time.
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Some brotherly love going on here....and Jude is such a toddler now. Always finding or creating action.
Christmas Eve, we gussied up and headed to mass with Aunt Kate and Aunt Ann so that we could remember the reason we celebrate Christmas at all. Yay for Jesus' birthday!! Afterwards, we headed back over to Grandma and Grandpa's place for a big family dinner.
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Yup, you do indeed see Jude chowing down on a full slice of turkey there. He's a fan and a big eater. And then we headed on home (LATE!) to hang our stockings and put out cookies for Santa. Finally, it was time to put on our new matching Christmas jammies (Thanks, Aunt Ann!!!) and jump into bed. Santa would be here soon.
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Jude was up first and was excited to try out the new toy Santa had brought for him. After sleeping in a bit, Eli finally woke up, and the real fun began. Eli did his best to take his time, enjoy each gift....and show Jude how it's done. It truly was a magical morning.
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As cheesy as it sounds, the best part about the entire holiday, was spending time with family. Having Matt off of work for a few days to be home with us was amazing. Having almost all of my sisters (missed you Aunt Susanna!!), Matt's sisters, my parents, and Asher here to celebrate with was just awesome. That is what makes Christmas such a wonderful time of the year. And it went by too quickly. The cousins loved playing trucks together and having late night movie nights while the grown ups talked and laughed.
Wish the distance wasn't so much, but it makes the together times that much better. It was a very merry Christmas.
Beautiful Katie!!
ReplyDeleteawesome "wrap up" Katie!!
ReplyDeleteHey! Those xmas pjs look familiar! :)
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