Christmas 2016

Well, Christmas 2016 is in the memory books. I hope you all had an amazing holiday weekend, and I wanted to pop in to share a little bit of ours (get ready for a photo dump). We’re fortunate that our parents live close by, so we were able to spend time with both sides of the family. I actually really loved that Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, since that meant Chris was home Christmas Eve day as well. 

The girls let us sleep in (seriously, they were both still in bed at 8am!) and we headed to Weight Watchers before breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Ella slept through the whole thing, and as usual, we had to pry Abbie away from all the toys. Side note – did you know Cracker Barrel has great stocking stuffers? I may have snagged a few more while we were there.

We then hung out at home for a little while before heading over to celebrate Christmas Eve with my in-laws. Once we got there, Abbie was the most patient 4-year-old I know, waiting for her Uncle Greg to arrive so she could open presents. Once he did, she was ready to tear into the presents, whether they were hers or not.

My mother-in-law is so creative with her gifts, and she found an unfinished doll crib and painted it to match Abbie’s white furniture, along with making her baby a quilt too! She’s so thoughtful and Abbie now likes to feed her baby and tuck her in every night before bed.We headed home to get cookies and milk put out for Santa, and Abbie went to bed without too much of a fight. Thankfully Ella is still blissfully unaware.

We headed home to light the menorah for the first night of Hannukah, then to get cookies and milk put out for Santa. I love the years they’re both at the same time! Abbie went to bed without too much of a fight, and thankfully Ella is still blissfully unaware of the excitement.

Ella woke us up around 6:30 on Christmas morning, and we headed over to wake Abbie up. (Side note – I woke up with a crazy swollen eye on Christmas day, so that’s why you’ll see me in glasses rather than my contacts.) She was in awe as she came down the stairs and looked that Santa had drank his milk and eaten his cookies. Despite the pile of presents, I instantly directed her to the stockings. In my family, we’ve always done stockings first, then breakfast, then presents (otherwise there’s no way she would stop to eat!). After her stocking, we managed to get a few pancakes into her (and let me feed Ella) before tearing into presents.

I don’t have too many photos of opening gifts because I was trying to be in the moment, and I don’t regret it one bit. Abbie quickly became an opening pro, opening not only her own gifts, but Ella’s, Chris’s, and mine. She was thoroughly spoiled – she got the Anna and Elsa Barbies she asked for, as well as a slew of other gifts. 

After that, we packed up and got ready to head over to my parents’ house. As usual, my parents and sisters spoiled Abbie with presents, and Abbie opened Ella’s as well. We spent the rest of the day hanging out until dinner, then headed home after a great Christmas celebration.

Our fun didn’t end there because the next day my cousin Donna brought her family to see us at my parents’ house, so we went back the next day! Her daughter, Roxanne, is just about a year younger than Abbie, and they had the best time playing together – my sisters even took their old toys out of the attic for them to play with, and they had a blast. It was so nice to just let them play together while we hung out with the babies and caught up on everything.

Now, the week’s halfway through and we’re that much closer to 2017. This year has gone by quickly, but it’s definitely been a big year for our family. I can’t wait to see what 2017 brings!