My Favorite Things....

This has to have been the best Christmas we have had to date. In photos her is a list of my favorite things from Christmas 2011.

We decided to surprise Mom and Pops by joining them at their church for Christmas Eve service. We really enjoy our church's service, but Christmas Eve isn't the same when it isn't spent with family. I employed Brian's Grandma in saving us seats. Addie was Grandma L's buddy during the entire service. She did a super job in the service considering she hasn't been in a service since June.

After the service we went to Grandma "Noodles" home (Brian's grandma). Addie gave her the name "Noodle" when she (Addie) was 2 years old because her last name is a bit tricky for a little one to say, but it sounds petty close to "noodle". We really had a great time while there and Grandma Noodle had quite a spread for us.

Ian is getting more comfortable with the bottle which makes traveling around and being out of the house a bit easier. He was dressed in an adorable Christmas outfit that Grandma L had gotten him, but as we got out of the car at the church for the Christmas Eve service, we found that he had a little explosion in his diaper which went all over him and his outfit. Thankfully, I always have an extra outfit or two in the diaper bag.

Aren't they the sweetest!

Christmas morning didn't officially start until 8 a.m. this year. Addie has been battling a cold and was up for about and hour and a half during the night so she slept in. I don't think she's at the age yet where she is too giddy about Christmas to sleep. Ian, on the other hand was up at 7:00 a.m. and ready to eat his first meal.

Our morning officially began with a cup of coffee and a reading of Baby Jesus. We then sang happy birthday to Jesus before opening the gifts.

I loved that "Christmas" lasted for a couple of hours for us. Not because of the amount of gifts under the tree, but because Addie just had to play with each and everything she received before she was ready to move to the next gift. She was so appreciative of everything she received. It made this Mommy very proud.

My Dad spent the entire day with us. It was so nice having him here and he and Ian had a chance to really "bond". Dad, you were a real trooper!

 Grandma and Grandpa "Noodle", Brian's parents, and his Uncle and aunt came over for a spaghetti dinner on Christmas evening.  We so enjoyed having all of them here with us, and Addie loved having everyone spend time playing with her in her room in shifts.

 

There was a lot of food and dessert. Grandpa You Beat (my dad), brought over some cookies with the best icing. The only thing is, they stain your mouth and tongue. Addie and I both had cookies with blue icing.... can you tell?

God gave us such a wonderful Christmas with a lot of time spent with family and loved ones. I hope your Christmas was wonderful and sweet and full of wonder. Here's to making the last 7 days of 2011 memorable!