Our Holiday 2015 in Review

I did a horrible job of documenting our family holiday, our calendar was full with her school, church, work, parties, weekends full of family events, and R's septoplasty.  At one point we were all sick with a cold and we were all out of commission.  I took this season and enjoyed living it in real time and tonight I finally had a minute to look back at the memories.

November 27- we visited our first neighborhood Christmas lights and Ava Rose rode a carousel and met Santa.  We also wrapped all the gifts I bought on Black Friday and put up our tree that weekend.

yes, it's a picture of a framed picture

December 3 - Town tree lighting

We also visited Daddy at work.

December 5 - The Polar Express

uh huh, another pic of a pic

December 10- Church pageant.  I'm not comfortable posting pictures of the other kiddos but imagine the cutest performance of Jingle Bells ever using 8 infants rigorously shaking plastic water bottles filled with bells along with the music.  My daughter loves music and that bottle of bells?  Yep, it's her favorite toy, trumps anything on her Christmas list.

December 12 - Christmas parade

December 19- Mike's Farm hayride and dinner at The Country Squire

December 20 - Family Christmas with my extended family.  Oh dear Miss Rose was spoiled- books, clothes, her own Scentsy lovey and tart warmer, and toys of course.  Unfortunately I left my camera at home so all the photos are on my moms camera.

December 23 - Miss Rose had her picture in the local paper for her first Christmas.  We also had a holiday party at school.

December 24 - Christmas Eve!  Ava and I made "Polar Express" tea cakes while daddy made his best beer bread and we prepped for Christmas dinner before church service.  After church we set out a snack for Santa, hung our stocking and put our nugget to bed.

Christmas Day - We hosted dinner this year and both our moms came over along with R's sister's family.  It was fantastic and nugget had a blast playing with her toys all day.

Gifts from Santa - play kitchen, Leapfrog picnic basket, and a little people dollhouse.  Mama and daddy gave the rest including bath toys, books, a music mozart box, a Stella doll and a few "practical" gifts.

I regret that I didn't get more pictures when everyone got to our house, it was crazy with everyone around, especially once we were trying to get dinner on the table.  Also, our house was a bit crowded but I did find an adorable one of Ava bear with her aunt Em.

Ava racked up once again with a PB anywhere chair, a ybike, towels for her bathroom, a mound of clothes, several books for our rotation and her own Dumbo plush. Yep, she got toys too.  A lot of toys.  We are not hurting for toys right now.

Christmas Dinner - Prime Rib, twice baked potato casserole, garlic green beans, yeast rolls, corn bread, and cranberry and pear salad with honey dressing.  For dessert we had cherries in the snow, 9 layer chocolate cake, chocolate chess pie and a couple of candy treats handmade by my mother in law.  She does the pie every year too, it's R's favorite.

Holiday Crafts - salt dough hand and foot print, Mistle"toes" on canvas, salt dough santa painted handprint and an construction paper ornament for the daycare tree. She helped me make two tree prints with washi tape and she signed her daycare teacher Christmas cards with ladybug thumbprints.

Special New Ornaments for 2015

 My favorite on the tree because now we are a family of three and hell yes I'm proud that that rhymes.

 R and I get the annual Lenox santa every year, this year he is coming down a chimney!

 Both the giraffe and bear are "baby's 1st Christmas" ornaments that we received this year, the little bear was a gift.

This was a special time for our family, Christmas is always fun in anticipation of the big event but this year, with Ava, we had several big events and we treated each one of them as a memory with her.  We love this nugget and enjoyed the season from beginning to end.