Our "real" Christmas Eve and Day was spent with our families in NY, and it was wonderful!
Nana was at the airport to greet us...we traveled on a Sunday after a busy morning at church, and we were very thankful to have the direct flight. As you can see, we were pretty relieved to be off the plane and Connor was on the run when he saw his Nana!
Nana AND Grandpa came to get us (and all of our
We settled in at Marmee and Papa's for our visit and tried to get Connor to sleep in a regular bed, like he does at home. He managed one broken up night and one nap and we switched to the pack and play. I was worried that it would mess him up once we got back, but since I'm blogging so long after, I can thankfully say that it did not!
We bounced around to see all of the family on both Christmas Eve and day...even though it tires us out, it's worth carrying on traditions and getting to spend a little time with everyone!
Christmas Eve we went to Jonathan's cousins for about an hour and got to catch up and play around a bit.
Annalee with her Nana
We then met my family for church...although we sat in the "crying room" for the majority....not that anyone was crying, but it was our normal dinner time and the kiddos were fidgety and a little noisy, so it was just easier. Dan came walking in just after we did (having driven a few hours after work) so it was nice to have him sit with us too. The church was beautiful as always and I was glad to be there, fidgety kids or not! I love celebrating Christ's birth at church, on Christmas (rather than the weekend before or something, I don't know, that's just me!).
We got together with my Dad's side of the family for dinner and the kids lasted there pretty well - until after 9!
Annalee with her Great Aunt Dee
Connor and Mommy
Annalee with Aunt Laura and our cousin Ashley.
Uncle Terry and Will.
On Christmas morning, Annalee woke up nice and early but Connor got a little more sleep. We snuck down the "back stairs" that go into the kitchen so that we wouldn't see the tree too early, and had a little breakfast. Well, just Annalee. The rest of us waited for cinnamon buns...Christmas morning tradition! Connor eventually came down and ate, too. Then we took some time waking up Dan and Will and finally headed down the stairs, youngest to oldest (also tradition)!
Would you believe that Santa came to our house early and then he came to Marmee and Papa's Christmas morning? What a guy. Connor was
I don't know what this Elmo is called, but you press his nose and he says things like, "Ah choo! Elmo has the sniffles. Blankie please!" Hahaha...Annalee loves him.
And here's Connor's "LOL Elmo"! We all tickled him lots!
Santa booty baby!
Laura got Annalee a "Smartphone", which she immediately chomped on. Here she is with her Marmee! My siblings and Jonathan and I used "Elfster" this year to exchange gifts, just like we did with Jonathan's siblings at Thanksgiving. It worked out really well and was fun to guess who each person had! Dan had me and gave me a much needed new memory card for my camera - since I hate to delete!
Tirrrrrreeeeed.
After a little bit of napping that afternoon, we headed to Jonathan's parents' for Christmas dinner and opened stockings with them.
Connor was psyched to brush his teeth! :)
This little girl enjoyed opening her stocking...but she REALLY enjoyed dinner. As in, whatever I put on her tray...roast beef, veggies, whatever!
Disclaimer: every single picture you've seen in this blog was taken by my mother, father, or mother-in-law, except for these last 3 that I managed to get my camera out for. I'm telling you, it was a busy two days!
Great-Grandaddy and his only (for a few more days!) great granddaughter.
I pray that you all had a Merry Christmas. Thank you to all of our family for being with us and having a wonderful Christmas together!
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