Christmas 2010

Santa Claus visits Emily

Mom, Dad, and Emily at Galt House's gingerbread village

Helping Mommy on Christmas morning

Smile Jer and Emmy!

My birthday pie! Love Homemade Pie Kitchen!

Gingerbread Village

Super Dad--Ed is getting prepped for some serious diaper duty!

Santa stopped in at Grancy and Poppy's

Emmy enjoying her new table and chairs!

Sweet slobbery smiles!

Looking WAY too big for her britches...

My precious little girl! Love this smile.

The Lee Girls!

Modeling our new rain boots. Even Emily got a new pair!

Hunter explores his new toy.

Sweet Mama and baby photo!

Christmas has come and gone and what a Christmas it was! It felt like our first Christmas with Emily because last year was a post-partum blur and Emily was so tiny! This year, Jeremy and I really enjoyed shopping for Emily and picking out her special toys. She was able to dig into her stocking, rip up the wrapping paper on presents, and play with her toys. I was pleasantly surprised that we were able to decorate the tree as usual and she didn't bother the ornaments or presents too much. She had two or three little bell ornaments that she liked to steal from the tree, but I enjoyed her little jingling bell routine so I didn't mind.

We spent Christmas weekend with the Reiss family. Enjoyed a special Candlelight Service on Christmas Eve (Em was all decked out in the most precious Christmas dress and stockings) and later had a chili supper at Don and Nancy's. Jen and Ed and Aunt Karen were all in town which made for some fun celebrating. Christmas Eve night, Jeremy and I didn't have too much to put together. Santa was ready! We read Emily "Twas the Night before Christmas" before we tucked her in to sleep. Christmas morning was special as we both couldn't wait to see what Emily would do. She quietly walked into the living room and noticed all her new toys. The first toy she grabbed was the golden retriever stuffed puppy. (I wasn't surprised...so hard to resist a golden.) We watched her go to toy to toy like she was amazed that it was all for her. We got her a little rocking horse which seemed a little tall for her on Christmas Day, but it took her only a couple of days for her to figure out how to climb on it and swing her leg around like a seasoned cowgirl. So proud! Christmas Day was a white Christmas! We had a wonderful brunch with the Reiss family and exchanged gifts. It was nice to have the whole day together and not have to rush off anywhere that day. Some of Nancy's friends hosted a baby shower for Jennifer on Dec. 30th (Jen is due March 2nd). It was a lovely shower and I really enjoyed the food, the fun, and the friends. I made my first "diaper cake" which turned out very cute. Jer helped me put it together so I have to give him some props, too.

We celebrated Christmas on Dec. 28th with the Lees and spent 2 1/2 days in B.G. Mom had a nice lunch ready for us when we arrived. After all the babies napped, we opened presents. It was wonderfully chaotic with all the little ones! Hunter and Emily were into everything and Cooper was only a step behind. I thought it was so cute how Cooper would crawl after Emily only to have her dash off again somewhere else once he finally reached her! Mom and Nancy both did so well in picking the best age appropriate gifts! Emily got a new little girl table and chairs, a portable DVD player, a little back pack with her name on it, a shopping cart, special books, etc. We are blessed that our families help us shower our baby with love. During advent, I read Emily books about the Christmas season as well as a little book about the true meaning of Christmas. I hope that the secular aspects of Christmas do not become the only thing we celebrate. I hope to be very intentional about teaching Emily the most important things. I need to remember them for myself as well.