Celebrating Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Matt had 5 consecutive days off, which is by far more time than he's had off around the holiday for the last 10 years. I hope it's not another 10 years before that happens again. Christmas was also extra special because it was Adrienne's first. Though she will not remember it, we all will remember her sweet, smiling face and excited interest in the wrapping paper. Jillian enjoyed the role of opening all of Adrienne's presents for her, and I imagine that Adrienne will not let that be the case next year!
Since we intended to head to Grammy and Grandad's house for the long weekend, we made a call to Santa and asked him to visit our house a couple of days early. Luckily, he had the time and ability to make that happen. Jillian was very excited about preparing cookies and milk for him, so we made some last minute chocolate chip cookies (we won't discuss the fact that I did absolutely zero holiday baking this year...). Jillian insisted that his reindeer needed some pretzels, so we left those as well.

Matt and I caught a glimpse of Santa's work before we headed to bed late that night. There is something so peaceful and magical about a lit-up tree, with presents waiting to be discovered by excited children the next morning.

Jillian woke to find that Santa and his reindeer left a bit of a mess, and didn't quite finish their snack, so she took it upon herself to do so while she waited for Adrienne to get up and join her for present-opening.

First, the girls opened their stockings. Jillian took an unconventional approach by dumping the contents of hers on the floor, while Adrienne looked a bit confused as to what to do when presented with hers.

The rest of the morning was spent opening presents and trying them out. I suppose it is typical for a 3 year old to be upset that the presents are gone and ask for more, but in any case, we need to work on instilling a sense of gratitude and thankfulness.

Adrienne sporting her new headband and enjoying her toy that converts to one she will walk and push--probably sooner than I am ready for!

Princess Jillian tries on her new ball gown, complete with hoop skirt

The finishing touches--tiara and first pair of earrings (clip ons!)

J kept asking for a Nutcracker. I do believe she felt some sort of remorse for breaking mine earlier in the month

Jillian's first bike. 

 We spent the remainder of the day shopping for new suits for Matt, and trying to enjoy a very crazy lunch out with the girls. No naps meant an extra cup of afternoon coffee for Mom and Dad. We packed and loaded up the car to leave first thing Friday morning for Des Moines. We successfully pulled out of the driveway just before 8 a.m., and drove all the way without stopping. Jillian busied herself with the DVD player, and Adrienne slept the entire time. Matt and I got to drink our coffee in peace and enjoy uninterrupted conversation for 200 miles. Unprecedented!
Since we were the first to arrive at Grammy and Grandad's, we enjoyed their full attention. Matt and I promptly ran off to do more shopping (sans kids), and then Jillian, Matt, and Grandad went swimming at their local rec center upon our return. Jillian did her best to wait up for the arrival of her cousin, Jack, but she just couldn't resist catching some zzzz's on Grandad's lap. Seeing the two of them cozied up together brought back fond memories of snuggling on my Grandad's lap.

The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying time together, exchanging gifts, decorating cookies, and celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Santa Baby on her first Christmas!

A bit of the Christmas morning chaos

Adrienne had an affinity for the paper

Sleeping Beauty in costume

Daughters 1, 2, & 3 in the obligatory Christmas pajamas

A mom and her girls

Matt taunting me with (crazy!) thoughts of a third child using J's Curious George doll

A rare photo of Ma and Pa Howe

The Widmers

Mr and Mrs Leach

The lovebirds who began this silly tribe

Jack tries his hand at cookie decorating, I mean tasting

Jillian worked so hard on her first cookie

Jack getting the idea

Taking a taste

Individual birthday cakes for our Baby Jesus celebration...German chocolate with chocolate ice cream, toasted coconut, pecans, and homemade caramel sauce. Grammy knows how to do it right!

I think the late nights and all the excitement finally caught up to Jillian, because I did see this in the backseat on the way home.

We turned into our neighborhood just as the sun was setting. It was such a beautiful sight that I had to capture it. (Again, I think I'm getting a bit fond of living a bit out of town...still shocked about that)

But all good things must come to an end, and they did in my laundry room. After all was unpacked, I entered this room of doom.

It was a small price to pay for a wonderful holiday weekend filled with family, and new memories made with our children.