We had such a wonderful Christmas! It was such a joy to take our time and allow the girls to be kids. There were a few trips to the mall to ride the Christmas train, singing at church, many viewings of Frosty the Snowman, Christmas crafts and baking and Ava was so excited to wrap all of the presents with me. We spent the weekend before Christmas at the Jacksons in Baton Rouge, which was a great way to start out the Christmas week. Kevin had to work most days but we made sure to do fun Christmas things together as soon as he got home. I was so excited to be able to meet Val, my college roommate, one day so that the kids could play, we could visit and I could meet 5 week old, Marin. Ohio is way too far away and I miss her so much. That same evening, we met Kevin at Bellingrath Gardens after work to take in the gorgeous Christmas lights. Ava and Nora were in awe. Thankfully, it was a warm evening so they weren't miserable. Christmas Eve, Ava went to Aunt Paige's house to bake cookies. Then we all headed to my parents for dinner and gifts. When you pack 7 kids and 8 adults into one room, it is bound to be loud, crazy and so much fun. We stuffed ourselves on seafood and then opened presents. Every gift was a hit and thoughtful. As soon as we got home, Kevin took the kids outside to sprinkle the magic reindeer dust in the yard. Ava is very serious about Santa this year and has asked many questions to try to figure it all out. Needless to say, she was eager to go to bed after putting out cookies, carrots and milk. Christmas morning, she woke us up early by turning all of the lights on and yelling, "Santa came!" She was tortured waiting for Nora to wake up. Absolutely tortured. Once Nora woke, the ripping and tearing began. We took all morning opening. We would open a gift, play with it, open another, play with it, etc... Santa needs to work on his quality control a little because some of his gifts didn't work. Not fun when dealing with a 1 and 4 year old. The biggest hit....the pillow pets that Ava and Nora gave each other. Ava picked out her gifts for me and Kevin so it was really sweet when she watched us open them. We spent the rest of the day and weekend doing nothing but play with the toys and stay in our pj's. Just what Christmas should be for kids...just play. Uncle Dean came Sunday for the afternoon and the girls had the best time with him. Now it is back to reality with Kevin at work, dinner to cook, house to clean and still lots of play time.
There were way too many pictures to post so a few will have to do. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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| Ava was very proud of one of her gifts to Daddy. |
