Santa Bab(ies)

As I sit here typing this blog while my lil angel naps I can't help but think how lucky I am to have such a wonderful group of friends, caring family, loving husband, and of course an amazing daughter.  Joe and I are blessed to be so close with both our families.  Big families = big holidays :)

We began our Christmas extravaganza with the Ellington family the weekend before Christmas.  Side note- This was a great plan and I hope we continue this tradition year after year because I TOTALLY enjoyed being home on Christmas Day and the days following.
Anywho...  
We drove to Nicki and Jeff's home in Fuquay-Varina which we were very thankful for because it's only a 2 hour drive vs 4 hours all the way to Swansboro. For a one night trip that was easy-breezy.  Plus Nicki and Jeff have plenty of space for all of us :)  My two sister-in-laws are pregnant and due in early 2013, so this was most likely the last time we got spend with them before the new babies.  It was also Avery's last time to get spoiled rotten and soak up everyone's attention before having to share with her new cousins.  We will forever be working on that! Everyone brought a dish and Nicki cooked up a delicious meal.  We ate, opened gifts, and maybe ate some more.  We loved spending time with the Ellington gang and are super excited about the upcoming arrival of Ellington baby #2 and Ellington baby #3.

Part two of our Christmas Extravaganza was with the Morrison Family in Kernersville.  Mom had a Christmas Eve open house with our neighbors and their families.  We were happy to visit with family and great friends for a couple hours early that afternoon before dinner and gifts galore.  My grandfather (Pappy) and his wife Kim (Kiki-name still TBD, but we're thinking that's a winner) flew in from Pennsylvania to spend the holiday with us.  We knew this Christmas would be fun with all the babies and every year we say, "just wait til next year..." Hahah, but it's so true.  Pop Pop even dressed as Santa and scared the living daylight out of Avery. Hopefully she will be able to erase that from her memory so she doesn't associate the man she hates the most with her awesome Pop Pop.  After an evening of  tissue paper and wrapping paper flying about (one may or may not have nailed Gigi in the eye) we ate a delish meal and headed home to put baby girl in her own bed so Santa (the real one) could visit her.

Christmas Day was very special this year because it was the first time we woke up at our house and stayed there all day.  It was amazing.  My mom and dad came over for dinner, but other than that all we did was relax and play. I hope to spend many, many more Christmas days like this in the future years to come.

Hope your Christmas was a wonderful as ours.
Link to Christmas 2011 here.