Christmas - Parts 1, 2, and 3!

This Christmas was filled with lots of family time, a big change from last year in Maryland. It also meant we got to spread things out a bit, which is always nice with a two year old.

First up was Grammy, Papa, and Aunt Katie! Grammy and Papa stopped by the week before Christmas on their way out to Kentucky. We were able to have some pre-Christmas fun with them before they left. After opening up some presents for herself, she graciously offered to help others open some gifts as well. We especially liked how she had to lay down "just like Papa" when helping him open his gifts.

The second event was Christmas Eve at our house. Uncle Steve, Aunt Laura, Nana, Great Uncle Ken and Kelsey came over for some yummy cheesy chowder in homemade sourdough bread bowls. We also exchanged gifts with the Santoki's that evening. Audrey had a blast playing with her cousins and there were just a few moments of sharing 'issues'. When we were leaving out some cookies for Santa, she might have taken a nibble (or giant bite) of Santa's cookies and the carrots for the reindeer - to make sure they were okay, of course!

Last up was Christmas morning itself! Nana, Ken and Kelsey spent the night and were unfortunately woken up at 6:30am with an unhappy little one (Sorry! She really does normally sleep in until 8. A day later we discovered two 2nd year molars coming through, so they may be to blame). While Audrey did enjoy everything in her stocking, the binoculars were an instant favorite. She was also super excited about the tricycle that Santa left her. The pace of toddler present opening was a little slower than we were used to, but it was a nice change. It's not surprising that opening a really cool toy only to have to immediately put it down to move on to something else is difficult for a little one, so we eventually moved on to Christmas eggs and saved some presents for later that day. Then, after a much needed nap we drove down to Nana's house for a delicious dinner and some more family. We ended up back at home for a late bedtime with a very happy little girl (okay, she might have been a little crabby while getting ready for bed but we got some really good snuggles in while singing songs).