Saturday, December 30, 2017

Christmas 2017

Christmas has always been a fun time of year.  Christmas with kids is amazing.  Christmas with older kids who are so into all the magic of the season is better than you could ever imagine.  We took our trip to Atlanta as soon as school got out for break, and we came back into town on the 23rd. 

After we took presents up to Atlanta and then brought some home, this is what our tree looked like.  It was so beautiful!


Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday this year, so we got up and got ready for church just like normal.  I planned to take a picture of all of us, but it was pouring outside, so this is all I ended up getting - haha.

After church we went to Grammy and Pop's house for a quick lunch so that the kids could see MeeMee and do Christmas with her.  She was going to be out of town for Christmas, so I'm glad we could make it work so that the kids could open their gifts with her.

For the evening of Christmas Eve, Gigi and Poppy came over to celebrate.  I probably mention this every year, but I love Christmas Eve even more than Christmas day.  The magic is everywhere, the anticipation is so big, and there are just so many fun things to do.  We always make homemade cookies for Santa, and I let the kids pick which kind they want to do every year.  This year, we went with a classic chocolate chip cookie!


After both kids had a bath and the cookies were baking, we made some reindeer food (oatmeal and glitter) for the kids to sprinkle outside.


We've got to make sure that Santa and his reindeer can find our house!

This is our 16th Christmas together!

Christmas Eve was a little extra special this year because 15 years ago on Christmas Eve, Matt proposed!  We were so young, had no idea what was ahead of us, but knew that we loved each other and wanted to spend our lives together.  Even though we were young and people thought we were crazy, I'm so glad we didn't listen to the negative.  We are happier now that those two kids 15 years ago could have even dreamed of!

Christmas Eve with Gigi and Poppy!


While the cookies were still baking, we watched The Grinch (and the old school one - it's our favorite!)


Once the cookies started popping out of the oven, we had warm cookies and milk while we watched!

After the movie was over, we got Santa's snacks ready!  Two cookies, a small glass of milk, and one carrot.





Gigi and Poppy left, and then we all piled in LL's bed to read The Night Before Christmas.  We all took turns reading a page (Cooper with some help) and it was just such a sweet time.

Santa came!!

The anticipation was high and the kids were up early!

They opened their stockings, saw their Santa presents, and were ready for more!

I didn't take any pictures while we were opening gifts - I wanted to just be in the moment, and it was so nice!

Hot chocolate, Christmas movies, and kids playing with toys - this was a perfect Christmas morning!


Oma and Opa came over around 9:30 and spent Christmas morning and lunch with us.  The kids were so happy and having a blast, but I also managed not to take a single picture (fail).  After lunch, Cooper went down for a nap (and maybe Mommy and Daddy, too).  LL wasn't feeling the greatest and was up at 3 am, so she tried to nap, too, but she wasn't successful.

After naps, we got dressed and headed out to Grammy and Pop's for our last Christmas of 2017!

It was a smaller Christmas without Uncle Bryan, Aunt Roiane, or MeeMee, but we still had a good time.  It was pretty nice to have a more "low key" Christmas.  While they weren't there, Uncle Bryan and Aunt Roiane dropped off presents for the kids a few days before.  Cooper is excited to officially be in the "big kid club" with his own BB gun!  Now he doesn't have to shoot LL's pink one anymore - haha.




When one kid doesn't want to take pictures anymore, you continue without them!  Haha.

A sweet present from Oma and Opa!

I honestly love the 26th of December, too.  Why?  Because we *always* stay home, and we don't make the kids find homes for their toys yet.  This means that our house looks like this for an entire day.  While the mess is stressful, seeing the kids have so much fun with all of their new toys makes me so so happy.  It's just such a chill day and I love that.


Here's a short video of our Christmas!


I hope your Christmas was just as magical as ours!


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