A Baby's First Christmas

Thanks to some cooperative weather, we were able to get home to my parents for Christmas day celebrations. We left early on Christmas Eve and went to my dads for the annual "Christmas Eve ham" with my grandparents. Allyson is great in the car and slept almost the whole way. We were concerned about the weather but we left early in the morning and the threat of bad weather must have kept everyone off the roads because there was no traffic and it ended up being one of the quickest drives ever. Our Christmas eve tradition also includes watching Christmas Vacation but Ally missed out on most of that as she was tired out from playing with my dad and grandparents. On Christmas Day, we got up and opened presents with dad before heading over to mom's for the big family event. Ally had gotten so many Christmas outfits when she was born, it was hard to decide what she was going to wear first! She had a few outfit changes on Christmas Eve but managed to stay in her red and pink party dress for most of Christmas day. She was able to meet my aunt, uncle and cousins that she wasn't able to see last time we were home and spend some quality time with grandma Marilyn in the rocking chair. Of course she missed out on all of the delicious food and slept through the presents but she had fun playing and was exhausted at night. Santa brought Ally lots of great toys and cute clothes at both of my parents houses...she is such a lucky girl! We came back home on Sunday to have another Christmas with her other grandparents. The car was packed so full we barely fit but the weather cooperated again for the most part and we came home to a slippery highway and lots of snow. Ally again slept through the presents and we couldn't fit them in the car so she still doesn't know what kind of goodies she got. Ella stayed with Karl's parents and spent Christmas playing with Bob and getting lots of attention and love. She is now back to her depressed self at home but has lots of new toys and treats to enjoy. We had a great time celebrating the Holidays as a family and are very thankful for all of the gifts we received!

For the first time, I decided our house needed some holiday decor so I surprised Karl with a tree. Ally and I decorated it with some lights and ornaments, nothing too crazy but enough for us. We also got new stockings and hung them up by the fireplace. Over the years we have received a few ornaments for special occasions but we never displayed them until now. Honestly, I was surprised I even remembered where we put them. I am looking forward to doing this with Ally each year and adding new ornaments to the tree. She loved the lights and colored balls already so it will only get better!