Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas this year was so fun!  Lily loved her presents; Stro and I had a great time buying her gifts; and our families got to be together.

Here are our mantle and tree!

 

The day before Christmas Eve, I braved what I thought would be a super crowded mall and got Lily's picture taken with Santa.  I caught one red light the whole way there and back, got a super awesome parking spot in the garage, waited behind one family to get Lily's picture taken, and waited behind one man to check out when I bought something!  Awesome!

Two years in a row of not smiling, but not crying either!

On Christmas Eve, we went to Stro's parents house; his mom's family was able to come in from Mississippi.

Cute in her dress from Mimi!

Playing with her cousin Natalie

Yum, Aunt Neva!

Playing with her gifts

Four generations

Something was funny!

 

That night, Stro worked hard putting Lily's new kitchen together!  It is so cute!

 

Like I said, Stro worked hard, haha

A rite of passage for dads...putting toys together on Christmas Eve!

All ready!

 

It was so fun to watch Lily play in her kitchen the next morning!  She also got an adorable backpack, a new cup, some pajamas, books, and a toy.

 

 

Later that day, my family came to our house.  It was fun hosting everyone!

 

A grocery cart to go with her kitchen!

She loves to slide!

Love this!

Photo prop fun!

 

 

We had a great Christmas 2015!

December Fun!

We had a lot of fun during December!  Stro started his new job on December 1, so he was super busy most of the month, but was able to take off Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which was perfect!

First, Lily and I went with our friends Melanie, Nikki, Jess, and Lauren to see the Christmas lights in Lafreniere Park.  I was a little nervous about keeping Lily up late, but she did GREAT!  I brought her stroller and snacks, but between all the girls, Lily never got in her stroller for even a minute!

Looking so cute in the Christmas shirt GiGi made her!

Hanging with Melanie

Elves!

Cutest gingerbread lady!

With Jess

Dancing!

With Nikki

Love!

Lily had her first beignets at Café du Monde afterwards - she loved them!

Waiting patiently :)

Yum!

Another super fun activity was our community group Christmas party.  Some friends brought over a bounce house, we read the Christmas story, made edible Christmas trees, and had a great time! 

  

Jimmie and Bash coloring

She LOVED the bounce house!

Ellie swinging

Sailor having fun!

Stro and Axel

Bash making his tree - a waffle cone, green icing, and sprinkles!

Logan, the "big brother" of the group

Brittany and Finley

Will helping Sailor...

...and Chase helping Ellie

Stro not helping Bash, haha

Maria and Finley, the baby of the group

Stro, Lily, and Axel

Reading the Christmas story <3

My mom brought Lily this cute magnet Christmas tree that we stuck to the dishwasher.  She loved decorating the tree!

 

And some snowflakes for the back door!

  

Finally, after all the Christmas festivities, Lily and I took a trip out to Hathaway to see Melissa and Karen and their families.  We got to meet baby Kate and see some great friends!

 

Melissa and Kate

Little Avery!

me, Lily, and Rachel

Play circle!

With our girls!

Serious Lily!

 

I didn't get pictures of Grant and Sam, but they were there too!

 

We also had a few adult activities!  First, I went to an ornament exchange with my MOPS table.  I got a beautiful silver jingle bell that goes perfectly on my tree.

We also hosted a Christmas party for our friends, complete with a hot chocolate bar!  Even though it was 70 degrees outside :(

Lots of fun!

 

It's become tradition for us to go caroling in Jackson Square!  Always so fun!

Me and Nikki

<3

Love this pic from Instagram!

One last December tradition - drinks at the Roosevelt Hotel!

Nikki, me, Melanie, Jen, Lauren, and Jess