I am way behind on blog posts. Things seem to be ramping up, in anticipation of Baby #2, and I am hoping to find a little time to sit down, reflect on the past few months, and write some posts.
Starting with Christmas of 2013. We spent Christmas Eve at Grumpa and Mee-maw's house. That morning, we woke up and took the obligatory "waiting at the top of the stairs" photo. This year, Lauren was very excited to see what Santa brought, so she was all smiles in this photo!
After a lot of photos, she was finally able to come down the stairs and play with all of the stuff Santa left her. This year, she got a lot of instruments, a record player, and some princess gear. She was quite pleased.
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Even Wrigley got a Christmas present from Santa. He did not feel like sharing, and enjoyed his toy under the coffee table. It lasted most of the day, which was quite good for Wrigley.
After a delicious brunch, we cleaned up and headed out to the back porch to open up the rest of the presents. This took the rest of the day, but it is always fun to spend that time with the family. Some of the amazing gifts we received, included original artwork by Lauren, a crocheted baby blanket by Sarah, a lot of Under Armour, framed family photos and some other items for the baby!
After opening presents, we headed to Rockawalkin United Methodist Church for Christmas Eve services. Lauren was a cow in the nativity pageant this year and did a great job. She waited, along with the other kids, and then they paraded into the church. Chad and I were a little nervous, since she has never done anything independent like that, but she walked in and sat down. She seemed very happy to see all of us, sitting in the front pew, and quickly ran over once the parade/story was completed.
Lauren spent the rest of the service alternating between the front pew, where Chad, Mee-maw and I were sitting, and the pew behind us, where Sarah and Kevin were sitting. She finally settled down once the candles were lit and we began to sing "Silent Night". I think that was her favorite part, just like her mommy.
After church, we went back to Mee-maw and Grandpa's house for the traditional Christmas Eve Fondue Dinner! It was delicious, as always. We capped off the evening with a family photo session. And it wouldn't be a Pali photo shoot, without a goofy picture. This year, we really went goofy!!
That evening, Mee-maw, Grandpa, Sarah, Kevin, along with Kevin's brother and his girlfriend, came over for dinner. It was quite a fun evening, and we shared many laughs around the dinner table.
Looking back, it was such a wonderful Christmas, filled with family, laughter and great memories. This holiday has certainly become quite hectic, now that Lauren has joined our family...but in a good way. I am unable to imagine how much MORE hectic, but fun, this holiday will become once the baby joins us. I can't wait to find out!!!
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