A C*K*J Christmas

He came! Santa Claus came! Hooray!

Leah loved opening presents!! She quickly caught on to all the fun there was to be had. She was so cute, draping the ribbons around her neck as a fun accessory. She was anxious to try her new jammies on right away and play with everything she opened. She hugged her toys and read her books and listened to all the musical toys over and over and over and loved everything about it!

When we were done, it looked like a cyclone had come through the living room!

But once we sorted through the mayhem, we discovered that she ended up with a pretty good haul. What a lucky and loved littlemiss she is! 

Mama and Daddy were uber-thrilled to see that Santa left us the beginnings of a new family room right there in our kitchen, complete with a big new tv, cozy couch and even an ottoman! Wahoo! He must have been listening to Mama beg and plead for it for a while!  It still needs a little work...but WAHOO!

We enjoyed a lazy morning in our pjs while we feasted on our traditional Christmas morning brunch of quiche, creme brulee french toast, fruit, fresh squeezed juice and yummy hot chocolate.

*** 

I actually loved that Christmas was on a Sunday this year and it may also have been the one Sunday of the year that I actually loved having 1pm church. We had a leisurely morning opening gifts, a yummy brunch, and  still managed to sneak in a short toddler nap all before we had to get ready for one of my favorite Sacrament Meetings of the year.

Man, I love this girl!!

After an absolutely beautiful Christmas program by our ward choir, it was off to Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's for another yummy meal, presents and more time with loved ones.

It was such a nice day and such a wonderful holiday. In just 24 hours, we managed to spend great quality time with all of our loved ones and still have time at home with our little family, creating memories and new traditions that perfectly compliment each of our families!

It was a very Merry Christmas, indeed!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve has long been one of most most favorite nights of the whole year! I love the magic that's in the air, the anticipation and excitement, the food and the traditions that I hold dear.

It's true what I've always heard... it's even better with little ones. Although Leah didn't really understand the whole premise of Christmas this year, she was still fascinated with the lights and tinsel and ribbon and presents and so much time with family and loved ones. I truly loved discovering the holidays again through the eyes of a child but even more so, through the eyes of a mother who desires so strongly to make things special and memorable for her little family.

Christmas Eve is the night that we spend with my family so we donned our cheesiest holiday sweaters for the annual party at my parents.

Leah loved getting to open presents...

and swing with Grandpa...

and play the organ 

I told him he opened Pandora's box with that one, but he doesn't seem to mind. :)

and snuggle and play games with all of her favorite people

 We enjoyed a delicious dinner, reminisced about Christmas' past, played the traditional white elephant gift exchange and of course, we finished the evening watching the story of the nativity and remembering the real reason that we celebrate the holidays. It was a near perfect evening with loved ones and I'm so thankful to my parents for hosting what has now become a huge and sometimes raucous crowd!

It's nearly impossible to get everyone in one picture anymore, but we came pretty close. We're just missing a few stragglers that we couldn't seem to round up.

Is my mom not adorable in her new apron? 

I assure you that Mrs Claus has nothing on this woman!She's as amazing as they come!

Grandma & Grandpa with their two youngest grandkids (excluding greats), Leah and her sweet cousin Trey:

*** 

After the last of the snuggles and loves from Grandma and Grandpa, we were off for home to prepare for an anticipated visit from Old Saint Nick.

We helped Leah write a note and color a picture and then we prepared a late night snack for Santa... a mug of nice cold eggnog and 2 yummy cookies (just in case he wanted to take one back to Mrs Claus. Let's not forget her.... since I'm pretty sure she does most of the work anyway, right?)

Leah didn't quite understand the process and just saw it as 2 available cookies while I was trying to get a picture. She was pretty mad when Daddy took it away from her and her freshly brushed teeth.

It was way past her bedtime at that point and it pretty much went downhill really fast from there...

...but all things considered, it was a magical Christmas Eve!

2011 Holiday Bucket Listing :: Jolleys Old Saint Nick

Well, it's definitely not the perfect holiday picture that I had in mind:

Turns out that she's pretty much not a fan of the jolly ol' fella in the red suit quite yet. 

She'll learn.

After a short, hilarious torturous trip on his lap, we rescued her, calmed her down slightly and tried again... this time for a family shot...

Although definitely better (hard not to be, right?), the look on her face kills me. 

"I know he's still behind me. Don't you dare put me any closer to him. Why are you doing this to me? Please make it end and get me out of here."

Better luck next year!

2011 Holiday Bucket-Listing :: Grand America Stroll

Another family fun day bucket-listing away was spent roaming the halls of the Grand America and enjoying the holiday-ness that was around every corner.

With map in hand, we were ready for the window stroll to read about Maurice the Penguin's holiday adventure.

Mid-way through the story, we came across this giant gingerbread house igloo-y thing...

... and after peeking inside, who did we find slumbering away? It was none other than Maurice himself:

To which Leah promptly blew him goodnight kisses...

We continued along oooing and ahhhhing over all that was grand about the holiday decor around every corner...

...until we ultimately ended up at our destination...

the new JouJou Toy Store

It's quirky and charming, and beautiful and fun and oh so visually stimulating! Their store windows alone were worth the trip downtown. 

It was definitely the highlight of the afternoon for the littlemiss. 

I've never seen her more mesmerized... looking around, up and down, side to side, just taking it all in. 

Oh how I love to see the world through her eyes. 

Everything about it seems more magical!

And I think that's why I'm loving the holiday season so much this year!

2011 Holiday Bucket Listing :: Grandma's Cookie Bake

Hands down, one of the most anticipated parties of the year and the invite that we all watch and wait for... Grandma's Cookie Bake!

Leah and I got to go down a day early and have a sleep-over to help with all of the hustle and bustle of the preparations. She loves being at Grandma's house, where she is spoiled rotten, gets loads of attention, doesn't have to take naps and gets to stay up past her bed-time!

She also got to take her first organ lesson from Grandpa. I'm not sure he knows what he's in for now that she knows what that fun toy can do!

We also got to help Auntie Jo-Jo make caramel popcorn

... and play with cousins...

And that was all before the main event even started!!

My amazing mom made over 450 delicious-from scratch sugar cookies. Did you read that 450+!!

Unbelievable!

There's a whole new crop of littles that got very into it this year...

...though the goal for them looked to be "the more frosting and sprinkles, the better"...

And some of the not-so-littles anymore got just as into it and produced some pretty amazing results:

 Leah pretty much LOVED everything about it and couldn't get enough of the cookies.... 

YUM!

  

Even CJ got into the decorating this year. Can you tell which plate is his and which is mine?

Hmmmm... just take a guess:

All in all... it was, per usual, a huge smashing success!!

You can read about past cookie bakes here and here. 

I love being able to share such a special tradition and memory with Leah. I love that it was Grandma Leah who started this tradition. I love that it was one of my favorite parties growing up. And I love that my mom has kept the tradition alive for a whole new generation and beyond.

She is seriously amazing!! 

2011 Holiday Bucket Listing :: Live Nativity

We have been thoughtfully working through our 2011 Holiday Bucket List and one of the things that I was most looking forward to was the Live Nativity in the Glen and it did not disappoint. It's an amazing multi-denominational event put on each year, right here in our neck of the woods...nestled in a gulley made to perfectly resemble that Holy Night. It is definitely a tradition that we will look forward to for many years to come!

 It was a freezing night and the lines were so long, but Leah was a good sport as we stood and waited to enter the gates of Bethlehem.

We wandered through the town, listening to the beautiful choir, enjoying our figs and pita bread, and taking it all in as we followed the star to the stable...

...and we were once again gently reminded of the real reason we celebrate this holiday season.

It was a perfect night, indeed.