2011 Holiday Bucket Listing :: Recap

We (meaning I) pretty much loved having a checklist to guide us, ensuring that these holidays were the C*K*J's very best yet. (CJ may or may not have felt that it was a little intense... and too closely resembled a honey-do list) Regardless.... it was a great holiday season and we made the most of it!!

A few last favorites highlighting all of our bucket-listing glory...

Holiday Baking:: I love having an assistant in the kitchen and made sure to include her in baking some of our favorites this year!

She's a pretty good taste-tester and if she approves... they must be good!

Our first annual Bethlehem Dinner::

Neither Chris or Leah knew quite what to think of this night at first, but it turned out to be so fun! We donned our best Bethlehem apparel, dimmed the lights, created a special playlist of songs about our Saviour's life, lit candles, and ate a simple delicious dinner on the floor with our little family. We enjoyed homemade flatbread, goat cheese stuffed peppers, hummus, olive tapenade, grapes and feta cheese crumbles drizzled with olive oil and cracked black pepper. We drank grape juice, sang hymns and enjoyed every single minute of it! A new C*K*J tradition for sure!

Holiday Centered Date Nights and Family Home Evenings::

There is nothing better time with my two favorite dates, especially when it involves pretty clothes, twinkling lights, sparkles or chocolate of any kind. We had a few nights this month that included several of these things and I loved it!

Leah even managed a few dates of her own this month::

Can you even stand how adorable these two are?!? 

Just 4 days apart, they are best buddies. I LOVE watching them together and how excited they get when they see each other. Such a cute sweet little friendship!

***

Although we didn't quite check off every last item on our list, we came awfully close (hard to make snowballs with no snow, eh) and had such a fun time doing it! 

All in all... the 2011 Holiday Bucket List was a smashing success. (And even CJ agrees)

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!