Merry, Merry Chirstmas!

We have been busy with the hustle and bustle of Christmas! School is out for Derrick and we have been taking advantage of every last minute of family time we had. We just got home last night from spending a long Christmas weekend with my family, and as nice as it is to be home…we already miss them.

My Aunt Sue always has a Christmas Eve party at her house. I always look forward to this night because not only do we get to spend time with family, she always has the most amazing foods! Tons and tons of appetizers that just make my mouth water thinking about them. I should have taken a picture of the spread, but Derrick and I were too busy trying to capture an action shot of Cousin Eli jumping on the couch. This is our best one…

And despite our best attempts, he refused to get too close to Neely and smile. He actually covered his ears when she cried. It was hysterical. Rachel did coax him this close, but this is as good as it gets…

But even with a crying baby, the party went on and it was my favorite one to date!

Neely Jo, bless her heart, was completely wore out and ready to be back at my parent’s house for some time with her Granddad. He has always had a way with children and Neely is no different. She just fell in love with him rocking her…

Before I go any further, Neely’s snow boots are entirely too big for her. And they are extremely loud to look at. However, my Granny insists that all babies be dressed in their warmest clothes from head to toe, covered in at least two blankets and prefers them to be sitting close to a roaring fire. There was no way Neely was going to be allowed to only have tights on in Granny’s presence. And her crib shoes are too big to stay on, so snow boots were the only answer. Snow boots with fur on the inside, mind you.


Christmas morning we (Derrick and I) slept in! Woot! Woot! It was wonderful. Neely Jo got to spend some quality time with her Grandparents.

When we finally got up we opened gifts. Neely actually seemed more into Granddad feeding her than her presents. She didn't get that from me. There is nothing I love more than presents. Although food is a close second.

After a day of gorging ourselves on turkey and dressing, we went to my grandparents and gorged ourselves again on oysters and red velvet cake. It got ugly. Unfortunately, Neely was really content playing on her new exercise mat which gave Derrick and me this opportunity to eat like a field hand and gobble like a hog (just like Mammy from “Gone with the Wind" says).

It was such a wonderful weekend and I am so happy that Neely got to spend her first Christmas surrounded by so many people that whole heartedly love her. We really hated for it to end...especially Neely.