home for the holidays :)

(this is for you, Sarah, so you don't feel like you're the only poky poster when it comes to Christmas recaps :))

We had a wonderful Christmas this year... :) we loved being surrounded by our family here at our own home... :) traditionally, we travel to PA and DE to spend the holidays with our families...but this year, we did not travel one mile to any family member's house...we were able to stay put and have family come to us... it was really nice... :)

first, we enjoyed Christmas with my side of the family... and, a few days later, Ry's family arrived to celebrate a belated Christmas with us... :) (unfortunately, it doesn't appear that i got any pictures of Christmas, part 2! oops!)

it was really a joy to watch Katherine this year... last year, she was sick with the flu (pitiful :o( )and barely over a year... she didn't really "get" the concept of opening presents, and she felt terrible... so, this year, we knew we were in for a treat when she kept talking about "gifts" and wanting to look at them under the tree... :)

K slept until a very late 11:05 on Christmas morning... if this is how she is at 2, we don't know what to expect when she's a teenager :) hehehe :) we had some late nights before Christmas, and quite frankly, she had recently had a stomach virus...and those 24 hours really messed up her sleeping & nap schedule... so we were still struggling to get back on a more semi-normal sleep/wake up schedule...

after breakfast (which could have probably been lunch for most of you) and everyone looking presentable, we started to open presents in the early afternoon... :) we had a lot of fun! :)

at first, K wanted to "pay" with each present she opened... we were so excited to see her joy for a new toy, but we knew that if she played with each toy, we'd be there until 10 PM waiting for her to finish... :) so, we went from a slow and careful opener to hearing, "neeeeext" when she finished opening one gift :) hahaha :)

we also loved how she ripped off tiny strips of wrapping paper for each gift... :) made for a fun clean up... :)

here are some of our favorite memories of the day... :)
K decides the bag is super fun to play with... so we put it on her head and called her our little present :) lots of fun :)

opening some clothes from grandma K :)

Mr. Potato Head... :) we love to see her Picasso-like creations... :) wow :)

the joy of a raincoat?! i could not pass this little spring sweetness up... it's navy blue with white polka-dots...the pockets are big daisies, and there's frilly looking yellow "ribbon" around the sleeves and hood :) simply adorable :) we can't wait for it to rain :)

opening up her Mega Blocks... love her look... "Daddy, what are these for?"

K loves music... she recently saw a show where the kids were in a bell choir and she was in love with the bells... :) my mom/Grandma K found these sweet kid's hand bells at Cracker Barrel and picked them up for K. aside from her wanting to pull off the note stickers, they're a big hit :) (err, big ding? :))

one of her favorite presents, for sure... the doodle "pad"... she loves "painnn-ting" on it and has lots of fun with intricate designs. :) and, laying around her you can see some of the books she got, too...

another favorite...her medical kit :) she loves to give shots and walks around with her stethoscope wanting to listen to your heart. when she holds the scope to your heart, she says, "ga-gum...ga-gum...ga-gum...." to imitate a heart beat (like Patrick Swayze did on "Dirty Dancing." :)) we love our little doctor K :)

the first present K opened on Christmas "afternoon" was her Build-a-Bear creation from Grandma K... she had been so curious about the box, which she saw at my parents' house at Thanksgiving... :) she never opened it, though...

so it was the first thing she went to open once the festivities began... :) inside, was Clarice, from the Rudolph cartoon....

and while this isn't the best picture of K, it makes us laugh because she immediately tried to ride Clarice.... as you can imagine, poor Clarice's cotton stuffed legs were no match for K's petite frame. :) maybe next year, we should get K a pony? :)

Christmas with my family was cut a bit short.... Ry, my mom, and I got a pretty tasty Christmas dinner together... we had honeybaked ham, sweet potato casserole (homemade, thank you Paula Deane!), mashed potatoes, creamed corn (homemade...a little different), green bean casserole, pineapple stuffing, rolls, and a homemade apple pie... but my parents had to eat and run, literally... the impending snowstorm moving toward Philly made them decide to leave right after dinner... they made the right decision, though... 4 hours after getting home, the white stuff started to fall... :) we were so sad to see them go quickly...but we were so glad and BLESSED to have the time we did... :) it was a great Christmas....definitely one to remember. :)