Christmas

I figured since tomorrow is the end of March, I should probably get my Christmas pictures uploaded! Dan and I were super excited to celebrate Daphne's first Christmas with her this year. I found a few good new and used toy deals for Daphne and then at the last minute her daddy wanted to get a few things for his little girl too, so she was quite spoiled. She didn't quite understand the unwrapping part but she sure loved playing with everything!

Each year, prior to opening presents we write three gifts to Christ (since the three wise man brought Him three gifts). First off, we actually read out loud the three gifts we wrote to him the year before and reflect on how we did. Then we write three new ones. It is basically a twist on New Year's Resolutions but instead with a Christ-Centered focus. Dan's family did this growing up and it has been a nice tradition to keep. This year Daphne got to make three goals too (with a little help from mommy).

One tradition we have started of our own is getting an ornament each year to represent the year as well as any places we visit. I also always get Dan an ornament and got Daphne her first one as well. We got the Graduating Mickey in Disney as we went for Dan's graduation, Dan got a teacher one, and Daphne a stork. My mom got ones for us each year growing up and still does, I just forgot to get pictures of them this year.



Daphne's cell phone from Daddy. She LOVES it.

Dan and I didn't really do Christmas gifts for each other this year. Instead, we decided to use our money for our trip to Disney. It was much more fun to get that quality time together than to get just things. We did though throw a few inexpensive small items in each other's stockings. We failed to get pictures of me, but that's ok!

After presents, we usually head to Dan's family's house for a big Christmas Breakfast. This year, they were out of town, but Mike & Natalie were nice enough to place host instead so that we could get together. A lot of Dan's siblings who we don't usually see on Christmas were able to join. It was fun to see all of them and the cousins were especially excited to play with Daphne.



 

Aunt Nat's temping Christmas tree....

 

 

Afterwards, we went to my parent's house for Christmas Dinner. My mom only had to work a half shift this year so it was nice that we were able to get a little more time with them! Daphne sure loves Grandma's house. She has fun yellow toys and doggies.



 

Daphne got some much needed PJ's and church shoes! Shoes sure are tempting to eat....too bad they don't taste quite as good as they look.

My dad got some really fun Disney Christmas paper for the gifts this year. I think he was a little jealous of our Disney trip. Dan got tinkerbell wrapping paper and Rueben got Toy Story. Both very fitting:)

Depending on who you ask, this was either the best (according to Rueben and Kamille) or the worst (according to Daphne and Dan) gift exchanged that day. Kamille and Dan always have a Saints vs Steelers rivalry going on. Daphne was getting super tired by this point of the day, which made for the perfect picture of her true feelings about the Steelers:) I personally thought the gift was quite funny. I use the bib all the time despite Dan's opinion of it!

 

Overall, I loved Christmas this year. We missed seeing Dan's parents, but enjoyed the family we were able to see. That is my favorite part about Christmas, all the quality time we spend together. At the end of the night, we enjoyed a nice Christmas movie with my family. I loved being at their house, with the Christmas tree lit, and Daphne enjoying some quality time with her Grandma and Grandpa. It reminded me of the special feelings I had when I was a kid. I may have said a lot about the gifts in this post, since that is what pictures were mostly of, but if I were to have captured my favorite parts, it would be the wonderful memories we made with both sides of the family. Perfect first Christmas with Daphne.