Only the Beginning...Merry Christmas

We are out of our minds and traveled all over the south in under 5 days! I was very nervous about how the traveling would affect Kattherine, but she was great as always. Here is the 1st and 2nd of our 3 Christmases.

My sister was in town for 10 days but had to fly out on the 26th due to insane plane ticket prices that almost doubled if she flew out even one day later. So, on the 23rd, our Christmas Eve, we spent the night at my parents. I made cookies while Jason wrapped a few gifts and then we opened our traditional Christmas Eve PJs. Kate also got her 1st ornament. You always hear how special a child’s first Christmas is and it’s true! I think it was even more fun for us because Katherine is 11 months old so it’s not like she’s a little baby. She may not understand Santa or the true meaning of Christmas but she does understand tearing paper, toys, and pretty sparkly trees. She loved Christmas morning and there was definitely a favorite gift from my parents. My parents brought out this big bag and inside was a huge stuffed dog. My first reaction was really? Whenever I see these enormous stuffed animals I always wonder who would ever buy them? Well, I was wrong because Kate absolutely adores her dog. She loves on him and crawls and rolls all over him. We now have to be careful around real dogs that are big because she'll try to grab its nose and crawl on top which most dogs don't respond to with fondness.

After breakfast and Kate’s nap we loaded up the van my Dad rented for the 5 hour drive to TN. Kate only slept about 45 minutes but had a blast riding next to the big window and staring at my sister. About 15 minutes after we left we had to make an unexpected stop when a not so pleasant smell filled the van. We had barely left the house when the first diaper change was needed. This made me quite apprehensive about driving the next 5 hours with her but she was fine and we only had to stop one more time to fill up the van.

My family’s Christmas centers on food and eating at all times. We probably didn’t go an entire hour without eating some Christmas treat. Of course, that’s what holidays are for :) Christmas night there’s a big party with all the TN family. They’ve done this every year and it’s a huge crowd. My Mom was 1 of 8 kids… We’re close to our extended family so it’s great we can see everyone at least once a year. Kate can get nervous in large crowds but luckily my cousin and uncle have dogs and she loved chasing after them. I’m sad I didn’t get pictures of everyone at the party.

Our only family picture since Kate's blessing!

She's so sweet!!!