Daddy's Girls

The girls and I drove down to Baton Rouge the day after Christmas to continue our holiday.  Matt was hunting and has to go back to work tomorrow and we are still here so he wasn't able to come. We got here Friday afternoon and went straight to Jen and Ryan's for a white elephant party.  A lot of the family didn't get to see each other on Christmas Day so this a treat for everyone.  We ate gumbo and then all 18 adults gathered in the living room for the gift exchange.  It was chaos but that's half the fun and a lot of us ended up with really good gifts.  This is what KatieJane does with every bow. Of course everyone thought it was the cutest thing.  And the kids didn't feel left out because some of their aunts and uncles hadn't given them gifts yet so they had some to open too.  Then Saturday Jen, Michaelyn and I (Allie was working:( ) got to go to lunch and shopping while all the kids stayed at Pops' house.  That was a gift in itself! Then Janet cooked a del

Santa came to our house last night and Lilli and Katie must have been good this year!  They slept until close to 7:00 (late for us!) and were two very excited little girls when they walked out. We had a lazy day in our pjs spent playing with toys and watching movies Then we finished the day with a delicious Christmas dinner.  Matt handled the meat and I made the sides. Prime rib with bernaise sauce, spinach madeline, mashed potatoes, corn casserole and rolls. I also made chocolate pie but we were too full to eat it!  It was the first Christmas since Matt and I have been together that we stayed in one place all day on Christmas Day.  We did miss our families but heard from all of them and Yaya came by on her way to Dallas.  And I must say it was nice to not go anywhere and the girls were so happy and sweet all day.  But as fun as Santa was and even as special as spending time with the family is, let's not forget what Christmas is really about Merry Christmas! 

We had a very laid back Christmas Eve this year.  We went to Vivian and spent the afternoon with Yaya and Cap'n.  It was just the 4 of us because Josh and Hailey were with their other side of the family and Josey is thisclose to being here (yay!!) so Chad, Rachel and Austin were in Dallas.  We missed them a lot! It was the first year since Matt and I have been married that we weren't together at all for Christmas but we'll see them soon when we go meet that sweet girl.  The kids (ok, all of us:) ) sat and listened to Yaya read The Night Before Christmas after eating gumbo and playing all afternoon. Then we came home and let the girls open their presents from us before church.  We didn't get home till about 8:30 so we had to rush to get cookies out for Santa and get to bed so he could come.  I was shocked that they were both asleep by 9:00 considering how excited they were. That was a good thing because we had to get to bed too so he could come too.  :) 

We started out Christmas celebrations last night in Vivian.  I didn't take ANY pictures though so I'm going to g to have to catch you up on that later once I can steal some pictures from Yaya's blog. :)  Tonight we kept the celebrating going with a dinner at Outback followed by a trip to The American Rose Society's Christmas in Roseland.  The kids were amazed by all of the lights and Lilli had fun finding the rose in each of the paintings donated from schools around town.  It's a beautiful display and a wonderful way to spend our Christmas Eve Eve  So fun to watch their eyes full of the wonder of the season Katie's favorite was the elephant- we went by this display twice 

And we're getting ready for him. On Saturday, we decorated cookies to leave out on Christmas Eve with Yaya, Hailey and Case.  Lilli and I made sugar cookies earlier in the day and Yaya brought a HUGE gingerbread man to decorate.  The kids were so excited and had so much fun.  KatieJane even did hers herself. (She wouldn't have had it any other way)  We spent the rest of the weekend playing outside and just enjoying being together.  Gotta have ear protection when the boys are shooting  Lilli discovered how fun it is to roll down the hill Doesn't KatieJane look thrilled that Matt put her in the middle of the duck pile? The guys had quite a weekend!!

First Friends had their birthday party for Jesus on Monday and Lilli was the star of the show! (To me, her Dad and Yaya anyway) It started with all of the kids in the sanctuary singing some Christmas songs  And then we moved to her classroom to all share in some cake for the birthday party.  Even Katie Jane got to have some I was a little emotional that this is her final preschool Christmas program.  She is really growing up to fast.  In fact this morning she was complaining of a tooth ache but it turns out it's her first loose tooth! She is so excited! Matt told me to tell her he can't wait to pull it but I don't think I'm going to freak her out just yet. 

Nana and Lizard came up for the weekend for a visit and to do something "Christmassy" with the girls.  I looked online and found several things in the area we could do but am so glad I stumbled on this festival in Benton.  It went all day but we got there around 1:00.  There was a school bus shuttle that ran from parking at the courthouse and dropped you off in the middle of everything.  We decided that was the way to go for both young and old of our group.  Lilli loved her first school bus ride and now is even more sure that's what she wants to do next year.  The festival had all sorts of things from face painting  Can you believe she sat still for this?  Pictures with Santa Lilli wasn't interested in seeing him again- I guess she had said all she needed to say. I was hoping Katie would be ok now that we have been talking about him but no luck.   And then the day was topped off with a parade  The whole square was lined with booths of people selling things like a farm

We had Christmas a "little" early on Sunday morning with my Dad and sisters and families.  The girls and I will go down to Baton Rouge the day after Christmas but Matt won't be with us so we celebrated early.  We started with brunch of a shrimp and grits casserole, fruit salad and Pops' rolls.  Then I convinced everyone to humor me for a couple of family pictures before we opened presents.  Then came the fun part... We filled Dad's new living room full of wrapping and tissue paper in a matter of minutes and had some very excited kiddos.   Then they all sat down to play with their new toys before we had to get back on the road to come home.  It was a morning full of excitement and this one was out before we crossed the Mississippi River bridge.   It was just the first day of a month of Christmas fun.  We have something planned every weekend up until the big day.  It's so fun watching their faces as they experience the magic. 

Jen, Janet and I hosted a holiday housewarming party at Dad's newly renovated house on Saturday night.  It was a great way for him to show it off to all of their friends and for some of them to meet Janet as well. Janet handled the main dishes of brisket sandwiches and crabmeat imperial.  The other table was filled with all sorts of delicious snacks from stuffed potatoes to a fruit and veggie tray to pesto stuffed Brie Then of course we had to end with some festive desserts. Santa hat brownies, peppermint bark and pecan cheesecake squares  We had between 40 and 50 turn up and I had a chance to meet several  of Dad and Janet's friends that I never had before. We spent most of the night catching up with some old friends and family  Everyone stayed later than we expected and seemed to have a really good time so we were very happy with the way it turned out.  It was a great night and we were very glad to be able to plan it for Dad. He fought it up until it was time for it to start