A Very Merry Christmas

 

 I hope everyone's holiday was as great as ours! Here are a bunch of pictures from the last week or so, not necessarily in the right order. This was the first time that I have lived in a circle of friends that are constantly delivering treats to each other, so Christmas deliveries were ultra special and in great abundance. I made these cute baskets out of paper, lined them with homemade glitter covered snowflakes and nestled reindeer droppings (truffles) inside.

 Ethan running out of his room to see all of his present was honestly one of the happiest moments of my life. We got it on video but just need to figure out how to transfer it to our computer. Anyway, one of his favorite gifts was this wooden car tower. It only took him a couple of tries to figure it out and he's been hooked to it ever since. :)

 Jon got something he's been eyeballing for a year now, an exercise bar! He was really excited... we'll see how much he actually uses it.... tee hee hee.

 It's Jon's family tradition to have a cracker and cheese candlelit dinner on Christmas night. This was the first year that we did it all by ourselves and I thought I did a pretty good job. Among all the types of cheeses was a large package of cheese curds from Idaho sent by my mom. YUM! Although, they weren't as squeaky as I remember growing up. Notice there are three places at our table.... that is because...

 My mom came! She knocked on our door at 10am Christmas morning wearing a santa hat. What a great surprise! I was so glad to have some family with us to celebrate Christmas. We had a great weekend, wish she could have stayed longer. Speaking of not having family around for Christmas, it actually wasn't too bad. It's because we are surrounded by wonderful people that brought the Christmas spirit in abundance. Christmas Eve we party hopped, first to the Goldstein's. They have a B-E-A-UTIFUL home right in the middle of Candy Cane Lane (will explain that later in the post). It was packed with people all smiling, munching on yummy food and chatting by the multiple fireplaces. The second place we went to was the Moeser's house. This family is a mix of families, all happy and full of tradition. Festivities included a talent performed by each member of the family, a play depicting the real reason for the season, a gift passing game, and a find-the-almond-in-the-pudding game. We had so much fun, what a great family. It made us think about the traditions we want to start with our kids.

 I need to get a better picture, but I gave myself bangs! I love them. They frame my face so well and honestly, they look like they cut 5 lbs off of me. Sweet!

 Ethan fell asleep on the recliner one day while watching his shows. A couple minutes later he semi-awoke and decided he was going to get down, got half way off and then fell fast asleep again. He stayed like this for a good 20 minutes.

 He found the white chocolate chips. Here he is offering me one and saying "Mmmmm."

 Aunt Ranee, my Grandpa Bob and Grandma Katherine, and cousin Tyson and family came down to go to Disney! Here is Kendra (Tyson's wife) and they're little girl, Molly, who is a absolute doll.

 Whenever Ranee comes into town, which is pretty often, Ethan is obsessed with the suitcase that sits in our living room. He name for Ranee is now "wheel" which he pronounces "ee-wall". Isn't he so handsome in this picture?

Candy Cane Lane. It's a small area of Torrance that is famous for its Christmas lights. Throughout all December, the streets were packed with cars and pedestrians checking out the Christmas lights. Ethan LOVED it. This is my Grandpa Bob, him and Ethan we instant buddies. :)
Overall it was a great holiday season! We were spoiled with gifts and friends and family. I got a gift card to a spa, oh am I ever so excited for that! We also got passes for a segway tour of Long Beach, we've always wanted to ride segways, so we're looking forward to that.