Christmas 2010

Christmas this year was wonderful!! It was by far the best Christmas of my life. I think my heart melted a million times watching the excitement on my little girl's face, and that my friend is priceless. She had been talking about Santa and really looking forward to Christmas so I know this year was no let down for her. She had a little list that she would rattle off to anyone that wanted to listen.

Christmas Eve-

We went over to my parent's house and it was quiet, calm, and just plain nice. We had yummy appetizers that we enjoyed. We walked in and my mom had all the presents under the tree and Gracie didn't even bother them. When it came time to open up presents she was so excited. She screamed out "Thank You", "Happy Birthday to me", and belted out Jingle Bells pretty frequently. It was funny to see how the dynamics in my family have changed because everyone was enjoying watching Grace get so excited that they all waited to open presents until after she was done. After my sister wheeled out her little baby stroller you would have thought we gave her the moon!!!

Christmas Day-

Christmas Eve night we told Grace that when she woke up that she could run down the hallway to see what all Santa brought her. We woke her up and she looked at us and said "Is it time for me to run down the hallway". Is that not about the cutest thing you ever heard? She opened up all her presents and played with them all morning. It was so rewarding and worth every ounce of energy that I put into the holidays by watching Grace that morning.

That afternoon we headed over to Jamie's Grandmother's house and celebrated with his family. Grace hasn't been around his family all that much and I was hoping that she wouldn't act too shy, but she did at first and then warmed up to them. Grace was loving on her Daddy at her house and being as cute as can be. It is a shame how much people can miss out on someone growing up so fast.

Later in the evening, we headed to my Aunt Jackie's. Grace was once again a perfect little girl. We had many compliments that they couldn't believe how good she was for as late as it was and how wonderful she was when everyone was opening up gifts. She got some GOOD stuff over there. One gift was a steel shopping cart that she wheeled around for the rest of the evening. I couldn't get enough of my little family that day.

This family thing that I got going on is a good thing. I love watching Jamie with Grace and I love watching Grace with Jamie. I thought I loved my life before the last few years but man I didn't know what I was missing!!!! I look at this year and think about how much more exciting it will be next year with little Caleb.

Exciting, Exciting, Exciting

Boy are we getting excited over here for Christmas. Grace has been talking about Santa like crazy. We have asked her what she wants Santa to bring her if she keeps on being a good girl and she keeps on saying, "toys". We took her to Santa's Magical Kingdom to look at some Christmas lights last night and she LOVED them. Her little face kept on taking my breath away. You drive through the park in your car to see the lights and we had to wait in line for about forty minutes. Grace bopped her head to the music, pointed her little fingers at things she saw, and talked like crazy about it. We didn't get out of the car to see Santa because the lines were so long and it was so cold but it was so fun to see Grace so excited.

I tell you it is pure magic to see the excitement in your child's face. Knowing that she is seeing and understanding things for the first time. It even makes me emotional seeing Jamie interact with her when she is excited like this. I can't get enough of it. We will probably hit up every Christmas light exhibit in the Metro St. Louis area in the next month!! We talked about baby Jesus last night when we saw him in the manger and she kept on talking about our friend's baby named Jacob-she was totally confused. I can't wait until she starts to realize the real reason behind the season. I am so grateful for what God has given us this last year, we are blessed and feel so fortunate for these blessings.