Ho, ho, ho!

What a very merry Christmas we had! Gaga and Papa are/were here, there was snow on the ground (it was the first white Christmas in Dallas in 80 years!), presents under the tree, and more food than I care to admit.

The festivities began on Tuesday when we went to look at Christmas lights. It was so much fun to pile into the car, drink hot chocolate, and look at the most impressive light displays I have ever seen. And the best part was watching Ellie get so excited. She liked pointing out the "'nowman" and "Cole, cole, cole" (Santa, who she gets confused with Old King Cole from her nursery rhyme book). Damian got Ellie out of the car for a closer look a few times and she loved checking out the animated displays. One house had music playing and she stood on the sidewalk dancing for ages. It was really warm so most people were driving around with their windows down; as the cars passed Ellie, we heard several people cry "look at the little baby!" So cute.

On Wednesday, we went to a Christmas Eve eve service at church that was wonderful. We met the Adams family there and Jackson and Ellie had a great time running around after the service. Charlie enjoyed listening to the music and looking at all of the lights and candles. Just what we needed to get into the Christmas spirit! I didn't get pictures of Ellie in her Christmas dress, but here's a picture of Charlie in his finest:

On Christmas Eve, we enjoyed a big meal and got to bed early -- we didn't want to be awake when Santa came, of course!

Gaga and Charlie (see, he really does like the Bumbo!)

Miss Ellie did NOT want to be photographed, but Charlie didn't mind the attention:

We didn't get a picture of the entire spread, but this is the dish/dessert I was most proud of -- a chocolate (and cherry) yule log. And behind it is Damian's awesome centerpiece, which he made from clippings that he got out of our yard -- I had never even noticed that we had any pretty plants around!

On Christmas morning, we woke up to two miracles...Charlie had slept for 8 straight hours (yippee!) and there was snow on the ground! We braved the cold and took the kiddos out for a rare photo opportunity:

Ellie was spoiled rotten with more gifts that she knew what to do with! She opened her first gift (one of the many great books that Papa and Gaga got her) and spent at least 20 minutes "reading" it, without any interest in opening another gift. We finally talked her into checking out a few more gifts, but in the end, it took her two full days to open all of her gifts! I'm sure that next year, when we're dodging flying bows and paper as she tears her way through the pile of gifts without paying any attention to what she's opened, we'll look back on this year's pace with fondness and longing. ;-)

She did eventually notice the super-cool wagon that Shiny Grandpa and Meme gave her and enjoyed climbing in and out of it (and in and out of it, and in and out of it) and opening other gifts from her perch:

A classic Ellie expression:

That night, we had another big meal. Ellie wasn't interested in much of the food (other than the ham), but she loved the crown from her Christmas cracker:
Charlie enjoyed sitting at the table and watching all of the action:

All of the civilized, sophisticated action, that is:

The prince and princess:

Papa and Ellie watching TV:

The finale of the Christmas meal was the flaming Christmas pudding.

Thank you, Gaga and Papa, for spending Christmas with us and making it so special. We would have ended up having Taco Cabana for Christmas dinner if you weren't here entertaining the kids, helping us shop, and doing so much cleaning!