First Christmas and Blessings

What a busy week we have had! Gamma got here on Monday, Gampa got here on Wednesday, and Nana and Papa Jay got here last night. Lola's first Christmas Eve was very eventful! We found a new breakfast place so we all went and had a Christmas Eve Breakfast. Then Gampa and I went Christmas shopping while Rodney and Gamma held the fort down at home. Gampa got Lola the cutest little outfit that says "Team Grandpa." She will enjoy wearing that!
After Nana and Papa Jay got here, we headed to church. Lola was so sweet during church. She was fascinated by the lights, especially when all the lights were turned off and the candle light started. It was so lovely and it was wonderful to introduce our baby girl to this family tradition.
After church we came home and had some dinner. Now in our family, we have a tradition of opening our stockings on Christmas Eve.  This started years ago when my grandmother would do all of our stockings. We were allowed to open one stocking stuffer (or "stuffin' stocker" as my family calls it) on Christmas Eve. Well, my grandmother and mother were like little kids and pretty soon, that ONE present ended up being the whole stocking! And, thus, a tradition was started! (It's a good thing that the tradition of opening other people's gifts to see what they were, then wrapping them back up,  didn't stick! I think when Lola gets a little older, Gamma might be a bad influence!)

Of course we took lots of pictures of our favorite present under the tree.  She even unwrapped one of Gamma's presents. Course she enjoyed the paper much more than anything!  Which I hear will be the case for the next few years. I usually make breakfast on Christmas morning (an easy egg dish) and this year, I decided I'd make some pumpkin pancakes. I had a pumpkin bread mix that I converted to pancake mix. I made the first two and then the pancake master (aka, my dad) came in and kicked me out. I tried to put cranberies in the pancakes, but Mr. Pancake told me I was ruining them, so I got out voted and he took over! I discovered that pancakes and bacon are not prepared as quickly as eggs. When we were finished, Lola and Papa Jay had gone down for a nap! Nana gave us a beautiful "Baby's first Christmas" ornament. We love it! She also brought us a bunch of ornaments that she made when Rodney was growing up. I loved adding those to our tree!  After all our presents were opened, Lola played in the paper.  She was almost buried in it! Gamma got her an exer-saucer, which she seems to like. It will grow with her, and I think she will like being able to turn herself around--that is when her feet finally reach the ground in it!

We did our traditional ham dinner this year and Lola was jealous that she didn't get to have any of it! And of course, we ate way too much! I had forgotten to get rolls, so mom headed out to get some (and the milk I forgot to get) but nothing was open (which was really nice, I think!) so she ended up getting us a loaf of white bread for our dinner. So we had the whole spread...ham, dressing... full setting of china and silver and real napkins with my favorite glittery dragon fly napkin rings...and a loaf of white bread!

We sure missed having Hannah and Jake here (and Kristi and Bob!) This is the first year we've been in this house that they haven't been here with us on Christmas. They have a new baby too, a few months younger than Lola.  I'm so looking foward to Lola having a cousin close in age as it seems all of the people we know actually have lapped us in the children department, so all their children are much older than Lola. So, yay for baby Jaycee...Cousin Lola is looking forward to getting to know you and hopefully they can be together next Christmas!