Christmas Eve/Christmas Day Pics

We had my family over for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year, as part of our Hooray, We Have a House And Can Actually Fit Everyone Now extravaganza of 2008 (and beyond).

Grammy and Grampy brought over Cubby's biggest gift on Christmas Eve, and she wasted no time trying it out:


Cubby trying to convince Uncle Ryan that the letters on his shirt spell K-E-I-R-A:


After everyone left on Christmas Eve, Santa came to visit and left Cubby a train set. (I hear he decided against the actual train table out of consideration for space issues in the ready-to-explode playroom...thanks, Santa!) We had a hard time getting an answer to "Do you like it?" when she found it on Christmas morning, but she played with it off an on all day, so we're taking that as a "yes."


Bear's friend Pat got her the most painfully cute Disney Princess cooking gear:

This was our attempt at a family photo, but as you can see, Cubby's pose isn't exactly frame-worthy. Also, my face looks huge.

New trick: jumping on the trampoline while chewing on Blankie.

By the end of Christmas Day, our napless Cub was all worn out. "Nice try, Aunt Jen, but this is MY Blankie!"

We all had a great time, and I think our first official attempt at hosting a holiday dinner went fairly well. Bear made a variation on the traditional green bean casserole, we tried out a new kind of stuffing, I did mashed potatoes, Jen brought yummy corn in the crockpot, and my parents brought sweet potatoes and a Honey-Baked Ham. And for dessert? Fruit pizza, of course! I'm normally opposed to most fruit-related desserts (what's the point?) but this one's my favorite. Thanks, Mom! I managed not to ruin or forget any dishes, and gained a newfound respect for anyone who's ever hosted a holiday dinner before--and bonus points for anyone who's ever actually gotten dinner on the table on time!

After everyone left, I found myself in Turbo Mode and ended up cleaning up the kitchen, doing three loads of laundry (and actually putting it away, which is a remarkable feat if you know me at all), reorganizing my closet, and putting away all the gifts before I finally collapsed on the couch. It was so nice to wake up this morning to a clean house, instead of the disaster I usually leave for myself as a not-so-Happy-Day-After-Christmas gift!