Pictures from Christmas

Christmas Eve at my parents' house. Maddie is such an enthusiastic eater. This picture is so cute!

This is the gang at my parents' house. L-R Bottom are Chris's grandmother, Mother, Father, my Mother, my dad's sister, and my Father. L-R Top are Me, Jackson, Madison, Chris (hiding behind Madison), family friends - Donna and Ted. Dinner was delicious as usual. It's been a family tradition with my mom and dad and I to have spaghetti and meatballs on Christmas eve. We spent a lot of my childhood Christmases in snow covered...I mean Oswego NY with no family around. Since Chris and my first Christmas in our first apartment, I wanted to have the dinner at my place so we included Chris's Parents and Grandparents and brother and sister. We had one Christmas Eve there then we bought our tiny house with a tiny kitchen but I insisted on still having dinner at our house. We had a table in the tiny kitchen extended with a card table and we would cram 12 people in there. It was tight but I loved having the holiday. On the 5th year of us being in the house I was getting ready on Christmas eve for people to come over, I turned on the faucet and we had no water! A water main had broken and they couldn't even tell us when we would have water again. I was heartbroken and called my mom crying. She said we could all go over her house. I was very disappointed about my tradition being broken but we had a great time and my mom actually had a dining room for us to eat in. So the next year I figured we'd go back to my house but my parents had bought their new house and this was going to be the last Christmas in the house they had lived in for 23 years so we had at her house again. Then the next year (last year) was the first Christmas in their new house so she really wanted to have dinner there. So I have officially given up my tradition which is fine because now that we renovated our kitchen we don't even have a table to eat at at all! Plus my parents' house is the ultimate "home for the holidays" home. AND it's amazing to think that this is the 340th Christmas that house has seen.

Christmas morning at our house. M&J surrounded by all their presents from "Santa".

These are the chairs that Chris's mom bought the kids. Maddie did a face plant out of the chair the first time she was in it.

Madison in their new rocking horse! Chris's mom spoiled them this year!

Madison with a bow on her head.

Nana and her little man.

This is Chris's cousin's house. Now THAT'S a Christmas tree!

Christmas night back home Jackson had fun playing in the chairs with his new toys.

I'm sure they won't remember any of it but I think it was my favorite Christmas so far. I told them both that they were the best present I could ever ask for. However, I also received earrings from Tiffany and a red iPod shuffle :-)