Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, New York, and Christmas Times Three

Whew. It's January 2nd! So much has happened since the last post, but first, to catch up on our Advent Bags. Twenty-Three: Read 'The Night Before Christmas' and sprinkle the reindeer food. Because of our travel plans, we emailed Santa and asked if he could come to our house a day early. Of course, he didn't mind at all. So, on the night before the night before Christmas, we had to do our Christmas Eve activities.

For three dollars and 25 cents, you can buy reindeer food in a tube. It was inside Bag 23. So, we put on our coats and went out to sprinkle it around the yard for Rudolf and his friends. We followed the instructions carefully. You can't just pour it all out into a pile, see...it has to be spread all around for the magic to work. I guess the reindeer enjoyed it, because it was all gone the next morning.

Next, we let Daphne open a couple gifts from Kev and I, including the robe and PJs I made for her. They fit perfectly, and she seemed to really like them. No complaints, anyway, so I was happy.

Then, we all nestled into the couch for story time:

It was a great night. Daphne was so cute when we put her to bed. So excited, but wanting to fall asleep quickly.

The next picture pretty much sums up her feelings on Christmas morning:

Bag 24: A note that said, "We made it! Merry Christmas!" and some hot chocolate mix.

Ah, the end of the bags.

We drank the cocoa, opened presents, and played, and had a big Christmas breakfast with G-Ma and G-Pa and Uncle Jeff. Definitely a fun day for all.

The next day, we drove to NY for Christmas Number Two:

Choir Loft at Regina Coeli - Post Papa Singing

We were only there for a few days, but we packed in a lot. Playing with cousins, dinner out with good friends, lots of Dog-Time, the Blizzard of 2010, Kev's birthday, Build-a-Bear Workshop, church, and more. Pictures from our trip will be posted on Flickr soon.

We got back home in time to celebrate New Year's Eve with good food and good friends. Daphne was awake until 1:30 AM! And she was GOOD! But it wasn't easy to wake her up the next morning:

Sleeping it off.

We spent New Year's Day having Christmas Number Three in Manassas.

Lots of nice gifts from G-Ma, G-Pa, and Uncle Jeff, more good food, and a hike at Bull Run Battlefield:

Today is the last day of our Christmas Break. Daphne goes to school tomorrow and Kev goes to work. And sometime this week will be my least favorite day of the year: Christmas-Tree Taking Down Day. It will be a sad day. But, I have to say, this was a GREAT Christmas, and one I will remember for a long time. I hope yours was good, happy, and safe. Happy 2011!