Christmas!

This year we celebrated our last Christmas in the northwest by staying home.  It was just us - our little, growing family - and although we missed our extended family, it was still a wonderful day.  On Christmas eve, we attended our church's Christmas eve service….

photo borrowed from my friend Jason

…followed by an invitation to spend the evening with some friends and their extended family.  It was fun to meet new people and be a part of new traditions, like eating krumkake (a traditional Scandinavian treat that reminded me of soft, strawberry ice cream in a rolled cookie cone) and participating a family sing-along.  It was a beautiful night.

We got to sleep in on Christmas morning (even Ruby!), which for us is 8:00 am.  She was excited to see the tree with all the presents under it. It was a very sweet moment.

Then we led her into the dining room where her gift from Santa awaited….a play kitchen.  It was a huge hit!

We opened our stockings (even the dogs had a full stocking waiting for them) and then proceeded to make breakfast.  Noa, er, I mean, Santa brought me a Belgium waffle maker since it's my all-time favorite breakfast.  We had a waffle breakfast, complete with strawberries and whipped cream.  It was delicious!!

After we cleaned up, it was time for presents.  This year was really fun because this was the first Christmas that Ruby really got into the idea of opening gifts.  She needed a little help here and there, but overall, she got the concept of tearing the paper and would then show her excitement at whatever the gift was.  She would cheer or yell, "hurray!"  She even put on some of the clothes she opened.  It was so fun to see her reactions.

 Yes, we are all still in our PJs - even mommy and daddy.

This picture cracks me up because it's a totally blur.  As soon as she figured out how to put her new baby in the toy stroller, she was off and running.  This has become a very popular toy in our house.

And the baby isn't the only one to go in the stroller, as you can see.

Later that day, we headed to the Landers' house to join in their family Christmas dinner (thanks, guys!) and hang out.  It was a wonderful time visiting with friends who have become like family here.  Ruby loves playing with their boys and petting their dog, Harley (he's been on the blog before), as well as playing with some of their fun toys (they have a toy ambulance that she loves).  I was able to try out my baking skills by bringing dessert.  I made a dark chocolate peppermint roll for the first time and I was pretty happy with how it turned out.  

All in all, it was a beautiful Christmas.  I'm so glad we could share it with friends, connect with family (over the phone), and develop our own traditions and ways to celebrate such a special day.  

Merry Christmas!