Last week, we had the Pryor family here for a holiday visit. It was way too short as always, but even getting to see them for a few hours is good for my soul. Natalie is just the most beautiful and stylish pregnant woman you can imagine. Emma and Preston played really well and had fun making cookies with us. Thanks for making the trip, Pryors! What a great day- we love you guys!
The Illsley Place kids holiday party took place on the 20th and it was a hit! We can't wait to make this part of our family's Christmastime tradition. The kids made crafts and decorated their own sugar cookies. While Preston got a little overzealous with the green sprinkles, he was super proud of his craft tree and loved when everyone gathered around the piano and sang carols. (Yes, we really did that. Our neighbors are serious about tradition, and apparently, singing carols is a long standing ritual for the kids party.) By the way, my girlfriends will get a kick out of the fact that the neighborhood association provides special "Illsley Place holiday song books" specially printed for this party.
Christmas Eve day was awesome! We had such a special day with just our family of 4. We made cut out cookies together, assembled some reindeer dust and spent lots of time snuggling in our PJs. Later that evening, we attended the children's mass at St. Johns, then opened our doors for a cookie buffet. If the next few years allow, we will definitely continue this tradition for our neighborhood friends because it was so much fun! We set out every kind of cookie that we baked in the previous days and loaded them into bags for our guests to take home and leave out for Santa that night.
Speaking of cookies for Santa, this was seriously the part of Christmas that Preston loved most. He thought it was amazing to leave him a note on our cute cookie plate with his cookies. Then when he came down to see the gifts on Christmas morning, he ran immediately to the plate, saying, "He ate my cookies! He ate them!"
Milk and cookies before bed on Christmas Eve:
Christmas morning took on a whole new meaning for us this year. We kept it low key, or tried to with one very excited two year old, and made some delicious omlets for breakfast while opening gifts. Kevin and I were not planning on exchanging gifts but he surprised me with a gorgeous and simple jade bracelet I've been wanting. (Way to go, Santa...Mrs. Clause was very pleased!) CeCe slept in longer than Preston so we went ahead and brought him down on his own. As you can see, he had a blast digging in to his presents!
Christmas Day at the Erbs- Preston checking out his gifts, playing with his cousins, CeCe snoozing on Grandma, and Grandpa's new snuggie. :)
In my ever-constant quest for quality family photos, I even tried to set both kids up in a chair at the end of the day to capture their darling coordinating outfits and catch some Christmas smiles. Preston's expression in the lasts photo has dashed all my pageant parent dreams, but also shows what a great time he had. They were both exhausted once we got home. Thanks once again to my wonderful inlaws for a fun family holiday!
I'll stop here before this turns into a novel, but I still need to recap our car fire. (Yes, I said car fire. The VW Passat is totaled and we are officially car shopping.) Along with uploading pics from the Roberts and Willig family Christmases, which I'll have to save for another post. Kevin took the entire week off of work, so for now, I gotta run and enjoy some time with my fam. :)
Hope you all had a wonderful holiday filled with peace and love. Thanks for Keeping Up With The Erbs this year, wishing you all the best in 2010!
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