Merry Christmas!

We started a new Christmas tradition this year for our little family. After the festivities in Mascoutah with the Twenhafels, we headed back to good ole 527 Atalanta. We wanted to be able to celebrate Christmas morning at our own house. Mia must have been a good girl this year, because she got lots of fun stuff from Santa. Her 2 big gifts were a Dora the Explorer kitchen and the Little People Nativity Set. These were both set up in front of the tree so as soon as Mia made her way downstairs in the morning, she saw them and immediately started playing. So fun!!



After Mia's morning nap, we headed back to Mascoutah to celebrate Christmas with the Simon Family at Papa Art and Grandma Randa's. Grandma & Papa gave Mia a baby bed for her Bitty Baby. However, Mia thinks its for her.



Mia had a great time playing with her cousins Christian and Aubree.



Christmas Cheers! (And a delicious Christmas Dinner prepared by Grandma Randa!)


After dinner, we headed over to Lockwood's to continue our Christmas fun with the extended family. It was a busy day, but one that was full of the best things in life - family...and lots of good food. :)

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Our Christmas Eve tradition is to go to the Christmas Eve church service and then head over to my mom's house for egg nog, gift opening and lots of snacks! The added fun this year was getting to see Mia open her presents. Since the Twenhafel clan celebrated early at Thanksmas, the adults had a mini-exchange. Mia had a blast and wasn't shy about tearing off the wrapping paper. She received wonderful toys, books and clothes from everyone! And this was just the beginning of our Christmas celebrations!



Grandma, Grandpa and the Grandkids


Mia looking at her presents

Mia & Max

Mia and Max have become pretty good friends lately. Max is awesome with Mia. He lets her pet him and hug on him and never seems bothered by it. Mia's allergy test indicated that she is allergic to cats, so we had been trying to keep Mia and Max separated, but as you can see...that doesn't work very well. How can you deny these two? Thankfully Mia's eczema is doing much better lately. Just in time for Mia and Max to become pals. Here's a couple pics from last week of the two of them.

Flashback!

It is so hard to believe how fast time goes by! Since I wasn't blogging until Mia was 11 months old, we have lots & lots of photos that I haven't shared. I thought it would be fun to post Mia's Christmas photos from last year. Mia was 1 month old when we took these pictures. Its hard to remember Mia being so small, but I definitely remember her being a cutie!

Ho Ho Ho = Wah Wah Wah

Last night we went to a Christmas party hosted by our neighbors. This is an annual party and practically one of the only times we visit with our neighbors. This is the 3rd year that we've attended and we've always enjoyed it. However, now that we have Mia, its even more fun because Santa makes a visit. We eagerly anticipated Santa's arrival and Mia had been practicing saying "Santa" and "Ho ho ho". We weren't sure how Mia would react to Santa. Once he arrived, we sat and watched about 10 kids sit on Santa's lap and then finally we decided it was Mia's turn. Luckily Jake was quick with the camera because Mia's time with Santa was cut pretty short. Just one look at the picture and you'll know why.



A much happier Mia, before Santa's arrival:

Watch out Picasso!

We have a budding artist on our hands. I guess that shouldn't really be a surprise since one of the most creative guys I know is her daddy. Mia does have a fun time with the art projects at school and at home. Here are a few pics of Mia and her "Splash Art" toy she got from Heather for her birthday. Its a fun way to create colorful pictures with water...once it dries you can start all over again. No mess AND lots of fun!

Walk this Way

Our baby is becoming a toddler more and more every day. She's starting to get more and more interested in walking. On Thanksgiving, both Annaliese and Mia entertained everyone with their walking progress. Thanks to "Auntie" Alana for helping get the girls moving!

Mia walking!

Merry Thanksmas!

On my side of the family, every other year we celebrate Christmas at Thanksgiving time since that is when my sister and her family are visiting. (They take turns spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with both sets of relatives.) In our family, we've dubbed this holiday "Thanksmas". Its a little strange to be celebrating Christmas so early, but Mom makes sure to have all of her decorations up to get us in the Christmas spirit. Plus, its nice to have a lot of my Christmas shopping done so early...impressive for a procrastinator like me!

Mia was incredibly cute at the gift opening. We all take turns opening gifts, youngest to oldest. This whole process usually takes a couple hours and Mia was in a great mood the entire time. She had a blast opening up the gifts and when she would see what it was, it was usually greeted with a "Wow!" from her - her new favorite word. When it wasn't her turn, Mia was content hanging out, playing with her new toys and watching everyone else. We couldn't have asked for a better night!

Here's a video of Mia opening a gift. Listen carefully and you'll hear her "Wow!"