Christmas

This was the first Christmas that we spent away from home since Em was born--and she was most concerned that Santa wouldn't know where to find her at Grandma's.  We went to Christmas Eve mass and came back home for dinner.  Em excitedly picked out the cookies to leave for Santa, and then decided to sample some too.

The next morning when we got up, we thought Em would sleep forever!  She finally woke up and excitedly came in to see the presents around the tree.

                                      

She went for the stocking first--and was most excited about the chocolate!

                                   

She had asked Santa for a bow and arrow of course, and she ended up with two!  It was her favorite gift of the day though, for sure.  She took it outside for some target practice.

                                   

Later that day, after Uncle Robbie and Stacy got there, we all exchanged gifts together.  Grandma Lala gave Em this bear that she named Cranberry.

And Uncle Robbie and Stacy gave Em some princess dresses that she pretty much wore for the rest of the trip!

There was plenty of time to spend with everyone, including snuggle time with Lala,

play time with Landon and Zachary,

and with Papa.

Hugs with Grandma!

I'm actually not sure where this Rudolph nose came from, but Em loved it!

She loves playing with her cousins,

and they're very patient with her, considering the age difference.

We took them to a nearby playground the day after Christmas since it was a little warmer--she tries so hard to keep up with them!

Later, it was back in a princess dress for Em,

 and she fixed Grandma's hair with a clip before the picture :).

We left to come home on Friday, and started taking down our Christmas stuff over the weekend.  Sad to see it all go, and can't believe we'll be celebrating with a 4-year old next year!