Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Christmas 2015


Oh Christmas.  Such a sweet and special day.  Last year we traveled ON Christmas so this year just felt extra special to be in one spot and just e-n-j-o-y what the day had to offer.  I used to force my brother to wait for me to walk down and "see what Santa brought" (no way am I giving up my childhood) but this year I abolished the rule and I must say, it was quite enjoyable.  I ran down to wish my mom, Derek and Stella a Merry Christmas (the others were still upstairs) and since I'm in charge of all the kids gifts to our parents I had plenty of time to set them up under the tree.  We got the deck door and some windows open as well as the fan and that really helped to cool things down despite the crazy weather.  New this year was making some "Kris Kringle Punch" which I got together just as everyone was coming downstairs.  
I've got way too many photos from Christmas but it is my favorite time of the year to have the camera out and just keep snapping...

 Once we were all downstairs, Steve ran back up and reappeared in this elf onsie complete with a hat and jingly botoies - it was too much! I couldn't stop laughing and he said he did it to surprise me, ha! 

Nash always gets his stocking/bag of toys first to keep him occupied and this year since Stella was there we did them both at the same time and they both were more interested in each other's items than their own.  First up is always stockings (and the huge overflow bags - the stockings are everyone's favorite parts) - kids go first then the parents.  The first gifts opened are always the gifts from Davey and I to each other… and now Derek too followed by all of Santa's gifts.  Instead of just ripping through, we try to take our time and just overlap a little bit so everyone can see what everyone else gets.  (In the past this wasn't always true but now…) I love seeing what everyone gets and I especially love seeing the gifts that us kids pick out for my parents being opened up.  The whole morning is such a special time to me.

 Stella took to using mom's stocking as a head rest while she plaid with all the new stuff
Steve used to be a trainer at Penn State and mom found a little lego PSU trainer golf cart - it was the best stocking stuffer!
These boxing gloves (and a pair for me) were gifted to Derek and I and of course he couldn't wait to use them.

It was also our little Stella's first Christmas and we had the best time giving her gifts and watching her take it all in.  It got to be a little overwhelming for our little lady (who hid under the couch) but we quite enjoyed watching her enjoy herself with her toys all weekend long.

We got Nash a game that you hide the treats in one year and each Christmas it gets played with non stop
Nash took a liking to the cosmo and the "chewy vuitton" and "sniffany and co." toys I think I enjoyed more than the pups
Stella loves liking the outside of a wine glass - she always goes right to it.  She was also nice enough to team up with mom to "gift" me a jacket to walk her in.

As I've said before, the weather this year was just crazy.  I went out on the deck to jokingly ask if we could get our Christmas morning photo out there and when I saw the table/chairs were dry, I asked to move the dining room tablescape outside and have our Christmas brunch outdoors - for probably the only time in our entire lifetime.  Unsure at first, everyone ended up agreeing and we did Christmas brunch outside in our pajamas and bare feet - never again will that happen in PA (well, most likely) and it's now such a sweet, fun memory.  (it was especially sweet because the sun went down and the rain reappeared just a couple hours after we finished outside).


The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and napping - such an enjoyable Christmas day.

We got ourselves ready and headed over to my aunt's house to spend Christmas evening.  She had quite the spread, we had plenty of Christmas Cheer to drink and we all just enjoyed being together.


When we got home we had intentions of watching some new movies that we'd gotten earlier but I'm pretty sure everyone was falling asleep within minutes.  It was a very blessed and special day - already looking forward to next year.

26 comments:

  1. oh my goodness look at all these sweet photos. you and your mom in the matching pjs is perfection. and well your whole family including those sweet pups - can't get enough :) love all the personalization in the stocking game too. i need to up my game next year!

    xoxo cheshire kat

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  2. I am loving the matching pajamas! SO fun! And that pic of you, your momma and Stella! And relaxing and napping sounds like the best way to end Christmas! <3, Pamela Sequins & Sea Breezes

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  3. Such a wonderful Christmas! Love all the pictures! It's crazy to think that you had brunch outside on Christmas day! Definitely a once in a lifetime thing (probably).

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  4. What a wonderful Christmas!! I love that the weather was so warm this year that we were all able to enjoy it outdoors - at least us east coasters LOL!! The traditions you have with your family are just great! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

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  5. I love the matching pajamas! And loved looking at your pictures!
    Sarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts

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  6. I love how you all have festive pajamas. So fun! :)

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  7. I LOVE how many pictures you took! This is normally me but for whatever reason this year, we just didn't take as many pictures as we normally do. It looks like y'all had a very full and wonderful Christmas day!

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  8. What a fabulous Christmas! I love all of the matching PJs and Stella's gifts were the best - so cute!! Glad she had a great first Christmas :)

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  9. i loved this!! the elf outfit was hilarious. i love y'all in the matching pjs!! too cute!! looks like a wonderful day. i forgot to take pics this year and i'm kicking myself.

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  10. This looks like the perfect Christmas day! My sister gave her pups their toys at the start of Christmas too so they would be preoccupied while we opened up presents and for the rest of the day all we heard was squeaking dog toys! That's so awesome that y'all got to eat outside for Christmas brunch! Even though the weather was unseasonably warm, I love that y'all took the time to take advantage of it!

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  11. Steve is awesome. :) Love all of the photos! You always get such great quality ones. So festive! And Stella is adorable :)

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  12. Oh my gosh, I love all the Christmas jammies. Y'all are the cutest!!

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  13. Okay, your family should win an award for being the most adorable - I love all the photos! I love how special Christmas is to you and your family, it seriously is enviable.

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  14. It looks like you guys had a wonderful Christmas! Where did you get the "trophy husband" shorts/boxers? Too funny!

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  15. You guys are so cute. I love your matching pajamas, the decorations and all of that delicious looking food! :-)

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  16. The Christmas PJ's are too cute. That elf onesie is hysterical. That sounds like something my family would do. Where did they find those punching gloves at? They're huge! Looks like y'all had a very fun Christmas. Hope y'all have a Happy New Years too.

    Kaitlyn @ Kaitlyn-Danielle.blogspot.com

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  17. Okay these pictures are the cutest I love all your matching plaids!

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  18. What a fabulous Christmas with your family! You definitely captured the moment with all your photos. The punch and breakfast casserole looks amazing and Derek's boxing gloves are hilarious!

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  19. I just remember you saying that you told your husband before y'all got married that Christmas would be with you family. That is so going to be me!! I love y'alls pjs too! So cute!

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  20. Love the matching jammies! And I love all the puppy pictures too! Looks like an awesome holiday! xo, Champagne&Suburbs

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  21. What a fantastic Christmas!! Looks like y'all had an amazing day and love that you got to use the back porch for Christmas breakfast!

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  22. Christmas is the best! Happy to see you guys had a wonderful time. Love, love your matching PJ's! Happy New Year!

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  23. What a wonderful Christmas!! Sounds like it was the perfect day! Your matching PJs are just the cutest!

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  24. These pictures are amazing!! You're going to be so glad you have them. No problem with being snap happy at all!!

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