A Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas celebration this year. We enjoyed lots of quality family time, as well as larger gatherings with our extended family. Of course the girls were super excited about it all.

On Christmas Eve my grandmother came over for a delicious dinner. Our first Christmas without Grandpa has been hard, but there was still much joy.

Before the feast, which included a standing rib roast, roasted butternut squash, mashed potatos, and brussel sprouts with browned butter and toasted nuts. Yum!

They each opened one present on Christmas Eve.

Which were new butterfly pajamas, from a friend of the family!

Grandma with the girls- smiles all around!

Christmas was a full day, which started with opening stocking presents from Santa (Lucy left him cookies and wrote him a note and was thrilled to receive one in return), and some special presents from Matt and I. See my post about those on my "Leaf by Elizabeth" blog: The two gifts.

We also got to skype with Mimi & Papa Jack in the morning, and Grandma Judy in the afternoon; it was great to share the holiday with them, even from a distance.

Opening stocking presents.

The girls each picked out baby dolls to give each other, and both loved their present. :)

Then we gathered with the rest of the family at my grandmother's house for our usual brunch and present opening. It was delicious as always, featuring my grandma's amazing yeast coffeecake. The older cousins are wonderful with the girls, so these gatherings are super relaxing for me. And we got to hear violin, piano and flute pieces from the cousins too, with Lucy performing as well.

Clara helping to pass out presents.

Lucy sitting on one of my cousin's laps. She was so excited to wear her fancy dress and new bows.

Clara looked beautiful in her fancy dress and bow too- she still has her curls!

After heading home for nap time, we finished the day with a festive dinner back at Grandma's. And the fun continued just a few days later, as we celebrated Clara's 2nd birthday!