Christmas 2008

We had a lovely Christmas. We actually got to stay put this year and had everyone come to us, which was very nice for a change.

My whole family came up from Houston and we enjoyed an awesome Christmas Eve meal.

Gaby's pretty Christmas dress... We spent the rest of the day waiting for Santa...

Byron was "on call" the whole week and was actually busy, so that made him a little "scrooge-y"...

Our afternoon project- to build a gingerbread house. The kids started off enthusiastically but after about 15 minutes gave up b/c it wouldn't stay together. So the adults took over and had fun finishing up for them....
They did come back after it was put together to add some finishing touches, though...

Then it was movie time for the kids and the adults hung around, drinking wine and chatting away. We nixxed our usual tradition of opening presents after midnight on Christmas Eve b/c of Gaby but let the kids open one gift that night and then went to bed to get ready for the big day.
Christmas morning was a blast!

We had a huge breakfast and watched the kids go crazy opening gifts. Gaby's big gift from Santa was a very cool retro red play kitchen which was an absolute hit!!

Is it really mine??

" Would anyone like some mac & cheese?"
Turns out my little sweetie loves to cook just like her mommy. She has played with it non-stop since she got it. (I think Santa was very pleased about that!) The princess definitely got more into opening presents this time. I think the trial run in Orange helped :) She was having so much fun ripping off the paper and she was so utterly adorable with her commentary. Everything got an "oh boy" and an "ooooh" and a "wow". She learned very quickly from the big kids how to enjoy the art of opening presents :)
Gaby got so many great toys this year that will for sure enhance her playing experience :). She was having such a blast with all the kids around. This year we were not only joined by Lulu, Carlos and Susana but also by Billy's girlfriend's daughter, Lauren. The house was full of noise and laughter and it was truly awesome! Gaby was up to her usual singing and dancing being the center of attention self- I just love that! Christmas Day we literally stayed in our pjs all day watching movies, playing with our new toys and just enjoying each other's company.

That night we went to see the 37th street lights. It's a neighborhood that REALLY takes their Christmas lights seriously and has all sorts of funky displays. Very Austin-y :) It was pretty cool!
We had a super fun Christmas this year and feel so blessed to have had our family in Austin for our first "official" holiday in our home. We are looking forward to see what exciting things 2009 has in store for us!!