I apologize in advance for the number of pictures in this post...I wanted to do a big post of our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! We had a great time - we celebrated with Brad's family on Christmas Eve and then had a great Christmas Day too - we woke up to find that Santa had visited! Then after that fun, we headed to Cee Cee's house for Christmas morning there. Last, we headed to Meme's house for Christmas with my mom's side of the family! It was a great time and we all got some great things! We are so lucky to get to spend that time with family. And this Christmas was especially fun because Katie really got it - I think she started to understand the magic of Santa and really got into unwrapping presents! I need to go through her toys and store some of the ones she didn't play with before to make room for all of the great things she got for Christmas! Here are some of the pictures of our festivities...
{on Christmas Eve, we woke up and did an Alvin hunt! we found him in the laundry room on top of the dryer...he had brought special jammies for Katie to wear on Christmas Eve! we think he must have washed them for her since he was in the laundry room. he also brought a special Christmas book to read before bedtime...and he wrote Katie a note!!}
{getting ready to celebrate with Brad's family - I thought she looked so sweet!}
{this was the gift she was just dying to rip into!}
{momma and her girl!}
{finally! after we ate dinner, it was present time - this was the first one she got her hands on!}
{Aunt Paulette and Uncle Darrell did a great job - she loved these Hello Kitty goodies! ... front view...}
{and the back view...}
{a family picture}
{Grandma and her little lady}
{Uncle Darrell and Aunt Paulette}
{after we finished, Katie helped clean up the mess!}
{she got this cute little trashcan for her room - she preferred using it as a drum though!}
{looking so grown up...love her!}
{I think she looks like me when I was little in this pic...weird!}
{Katie with Uncle Darrell and Aunt Paulette}
{she got really excited about putting cookies and carrots out for Santa and the reindeer! we made sure she left enough carrots for all the reindeer...plus Rudolph!}
{posing with the goodies}
{and my aunt gave me this to start the tradition - it is just oats and glitter! love it!}
{spreading the magic reindeer food in the yard - really, it was more dumping it out!}
{wearing her special Christmas jammies that Alvin brought! I just love this picture.}
{snuggling in bed after reading our special Christmas book - such a special time of the day}
{SANTA CAME!!!}
{the first peek on Christmas morning...love this!}
{looking at Daddy to make sure it was alright to go downstairs}
{getting a better look at the goods...}
{and the mad dash to all the goodies!}
{checking to see that Santa had come and eaten some cookies and took the carrots for the reindeer to eat!}
{she LOVED the "jumpy thing"!!}
{checking out what was in the grocery cart...}
{posing with what she asked Santa for - a purse and a camera!}
{going through the goodies in her stocking}
{Daddy wanted to wear her Hello Kitty hat - he may kill me for putting this on here!!!}
{LOVING her trampoline! she still talks about it at bedtime and wants to play on it all the time - Santa did a great job with that one!}
{she also likes to sit on it and play with other toys - like this laptop that Santa brought!}
{putting a new ornament on the tree that was in her stocking}
{reading the card from Mommy and Daddy}
{Christmas Morning 2011}
{Mommy and Daddy got her a SUPER soft pink blanket that is big enough to add to her bed between the sheet and comforter if it gets cold enough - for now, using it to snuggle works perfectly!}
{Mommy gets to open a present!! I got my VERY OWN sewing machine from Brad - can't wait to really try it out! Maybe I will get inspired to make some things for this baby closer to time. he also got me a giftcard to go get more charms for my Pandora bracelet!}
{we gave Katie a tea set - she loves it!}
{she was serving us tea that morning!}
{I got Brad a slingbox - pretty cool! He also got a new UT had and a Preds hat!}
{starting to open presents from Nanny and Papa!}
{she LOVES her DoodlePro!}
{looks like Santa came to my mom's house too! here are all the stockings!}
{Katie and April were checking out all the presents under the tree!}
{she was very eager to open more presents!}
{sitting with Momma to open the stocking at Cee Cee's house!}
{is that really my husband?? what a goofball...}
{April was excited about her stocking too!}
{Santa brought Brad a Chuy's giftcard and tshirt! Katie just saw the giftcard and knew exactly what it was for - smartypants! Brad told her that he'd take her on a Daddy Date with it :)...cute}
{Will was excited about opening his stocking too!}
{it's present time! Mom was opening the one from us - I actually wrapped AND made a bow for it!}
{my mom got this present for Baby Coulter - she is convinced we will be adding a boy to the mix...can you tell?! the tag says "Merry Christmas to our own Christmas miracle! To: Cooter Coulter Love, Cee Cee XOXO" do you recall that when I was pregnant with Katie, we called her Cletus the Fetus...my mom decided Cooter is a good name for this one while it is in utero}
{this was what was inside - one of my baby socks when I was little, a piece of ribbon from mine and Brad's wedding, and a little matchbox toy that was my brother's when he was little...too cute}
{Uncle Will gave Katie some Minnie Mouse bracelets! she LOVES them!}
{Katie got some neat blocks from Cee Cee - we can't wait to play with them!}
{momma and her girl!}
{Daddy and his sweet pea}
{family pic #1 - and a little shot at a beginning-to-blossom belly! that is a maternity shirt, so it is kinda just hanging on me - which is just fine with me!}
{family pic #2}
{family pic #3}
{Katie was on the deck with Cee Cee - love her Christmas outfit!}
{she loved watching the birds eat on Cee Cee's bird feeder}
{LOVE this picture!!!}
{at the Christmas celebration with my mom's family, my brother got a hat from my aunt - autographed by lots of the Tennessee Titans players! one of them is my aunt's neighbor, so he took it with him to practice one day...it is AWESOME!!}
{these are the players that autographed the hat...pretty cool, right??}
{I wanted to show that I wore cute shoes! my mom got these for me for my birthday and I thought wearing them on Christmas was appropriate - love them!}
{Katie playing with my aunt's "whack-a-mole" game that she got from my brother!}
{one VERY tired little lady on our way home from all the celebrations!}
Even though we enjoyed opening all the presents, we talked a lot with Katie about the fact that Christmas is Baby Jesus's birthday - we even sang Happy Birthday to Baby Jesus before we opened presents...I'm so glad she is started to understand the true meaning of the day.
