Okay, get settled in...this is going to be a very long post full of dialog and plenty of pictures for your enjoyment...
Our Christmas celebration began on Christmas Eve. For those of you who don't know, Arch & his Ex share 50/50 custody of Spencer. The rule for Christmas is that if we have him on Christmas Eve, then he wakes up at our house Christmas day and goes to spend Christmas day and night with his mom...and vice versa...this year he was with us on Christmas Eve, so we did all our family celebrations on Christmas Eve.
We started our day bright & early at the McCarty's for a breakfast of waffles and sausage patties. I did take a few pictures of the grandkids, but they didn't turn out great, so I'm choosing not to post them!
Then we went home to rest and I took the opportunity to wrap a few more presents before heading to my parents for the afternoon to unwrap gifts galor!
Here are the girlies before we dove into all the gifts! It was so much fun to see the two of them play together during this visit. It's amazing to see how much each of them has changed. When we went to Disney this past summer Ruth Ann wasn't mobile yet, but Ada was begging Ruth Ann to come and play here and now Ruth Ann joins in on the fun and even says Ada's name! They're both growing up way too fast!
Opening presents was a bitter sweet time, I'll share more of that in a blog post later, but I do appreciate all the kind words and thoughts from friends during the last few days. Having Ada and Ruth Ann helped to take our minds off Adam's absence. Have you ever heard the phrase "When God closes a door, He opens a window."? That kinda sums up how a I felt about Christmas this year. As much as Adam's absence was missed, seeing two little girls enjoy Christmas took away some of that pain. Thank Heaven for little girls!
Ada helped her momma open some gifts...
Ada needed very little help this year. We got Ada a Baby Stella doll just like one Ruth Ann has, which confused Ruth Ann a little bit and she may have thought it was still her baby. Luckily, Grammy bought a new infant Baby Stella for Ruth Ann so her attention was diverted.
Last year my mom decided to make all Christmas decorations at her house kid friendly. What that has come to mean is that all decorations within a child's reach is plush and sings a song and maybe even does a little dance. Here are Ada and Ruth Ann playing with one of their favorites...
Ruth Ann also got some really great books with matching storey book characters from Aunt Toni & Ada...Fancy Nancy and If You Give a Cat a Cupcake.
Spencer also had a very exciting and profitable Christmas. He's pealing a $100 bill from this hat and many more of his gifts from my mom had a variety of dollar bills taped to them.
There are head lights on the bill of this hat...very clever!
Arch also scored big this Christmas. Here's a little bit of information you should know...I hate recliners. I hate the way they look, I hate what they do to a living room and I have vowed to never have one in my living room...however, I ate those words this year. Arch does a lot to make sure I can spend a few extra days at home with Ruth Ann. I took a pretty big pay cut to work part time and I value every minute I get to spend with this sweet girl, so I wanted to do something special for Arch to thank him for what he does to allow this to be possible...so he got a recliner from Christmas. It will not be delivered until next week, so I wrapped a picture of it in a tiny little box...here he is opening up his surprise...
That tiny red box in his right hand was what the paper was folded in...very clever if I do say so myself!
We opened presents for hours....here's Ruth Ann climbing over some of the presents...
No one uses the Bumbo seat at my mom's house, but it's still a fun toy to play with!
But all this fun really took a toll on Ruth Ann and it was time to go home...here's the proof...
Then Christmas morning we were visited by Santa!
Ruth Ann woke up at 6:30am...about 2 hours earlier than her usual wake time...she must have known what was waiting for her. But I brought her to bed with me where she slept until 9am...that's more like it! However, we both eventually got up and she got to check out her goodies!
Here are a few of my favorite things for jolly old Saint Nicholas...
Santa must know Ruth Ann needs to learn the basics before she starts working on her application to Auburn!
I have all the Holiday's Barbie from 1988-2000. That was when we were told the Holiday Barbie line had ended...however, a few Christmas's ago I noticed it had returned. I was a little disappointed I had missed a few years, but now Ruth Ann can look forward to receiving her own Holiday Barbie every year...it was always at the top of my wish list!
And this farm is similar to the Fisher Price farm set I had when I was Ruth Ann's age. I had my hopes up that it would be exactly the same, but it's really not as great as the one I remember. When the barn doors opened on mine they "mooed" and the barn was actually part of the toy. The barn with this set is kinda like a lunch box, but she did enjoy the tractor.
Here are some pictures of Ruth Ann getting into her toys...
Ruth Ann loved her new kitten...but doesn't her real life kitty look a little bit sad about this turn of events...take a look over Ruth Ann's shoulder. She and Lacie have become buddies in recent weeks...I think Lacie thinks she's found a new kitty to love and her heart is a little broken.
Check out Ruth Ann's rooster tail/bed head!
This picture fills my heart with pride!
Ruth Ann is great at taking puzzles apart...
Not so great at putting them back together...yet...
Later that day my family came over to what has become a traditional chili dinner. It rained all day long so we couldn't take the wagon out for spin, but Aunt Toni rode the girls around the living room instead...
Ruth Ann had just hit Ada in the head with her book...Ruth Ann doesn't look too sorry about it...
Ada looks like she's in complete shock...but she was okay!
I can hardly believe Christmas has already come and gone...now it's time to start planning our summer vacation!!
