We bought a couple of ornaments at the Christmas Mouse in Duck. Celia was excited to add her new ornaments to the tree.
I know I promised not to decorate another Christmas tree with a 4 and 1 year old, but the outside tree and it its non-breakable ornaments doesn't count. It was all fun and games until Lyra bloodied her nose after tripping over her feet on the driveway. The leaves helped her forget.
December purple chair photos include cute Christmas dresses.
Jason and I take turns getting up early with Lyra on weekends. I am not sure what exactly they do...
Celia and I put together a gingerbread house. Next year, we will have to have multiple houses to decorate...Or maybe not if Lyra only wants to eat the candy again...
We decided to check out the Breakfast with Santa at the Fairfax City Firehouse. It was well worth it at $5 per person. Plus, they had raffles, crafts, and really good pancakes. This was Lyra's first experience with Santa this year. She tried to make a break for it, but was then quickly distracted by a moving inflatable tree object.
Did I mention I am not sure what Lyra and Jason do while I am sleeping?
Hannuka was early this year, but we kept out our decorations to play with.
Snow came early this winter. We had fun bundling up and playing in the snow!
Overall, December was not a happy month for Lyra. She was sick and teething and miserable for most of the month.
Ice storms are dangerous and harmful to the plants, but beautiful!
Jason took beautiful pictures of the house and outside Christmas tree at night...
I bought a deal for Meadowlark gardens. It is pricey, but very pretty.
Amy was able to stop by and visit for a little bit one day -- it just happened to be the same day Grandpa joe and Grandma Liz arrived.
Grandma Liz did a great job watching Lyra!
Our neighbors had a wonderful Christmas party again this year. Lyra missed pictures with Santa since she was not feeling very well.
Did you know butterflies eat noodles?
Celia has been taking dance class during the day at school. In December, they had a mini-recital such that the parents could come see what they have been working on. Extremely cute, if not necessarily graceful....
We had time to take some pictures before leaving for Christmas Eve service.
My favorite part (and now the most stressful) of the service is the candle lighting.
We had Mom, Dad, Andy, and Jenner over to celebrate Christmas Eve. As tradition dictates, we had beef stew.
We celebrated many Christmases! Christmas morning was at our house with Jenner, Andy, Mom, and Dad. Can you find Lyra in all of these pictures?
Christmas afternoon was with Marian and Roy, Anna and Walker. We even got to see (and hold) the $7,000 egg. I hope it was good.
Christmas evening was with Eric, Hannah, Ethan, Gin, and Annelena.
The day after Christmas was with Tami.
The Friday after Christmas was with Donna and John.
Then, we went back over to my parents house for expanded family time. Jason received a new camera for Christmas, so sorting through the pictures has taken more time than usual. It also makes narrowing down the pictures harder...
On the Saturday after Christmas, we had fun in the Garden Hideaway Donna bought for Celia. I think Lyra likes it too.
On the Sunday after Christmas, we celebrated with Nique, Dan, and Lexi. I learned that little girls know how to down the jello jigglers!
New Year's Eve morning, Celia and Lyra were wearing their new matching outfits from Liz. Thus, it seemed the perfect time for purple chair photos!
If they had their choice, these girls would spend a lot of time with leap pads and iPads.
On our way to the New Year's Eve party, we stopped to visit the Susan, Brian, Penny, and Maddie. I really liked the magnetic blocks :)
We rang in the New Year at Jenny, Shane, Kaela, and Brandon's house. Two years in a row, Celia has made it to midnight without issues. This year, she didn't even have a nap!
