a very merry christmas

maybe it was because there was no snow. or that i got all our decorations up & presents wrapped super early. or maybe it was the fact that ellery was born at the end of november. but this christmas just didn't feel like christmas. we said it was because we got our very favorite present just a bit early :) but still christmas is our top holiday to celebrate, and knowing it was ellery's very first made it even more special.

we were sad not to take our annual "tour of the midwest" trip we do each christmas. with our families in indiana and ohio, we normally took a week off and split our time between the two, but this year was a little different. first off, kyle had just two days off this year (though i am not complaining at all since they were christmas eve & christmas day!). and then with our little bundle of joy being born, we decided it would be best to celebrate in wisconsin. thankfully, kyle's parents, brother and sister were able to join us, too.

so we got ellery all dolled up for christmas eve at epikos. i found her little gold dress months ago and thought it was so cute. i couldn't wait for her to wear it. and though it was a tiny bit big, and she resembled a glittery christmas ornament, i thought she was the cutest little ornament there ever was :) e did wonderful at church and it was fun having kyle's family come to epikos, too.

we spent the rest of christmas eve eating and relaxing. ellery had plenty of hands to hold her and cuddle her. and she loved every second :)

christmas morning we started off by celebarting just the three of us (well four with jackie!), our new family. the first of many many christmas mornings together. and though ellery was a bit sassy that morning, i couldnt help but smile thinking about all the christmas mornings we would get to spend together, hanging out in our jammies, opening our stockings. what a perfect present she is :)

as kyle's family joined us, the rest of the day was filled with food, relaxing, presents, laughs, cuddling & naps (mostly keri & ellery!), and just quality time with each other. ellery was very spoiled this year! the week leading up to christmas, each day we had so many packages waiting on our porch for ellery! each was filled with christmas gifts for ellery! and though she slept through most of the day, and we opened her gifts for her, i know she loved each one and is so thankful she is so very loved already!

and of course, if you know kyle, you know we would of course have to play games!! at the end of the night, before everyone left, we were even able to sneak in a bath time for ellery. she has the best hair after her bath - so fluffy and it just stands on end!

this year i am so thankful for skype!! i so wanted to be able to celebrate with my family in ohio too. it was so hard not to be wit them, especially my mom, for ellery's first christmas. but thankfully, we were able to "see" each other through skype. ethan and landon, my nephews got to tell me all about their new toys. if only you could hug through a computer screen :)

like i said, we couldn't have asked for a better (early) christmas present than ellery. she really is the best. and she's the cutest christmas present i've ever recieved, too :) so from our family to yours, we hope you had a very, very merry christmas!