The Eve of Christmas

I woke up this morning only to hit the gym as usual and make some very last minute stops. Turns out we didn’t have many Christmas movies in our collection, like I thought we did. So, I stopped at Target and picked up How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Olivia’s Christmas DVD. I figured a family and toddler movie would be a good start. When I got home I immediately put on Olivia’s Christmas, lit gingerbread candles, and Nealy made cupcakes to decorate. The house smelled sweet & glowed. Oh and the cupcakes? SO cute! Nealy is one creative girl, but she can suck your energy straight out of you…seriously. She took on this project and look!…Adorable right? They were moist & yummy too!

I also took a few minutes to look around and take in some of our simple yet, festive holiday ornaments. Some, you may have seen, as I may have posted one or two last year but, they make me smile so…

         

      

It has been an ongoing tradition to celebrate the Christmas holiday on Christmas Eve with my family. I love that we are able to keep the tradition the same and it not interfere with Scott’s family tradition. I also LOVE that Nealy is with me every Christmas Eve and half the day on Christmas. It works out so nicely! Our Christmas Eve is usually very casual and relaxed. This is huge in my book. There isn’t much ‘fuss’ and there is a whole lot of conversation, eating, and enjoying each other. Earlier in the day, my brother, Lloyd asked if he and Tristan could arrive in their pj’s! Brilliant! Most of us put on our pj’s too! Aah, warm and comfy. Such fun!

I think this is a nice picture of my parents. My mom looks so pretty and her pink and gray pj’s are awesome.

 

Now, I realize it looks like I purposely had my siblings and family members pose in front of a bright orange backdrop, but the truth is, I didn’t. :) The orange material is actually my window drapes. I guess I had them closed and so yeah, it looks a little weird…but, I just wanted to clarify. ho ho ho!

So So So Sweet of these two guys. Love them!

      

Brayden loved his Bob Books and Cars mini box tent! He mostly LOVES his Nana!

brother and dad posing with their new duds!

sisters in pj’s

The boys found old trikes to ride around the kitchen on. They were zooming their way around and around the sink area. They tuckered themselves out. It was so nice to see Tristan and Brayden play together. They are a little less than a year apart in age but, closer in size. They are super-cute together!

        

The boys settled down for a long winter’s nap…on Christmas Eve!

An emergency run to Gran’s took place to get Christmas Cookies for Santa! Phew. How could we forget? It’s a good thing she had some to spare. Santa would have been a sad man in red indeed.

Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.