Our First Family Christmas

*WARNING: This is probably the longest post ever (but it's full of one really cute baby)!*

I love this time of year.  There's so much to celebrate.  More than anything, this Christmas I've been reminded of how fortunate we are to have come so far.

The circular ornament to the left of Emory is one of his sonograms from last year at this time.  We found out that we were having a beautiful, healthy baby boy right after Thanksgiving 2010. 

In case I've failed to mention, Emory is completely spoiled by everyone in our lives.  My friend, Dana, gave him a Christmas present and used tinsel instead of tissue paper.  Let's just say it was a BIG hit!

So much so that Emory decided to save some for later.  This was on the bottom of his foot after I finished picking up. 

I had an extra special visitor stop in for a little pre-Christmas visit.  There are few people in this world that I love as much as my college roommate.  She's truly such an amazing example of a true godly woman.  She and her family were missionaries in Thailand for several years.  Her kids are SO big now.  I'm so thankful we got to spend some time catching up! 

Reunited with Pamela...once again!

Katy LOVED stealing Emory's paci.  LOVED. 

We had a tiny family get together with my grandparents before they left for Florida.  Oh my goodness, this night cracked me up!

Squishy and UM with Emory.

 

Soon enough this poor guy will be related to us. 

Oh Kandice!

Nice toothpick.

Gangsta Grandmother

Kasey got some eyeshadow that she just HAD to use immediately.  Matt lost his man card for being the one to apply the makeup. 

There are no words. 

The girls got umbrellas.  The boys got matching pjs.  Of course we made me pose. 

If only I had caught the next five seconds on video.

Emory has recently started this tilting thing.  He'll be sitting there and suddenly decide that he wants to take the world in from a different angle. 

Emory loves this reindeer.

Granddaddy got a UNC hat, so I decided to put his fedora to good use. 

 We always celebrate Christmas with my family on Christmas Eve.  Emory, of course, stole the show.  Something about being the first grandbaby makes for one rotten child.  :-)  (I think he's worth it though.)

Kandice looked so excited. 

Emory's still new at this game, but he's figuring it all out. :-)

Did I mention we are teething?  It's in FULL FORCE here folks!  So everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, goes in Emory's mouth.

His bib reads, "Are these people seriously my relatives?"  Yes dear, we are. 

Squishy and Em saying night night.  (If you don't believe our child prays without ceasing, just look at all the pictures where he's smiling.  At least 90% of those have Phillip or myself in the background saying his prayers with him.)

Our initial plan was to wait and travel to Florence on Christmas morning.  I couldn't do it.  I was exhausted.  Somehow my week off went from scrubbing the house to repainting the trim around the house and organizing everything.  (Currently, I have a half-painted/half-organized disaster of a house.)  On our way home I asked Phillip if I could run into the house, pack stuff for the next two days and head out that night.  He agreed.

I literally threw stuff together, grabbed two gifts for Emory, and ran out of the house.  We arrived in Florence a little after 1 AM.  Luckily, Grammie Harris stays up very late this time of year wrapping presents.  :-)  We pulled up, unloaded the dogs, gave Emory a bottle, and well since it was technically Christmas morning, we let Emory open the two presents I picked up for him.  One gift was just a toy that he had actually gravitated towards in Target one day.  The other was a keepsake that probably means more to Phillip and myself than it will to Emory...at least for the next decade or two. 

Emory opening his elephant.

Daddy has to help with the hard packaging.  Luckily, like every good Southern man, he come equipped with a pocket knife.

His silver rattle is engraved on one end with his full name and on the other end with "Our Miracle" and his birthday.  I hope this does end up leading to a conversation on day about how very special he is to us. 

Christmas kisses.

The next day Phillip's family wasn't getting together until 4 PM.  There was lots to be done though.  Phillip had to sneak away and put together the grill everyone bought Aunt Diane.  We brought it down with us, so she had no idea.  We visited Emma first and let her and Emory exchange gifts.  Somehow I missed a picture of her opening her present.  Emory thought she needed Crayola Color Wonder markers and paper along with a little travel lap desk.

Emma found a precious giraffe that sings the ABC song for Emory. 

The giraffe has not left his side since he got it.  Currently, it's in his crib by the oh-so-essential Sleep Sheep.

Aunt Diane bought Emory his first ever tractor.  It came complete with a trailer.  Of course, Daddy had to hook the giraffe up with a ride.  ;-)

Ummm yes, our child likes anything with wheels.  I'm seriously outnumbered in this house.

 Emory was due for a nap, Daddy was working on the grill (although I ALMOST got caught in a fib to Aunt Diane), and Mama was busy helping Grammie Harris cut gift card holders on the cricut.  Christmas dinner started promptly at 4 PM with no one but Emory in attendance (thank you to Aunt Diane for watching him).  We all rolled in about 30 minutes late...for good reason. 

Good job boys!

I think she liked it!

Emory got to see/meet all sorts of people.  He FINALLY got to meet one of Phillip's second cousins, Stephanie, and her husband Tom.  He also got to spend some time with Aunt Gladys!

Emory met Margaret, Stephanie's sister, earlier this month so I think this was payback.  ;-)

Santa and his Grammie Harris.

This was probably the most ridiculously painful series of pictures ever...and we still didn't end up with a decent one.  Whatever, Santa Em needed a bottle and a nap!

 After dinner drew to a close, it was time for the madness to begin.  And by madness, I mean Phillip's mama goes crazy this time of year.  Her grandkids are beyond spoiled (their parents aren't hurtin' either).  

Santa (aka:Nicki) brought the girls a Wii for Christmas.

Thank the Lord he liked this because it WILL be his best friend.  Yay for No Spill Bowls!!!  (Thanks Heather.) 

Someone had fun playing in the boxes Grammie used to wrap presents.

We tricked that Grammie of Emory's and got her something she wanted besides pjs and socks!  :-)

Such a little man with that arm hanging out like he's going somewhere.  Ally was the best entertainer of the evening!  Emory's makeshift car never stopped moving. 

 

Emory decided rolling the ball with his cousins was more fun than sleeping. 

He is our best present ever!

Our visit was so short (less than 48 hours).  We got to fit in a few minutes with Mrs. Miriam before we ran back home.  She gave Emory some fun stuff too.  He's a HUGE fan of the light up ducks for the bath.  I'll have to take a picture of these.  HILARIOUS!  Luckily, Phillip has time off again so we'll be seeing everyone for a not-so-rushed visit over the New Year.

When we got home we decided to do our little family Christmas.  My mom called on the way home and asked if they could come watch Emory open his presents.  What the heck, we didn't care!  

First things first, unload the stocking. 

Next, open and make sure the barn puzzle tastes ok.

Finally, be sure that the socks are not water resistant.

Emory became quite a pro at pulling bows. 

Uh oh!  The bug jar ran away and left all of the bugs behind.  (I pray these are the only bugs this child ever has in my house.)

Pop and Emory have fun conversations about how cows say "meow" like cats.

The safari puzzle has an alligator that feels oh so good on those gums.

This boy loaded up on some bath toys!

Sea Symphony to make beautiful noise!

Nana and Emory playing on the quilt she made him as  part of his Christmas. 

Phillip and I never really go all out for Christmas.  Anything we really need we already have.  So aside from some stocking stuffers and a few clothing items we found on sale, we didn't do anything.  EXCEPT...

Phillip bought me my first ever new car!

You read that correctly.  I wanted nothing to do with the process.  He knew this.  He came home during Pamela and David's visit, handed me keys, told me "Happy 4th Anniversary, Happy 28th Birthday, and Merry Christmas!"  I found it very amusing.  Oddly enough, this was more intimidating than buying a house, so I'm glad he took care of it.  Maybe it's because I worked in real estate law for a decade, but that process didn't seem to be nearly as daunting as buying a car.  I have been driving the car my parents bought for me when I was in the 8the grade (so the car was nearly 19 years old).  I can't part with it.  Who could after such a bonding experience?  However, now we have a family car!  I wish I had pictures, but the dealership is currently replacing the cloth seats with leather ones.  I'll post something later.  Good job to an awesome hubby!

A few of my other favorite things:

So my mom told me that I had the worst pots ever when she was here during my surgical recovery cooking.  For Christmas she and my dad bought us REAL pots and pans.  I didn't know my others were fake, but holy cow these new ones are A.MAZ.ING!  I LOVE them.  I want to find a way to display them.  They are too pretty!  Grammie Harris sent us home with not one, not two, but three boxes of diapers, a gift card for formula (whoo hoo), and a BABY BULLET!  I didn't know I wanted these until I opened it.  Granted, it was Emory's present but I'm almost positive I am exponentially more excited about this than he will ever be.

My parents made us all quilts this year.  This one is mine.  Love love love.  Surprisingly, my mom and dad had never done this before.  You should see the ones my sisters have too! 

Sorry this post was so long, but we had a busy year.  We hope you enjoyed a blessed time celebrating the birth of Jesus with your family and friends.