Christmas Day 2011 (photo overload!)

After everyone cleared out Christmas Eve, I set up all the presents under the tree while Eric got to work on the traditional Christmas morning casserole.  Yummmm......

I pinned the recipe HERE so yall can enjoy, too :) 

The next morning, my dad, mom, and brother came over at about 7:30am, just as Whitney was waking up! I will confess that the diva didnt actually sleep in her Christmas jammies, as she reaallllly wanted to wear her Princess night gown the night before.  However, having learned from the family picture-panty-flasher incident two days before, I changed her into her jammie pants before we ended up with Christmas morning panty-flashing. :) 

She was still a little sleepy coming out of her room, but that quickly faded as she laid eyes upon her princess bike for the first time! She ran over to it, mouth open :)

And I can honestly say that all the gifts were a hit this year! No duds! She got her bike, a smaller doll house since the big one stays at my parents, a Hot Potato game that was a BIG hit, a furrreal kitty that she carried around all morning and feeds routinely, an apron and chef's hat that I made, a Snow White picnic doll that has been in our guest room closet for over 4 months, beggggging me to let her out...some markers, a coloring book, a new Cinderella dress that she HAD to have on IMMEDIATELY and wouldnt remove most of the day, and a few other odds and ends. I got a double-sided easel for her last year but ended up saving it...so glad! She LOOOVES it this year! 

Daddy and Uncle Jay helped her dig into all of her awesome gifts right away :) 

Where'd my baby go!?

This picture makes me laugh out loud....It should be captioned: "It was a great Christmas! We even let Uncle Jamey come out of the straight-jacket to celebrate with us!"

After gifts were opened and the Princess was into her second ensemble of the day, we ate some yummmmy casserole and cinnamon rolls, had mimosas (water for me!), and gathered a plan for the rest of the day's adventures :)  Whitney loooooves her Uncle Jay. Its always soo much fun to see them fall right back into place, like he lives down the street or around the corner instead of thousands of miles away.  She thinks he walks on water, and Im pretty sure he thinks she rocks, too.

Ticklefest 2011.  Whitney won and declared, "Uncle Jay, you are sooo siwwy!!"

And as Cinderella was quickly readying herself for a nap, we attempted the annual pic in from the tree: 

2009

2010

2011:

And then it was the grandparents' turn:

Whitney was happy to play with all of her new gifts, and very excited when Eric's dad arrived with even MORE presents for her to open!

She "ooh" and "aaaah"' over her new doll crib, and couldnt wait to put her Snow White to sleep!

Great job, Papa Claus!  Sadly, for the second year in a row, we forgot to get a pic of Whitney with Papa on Christmas day. :( Thankfully, we will see him again soon!

After Papa's visit and a nap and some major clean-up/re-organizing, we were ready and excited to head over to my parents' house for Christmas dinner! (And, believe it or not, more gifts!)

We got to see GG for a while, and Whitney looves the Mr, Potato heads he gave her! 

In case there was any doubt, it became fairly obvious that this kid is the center of the universe :)

She has been sooooo well behaved and really a joy to be around! Its always hit or miss with toddlers after a few days of visitors, chaos, and lack of schedules, but she has gone with the flow nicely and really made Christmas even more fun :) 

Mac and Gramps hit the gift jackpot with some college funds and some sparkle Minnie and Tinkerbell tea party cuteness! She also got a book and stuffed animal from Hallmark, and the dog interacts with certain pages of the book as you read. She's in looove with Jingles :) 

We have a bit of a game theme going on this year, as my mom got Eric this blow-up antler ring toss set that's fun for the whole family :)

And, again, that whole "center of the universe" thing becomes apparent :)

And I still cant believe we will have a sweet baby boy here next Christmas!! Whitney felt him kick yesterday, gasping and saying, "I fink dat means he wants to come out now!" 

After dinner, Uncle Jay taught Whitney to importance of Reddi Whip at the holidays :) 

I dont know who was having the most fun...Whitney? Uncle Jamey? or me and my mom laughing and snapping pics!?

"Your turn Unca Jamey!"

These two bust into fits of laughter, followed by screeches and screams that could wake the dead, followed by more belly laughs, and inevitable shouts of "Unca Jay! You are SOO SIWWY!!" 

Love. This. 

She was laughing soooo hard!

More games! We had our first annual cornhole tournament on my parents' patio....FUN! And much easier to keep track of the score when there is one player who is not consuming adult beverages! 

The picture-taking continued, and Im including allllll the cuteness so mom can pick her favorites:

My favorite:

Eric and I each remarked that it was the "perfect" Christmas day. No major traveling (my parents are 5 minutes away), LOTS of family time and laughter, YUMMY food, and a happy girl throughout the day.  Couldnt ask for anything better!

Last night, my parents treated all of us to our FAVORITE meal of the year! We all went to the Capital Grill at Pointe Orlando, and it was soooooo good! Best meal of the year, from beginning to end. We all raved about our meals, and the table was almost silent for several minutes as we all savored every bite and enjoyed the yumminess! 

We snapped the annual family pic before heading out, and of course Whitney caught Uncle Jay being "soo siwwy" again!

Couldnt imagine anything making this Christmas season any better! Family from all sides, friends and yummy food, and a grateful, happy little girl who is excited to be a big sister next year! We are blessed beyond measure, and so look forward to all the fun and exciting adventures God has in store for our whole family in 2012!