Christmas

Christmas morning Essie was so beyond excited to see if Santa had come to our house...he had...around 2:00 am just after she had finally fallen asleep.  She could see that Saige, the Saige movie, and a new big girl booster seat had been left for her.  She tore into her stocking and spent the next hour opening gift after gift.  She got lots of outfits for Saige, movies, and a Barbie Camper.  She spent all day playing with the camper.

That afternoon we had a big lunch of ham, hashbrown casserole, green beans, homemade rolls, and lots of other goodies.  That night we drove around looking at Christmas lights and watching Hallmark movies!

Christmas Eve...

Christmas Eve I spent the majority of the day cooking and baking for Christmas day lunch.  That night we headed over to Heber Springs for our annual cousins celebration with my family.  Essie was so sweet and cuddled up to Aunt AnnaLee and sang tons of songs to her.

Once we got home, we had to sprinkle our reindeer food outside (after we crushed the magic candy cane Santa gave us) and leave cookies and milk for the man himself.  We also took the opportunity to take some family pics.

Late that night YaYa and Peepaw came over so they could be at our house Christmas morning.  Essie was so excited she could barely fall asleep.

Baking cookies

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is to bake cookies.  Right before Meemaw passed she bought a cookie press to use for the upcoming holiday.  We were given it and so we wanted to use it this year.  We made spritz cookies with it...Essie loved using the press gun!  Then we made regular cut-out sugar cookies.  Essie decorated the cookies with sugar glaze..they were not the prettiest cookies but they sure tasted great!

Christmas in Batesville...

Right after Essie's school party, we loaded up and headed to Batesville to celebrate Christmas with my parents.  This year Essie and Haley received a lot of the same gifts...they played so well together!

One of the highlights of our trip was a carriage ride through the riverwalk...the lights were beautiful and it was just a special memory for us.  It was freeeeeezing cold but worth it!

Essie's school Christmas party

We always look forward to Essie's school party...this year it was the night of the last day of school before winter break.  After I picked her up from school, we got all gussied up and headed over.  The kiddos sang a ton of songs...our favorite was "I'm a Little Star" and "Up on the Housetop".  She sang every word of every song...we were so proud.

The kiddos had gifts for us parents (a Santa hand print ornament and a framed silhouette).  We were so excited to get them.  We ate a delicious dinner with everyone.

The kids then exchanged gifts with each other...Essie and her friend Abigail exchanged with each other.  It was beyond precious to watch.

The kiddos wrapped up the night with a visit with Santa and received a stocking of more goodies.