Christmas in Tennessee 2017

After celebrating Christmas in Alabama, we headed up to Tennessee to celebrate some more before making our way back to North Carolina. We had quite the adventure on our journey, which stretched our normally 5-ish hour trek into about 8. We ran over a nail while driving through Knoxville, and when we pulled off the interstate to change the very flat tire (we = Brad, obviously), we just kind of lost our minds and let the girls keep watching their movie (to keep them mollified and whatnot). Dead battery. OOPS. And two different attempts to jump it didn't work, so we had to wait on a AAA truck. (Bless AAA.) Once we got back on the road, because we were driving on a spare, we couldn't go faster than 50 mph, so that lengthened our trip even more (and apparently angered quite a few other drivers, even though we were solidly in the right lane). Oof. By the time we arrived, it was the girls' bedtime, we still hadn't eaten, and I had a migraine. Thankfully, we got fed, the girls ran out some energy, and we all got to bed reasonably quickly. 

Side note: after every long driving leg of our trip this Christmas, I got a migraine. It was so fun. (Except not)

The next morning, we got up and had "Christmas morning!" We had a lot of fun giving each other our gifts (we had to take a Lily break for a quick rest, of course, which worked out so well for everyone) and really enjoyed a laid back morning before a big Christmas lunch.

"Helping" pass out gifts.

Addie and Ray Ray. Poor Addie needed frequent breaks from the enthusiastic children invading her space.

Mooching snacks off of Uncle Tim.

Claire got her first big girl bike! (and helmet)

Lily wanted a turn, of course. She's a big girl, in case you didn't know.

Lily got a balance bike (and helmet)! So, clearly, Claire needed to ride Lily's while Lily rode Claire's. This makes sense.

This picture is actually of me showing one of my gifts. While we were in Europe this summer, I saw the Copenhagen Starbucks mug and really loved it. I didn't buy it, and I've regretted it ever since. Actively. Weekly. I've mentioned it a lot. Santa took note! I now have my beloved Copenhagen mug. :)

This is supposed to be a shot of Lily showing off her new slippers. But, it's also evidence that, yet again, my child was stripped down to her skivvies in the middle of the gift opening. I don't know, guys.

One side of the Christmas dinner table. Please note Claire's face.

That's better, Claire.

Other side of the table. It was the day after a migraine, so excuse my face.

Just wearing a hood with bear ears while brushing her teeth.

Teeth brushing makes her so happy!

And a little pensive.

Hanging with Gran by the fire. Thanks, Gran, for making sure she didn't try to climb into the fireplace.

Brad's aunt gave the girls an incredibly cool party light! You screw it into a lamp/light fixture, and it spins and projects disco lights around the room. It's the coolest. So, clearly, we had many a dance party. Claire was fully into it, and y'all, we learned that Lily has MOVES. She's a natural. And she insisted that everyone participate at some point. Including Brad's Mamaw. Also, Bill pulled up a Latin music station for us to dance to, and this guy came up...

...at which point Lily pointed to the TV and yelled, "Mama!" Apparently, we look alike?

Gran and Grandpa were super good sports about letting Claire practice riding around the kitchen area. And look how conscientious she is with her helmet on!

Making gingerbread houses with Gingerbread Grandmaster, Uncle Tim.

This was the puzzle we did over Christmas. Great, right?

Except this happened! Do you see it?? Middle of the photo, right underneath the "Heart" cap. A piece went missing! One piece out of 1,000. The living room was turned upside down in an attempt locate it BECAUSE ONE LOST PIECE IS THE WORST. We left for home before it was found, but found it was. Well done, Barbara! We could all rest easy after that.

It was really cold while we were there, so there wasn't much outside playing on the bikes. What can you do? The adults (minus Barbara who kindly stayed with the littles- thanks, Barbara!) went to see The Last Jedi (half of us-the ladies- liked it, and half of us- the gents- did not). The next day, Brad and I got to go on a little date to the dollar theater (well, $3) to see Murder on the Orient Express (anyone have opinions on this? I do.). It was such a treat to see TWO movies in one week! We had fun puzzling, watching a few movies at home, eating treats, dancing with the girls, and visiting in general. The girls also made a special visit to see Papaw. And introduce him to their stuffed animals, of course.

Showing off Claire's new Winnie.

Snugs for Papaw!

All of our Christmas travels and visits were just wonderful. We enjoyed seeing and celebrating with our families so much, and returning home was HARD. A) We had to de-program the children (this is such. a. thing.), and B) we basically all got sick. Real life, y'all. It's just not always so fab.

And with that, I'm finished chronicling Christmas 2017. Whew! I hope you all had a very merry Christmas!

Christmas in Alabama 2017

It was an Alabama Christmas year! We got a later start than we had originally thought we would, thanks to my anatomy scan for the baby (December 21), so we didn't actually arrive in Alabama until the 22nd (we broke the trip up with a night in Tennessee on our way, which was a blessing, as I started a horrible migraine during our trip and needed a good long rest). But, we started partying right off the bat! My mom's side of the family came up for a day of Christmas-ing on the 23rd, which got the girls SO EXCITED! 

We had a great time visiting, eating, and opening gifts. My cousin has two daughters, so my two daughters get very excited about visiting with them. Plus, one of the cousins is way into princess dress-up, so, you know, she's their people. Also, I don't really have any pictures of their visit, but please note that both of my children stripped down to their skivvies in the middle of the room while opening presents so that they could change into their gifted princess dresses. There is only so much I can control, guys.

Dress-ups and box-sitting.

Lily was introduced to chips and french onion dip this Christmas, and her life improved for the better. Amiee was an enabler.

The family that dips chips together...

We put this gift ribbon on Lily's head, and she would wear it for long stretches of time. It was the cutest, and I tried to make her wear it everyday.

On Christmas Eve, we did church + Mexican food in the morning/lunch, and then headed back for Christmas Eve vespers in the evening. The service revolves around singing carols and Bro. Jimmy inviting all the children up onto the platform to listen to him read the Christmas story. We've gone to that service for years (like, 20), and this was Bro. Jimmy's last year (he's retiring in May), so it was really special to take the girls to his last one.

We have many versions of this same shot from over the years.

Christmas morning went really well, considering there were two small children involved. As is Brassart family tradition, we began the morning with Daddy reading the Christmas story before we headed in for presents. The girls did remarkably well, given that Claire had all the pent-up Christmas morning energy bursting at the seams. 

Hello Kitty jammies + Cat in the Hat jammie pants

Loving on "baby Jesus." Please excuse this very flattering picture of me.

Wearing our "Eloise at Christmastime" jammies. Amiee searched for years to find these and was finally successful a few years ago. We wear them every Christmas now.

We have learned that Christmas is really overstimulating for Lily after a short while, and she needs a little break. So, after a little while, we put her down for a short rest/nap, which ended up being a very good thing for everyone. Once Lily had a rest, the girls had a great remainder of the day playing with/wearing/carrying around their new toys/clothes/accessories. Just a few of the things we got from Santa:

Brad: an hour massage, this massager, his favorite protein drinks

Erin: an instant pot, an alkaline water filter, my favorite Rodan + Fields regimen

Brad & Erin: Costco and Museum memberships (#winning)

Claire: Ariel costume, periscope, new Disney princess dolls

Lily: Elsa dress, furry pink owl purse, silver sparkly shoes

Claire & Lily: Fisher Price/Little People airplane and bus

I don't have pictures from Christmas morning, primarily because the girls were moving blurs and the rest of us didn't want to be photographed at 7 in the morning. You understand that, right?

Here's a fun picture of Claire, Real Winnie, and Stuffed Winnie.

Because Mom was still in recovery mode post-surgery (if you somehow follow me here but not on social media, Mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer in early December and had surgery in mid-December. She's doing really well!), and I was just not feeling great because of being pregnant, we took things super slowly throughout the week and were just really laid back. We did, however, go for a family outing to see "The Star." All of us, including Lily. The girls were fantastic! Lily did amazingly well at her first big screen movie, and I could not have been more proud of her behavior! Also, the movie was really good. I was very impressed with how well it was done. And, Mom and Amiee bought the girls stuffed animals of Bo, Dave, and Ruth (the leads in the movie), which went over extremely well with the Boswell girls. 

At the movie theater, pre-movie. I love this contemplative shot of Lily.

Although this picture has me concerned about how close we may have come to fishing Lily out of the fountain...

We did Christmas with my dad's side of the family a few days after Christmas, which was also a blast for our girls, especially (although we all end up with side-splitting laughter at some point). There are three little girl cousins plus a boy cousin on that side, and they have the best time playing with each other. 

Mom's best friend also came to take some pictures of the girls (mom especially wanted some new pictures of Lily). Lily was not in optimal picture-taking mode, so we're all super impressed with the shots she got. Thanks, Susu!

This is Bo from "The Star," by the way.

Smooches for Boaz.

Love this real-life shot.

Posing with Ruth from "The Star."

She also took a few glamour shots of Winnie and Elphie.

Also, please know that I do actually fix Claire's hair everyday. You cannot tell from any of these pictures that I have ever fixed her hair.

The sass is strong with this one...

This is Lily's "I'm Over It" face.

It was a great visit. I always enjoy being back at home in my childhood (mostly...maybe more like tween-teenager) home and reconnecting with my Alabama roots. We thoroughly enjoyed our time visiting with my family- especially celebrating Mom's cancer-free update! Merry Christmas, indeed!