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!
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