iheartcupcakes: Christmas & babies! : )

So, now that it's January ~~11th~~ 19th I figured it'd be a good time to do a little update ; ) Christmas was great as always. Love spending time with my family! Christmas Eve my Mom's sister & her family came to our house to celebrate & exchange gifts. The tradition used to be that our family would go to my Nanny's house on Christmas Eve and have dinner and open gifts from her. She definitely spoiled us! We got just as much from her as we got from "Santa." I really miss her a lot. Working in a nursing home makes me wish I had taken more time with my Grandparents and LISTENED to them more rather than telling them mundane things about my life. I know they enjoyed it, but still...it's one of those things you don't think about until it's too late I guess. Plus, as a kid you don't appreciate the little things like that.

My siblings & I on Christmas Eve

I love Mom's Christmas tree

Sara, me, & Carrie Christmas morning

Anyways, new tradition is that my Aunt & her family come to our house Christmas Eve. Christmas day used to be we would open gifts from Santa then go to my Grandma & Grandaddy's house, who just happened to live next door, to have Christmas lunch with them and the extended family. Now on Christmas Day we just hang out with the immediate family and open gifts that morning & have a big lunch later on. I really enjoyed this Christmas because we did a Christmas breakfast which is something we don't usually do. Mom used to always make sausage balls and we'd eat on that while opening gifts and of course snack on our candy from our stockings. That was because Grandma wanted us at her house at 11a.m. for lunch! Well, she still made sausage balls & they were delicious. In addition, Sara & I made some stuff too. Sara made a crockpot recipe....not really sure what all was in it because I'm super picky & didn't eat it because it had onions in it lol. Everyone else really enjoyed it though. And I made a french toast bake. I got the recipe from my coworker, Jill. I totally need to post the recipe I got from Jill....hopefully I will remember that!

My sweet cousins!

Now about baby Charlotte : ) My first niece! I couldn't be more THRILLED! She was born on New Years Eve, which also happens to have been my Nanny's birthday. She is the cutest little baby EVER! She seriously looks like a little doll baby...love her! : ) I can't wait until she gets a little older and can stay awake lol. Seriously, she's asleep every time I go see her. I've been lucky enough to catch her awake a couple of times...but not many! It's awesome, because my brother, Alex, & his wife, Carrie, live right next door to us (my parents, sister, & I) so we get to see Charlotte quite often. : ) And THEN my first cousin, Olyvia, had her first child...a sweet baby boy named Matthew. He is precious! Soon, my other sister-in-law, Susan, will be having a little baby girl...can't wait to meet her. : ) Babies everywhere!