Christmas 2012.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas - we certainly did!

Despite not having previous plans to leave town, we decided last minute to head down towards Houston to spend the holidays with my in-laws, so we made a super quick (like, 36 hours leaving to arriving back home) trip Sunday evening to be with them. We're always torn between wanting to be with what little family we have in Texas and wanting to be at home for the holidays for ours and Ava's sake, but this year, family won out :)

As an added bonus, we also were able to visit one of David's best friends for twenty years and meet him and his wife's newest baby, a sweet little girl! Ava and their son are just a few months apart, so they were able to play while we caught up and chatted for a bit. And oh, that sweet baby. Be still, my ovaries!

The night before, she was able to open up a gift: books that centered around the first Christmas, and other titles like Snow What Fun! and The Twelve Days of Christmas. I opened them up to read them to her and start a new tradition, but halfway through the second, she was out cold:

She even missed setting out the cookies that we baked earlier that evening...

Ava, per usual, was spoiled with lots of lovely gifts that are currently keeping her busy, including a Hex bug (these things are awesome, particularly if you have pets to simultaneously amuse!), a Loving Family dollhouse, a Barbie beach house and Barbies (all she really asked for from Santa this year - ha!), a MobiGo 2 game system and game to go with, books, a couple outfits, and lots more awesome gifts! We've been so blessed with all our families contribute to ensure that Ava has all the toys she could possibly need!

After opening presents from Santa (whom our elf, Felix, was able to send a message to for him to bring the presents to G&G's house) and our own presents, we ate a hearty Christmas breakfast (whoa, carb coma!) and then hit the road back to our house to open the rest! 

It was a great trip, but so glad to be back home. Ava was kind of a mess once we got home, a likely mixture of overstimulation and the letdown of coming home from visiting grandparents, and hit the hay early so we could watch our annual Christmas movie marathon of Love Actually and Four Christmases. All in all, it was a sublime day.

Next up: Ava's birthday!