Christmas festivities!

How quickly my mind has shifted to baby prep now that Christmas is over! I have soooo much to do to get ready for this little girl in a month!

But I don't want to forget the wonderful Christmas we had this year, so here is a little recap!

We almost didn't make it to Temple Square this year, but I'm soooo glad we did! Our kids absolutely loved it and so did Chris and I. The spirit there is so warm and inviting, no matter how cold it gets! The girls were fascinated with all things water this year -- we literally had to drag them away from every fountain they found! I was sure one of them would end up falling into one of them, especially since Kaiya also would have literally done everything in her power to swim out to the nativity in the middle of the reflection pool to give Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus kisses -- she was so excited about them floating in the water! But luckily everyone stayed dry and we all enjoyed the beautiful lights, nativities, and time together! Speaking of Joseph, funny side note: Kaiya has been soooo interested in the Christmas story this year and also has become very interested in learning all of our full names lately. At times, she likes to call us "Chris" and "Karli" instead of mom or dad, which I don't love so much! So, at one point a few weeks ago, she started calling Chris "Joseph" and still seems to think that is his middle name! She's a little confused, but it sure is funny to hear her say "Chris Joseph" to her daddy! BTW, his middle name is NOT Joseph! My mom gave me a wonderful present a few weeks before Christmas. She and my dad drove up and said that Grandpa was going to stay with the girls while mom and I had some alone time! So my mom took me to get a pedicure with her and it was soooo enjoyable! How nice to have some alone time with her and actually get to talk without kids interrupting and to be pampered at the same time...perfect! Then we went for some Spoon Me treats afterward! Thanks, mom, what a much needed, much enjoyed outing with you!

Christmas Eve was also so great this year! My parents came up to spend the evening with our family and the girls were soooo excited! They brought the girls a Christmas story that they had recorded themselves reading, which will be an extra special treasure next Christmas in their absence! We watched the kids' new movie, Despicable Me (LOVE this one!), which Kaiya calls "Despicka For Me", while mom and I made our traditional breakfast for dinner. This year it was my mom's homemade biscuits and gravy and it was YUM! We opened up our Christmas PJ's, and had some fun activities for the girls to tell the Christmas story from the Bible -- we don't have quite a big (or old) enough cast to act out the Christmas story, so the flannel boards and sticker stories worked perfect instead! And then all the girls made some cookies to leave for Santa and did our traditional Love Stockings. Kaiya has become so animated and funny lately! She is really coming out of her shell and is quite the little ham -- always telling funny stories and going on and on about the most random things! We called Jessika that night and Kaiya was soooo unusually talkative -- she talked Jessika's ear right off, and I'm pretty sure Jess loved it! Funny girl!
After grandma and grandpa left and the kids were in bed, Chris and I made our final preparations for the morning and snuggled up together with some Christmas treats and to read Luke together. It was such a great evening!!

Christmas day was pretty perfect! The girls were soooo excited to open their gifts, which of course made OUR day! The ladybug pillow pets that Kaiya had been asking for for months were such a hit and I was feeling really grateful that we decided to buy both girls the same one -- it has eliminated all the fighting -- whew! We enjoyed a lazy morning together, had our monkey bread breakfast, and then loaded up to head to Chris' parents house. Grandma and Grandpa spoiled the girls with the funnest presents and they were in heaven, especially with their Cabbage Patch dolls! We had a really nice time hanging out with that side of our family and then it was off to my parents house. We had a delicious dinner (mom never disappoints) and relaxed the evening away after opening gifts and watching a beautiful DVD my mom had on the Savior while Kaiya and Taylor got to play with their cousins. And with that, another Christmas day was gone, but we left with all the special memories that this holiday season brings and so much gratitude in our hearts for our many blessings and most of all for the birth of our dear Savior, Jesus Christ. How I love Him and cherish the added time and attention that the holiday season brings to His life and His priceless gifts.

Oh and I usually try to get a nice picture of the girls on Christmas Sunday in their pretty little outfits before church. This is what I got this year...and I'm not going to lie, I think this is WAY cuter than any posie picture in dresses! And now, my mind has been taken over by baby preparations, realizing that we have just over a month before our sweet little girl will be here! I really can't believe how this pregnancy has FLOWN by and that in no time at all, I'm going to be holding all that sweetness in my arms instead of my belly! Better get busy!