We took a bus from NYC to DC to spend a few days in VA before a very special day on Christmas Eve in DE. Then we spent Christmas morning in VA and drove down for Christmas evening in NC, staying there for a few days. We then drove back up to VA for a few more days before taking the bus back to NYC on New Year's Eve. Did you follow?
Thankfully, Maelee was a champ and her hardest trip was only shared with her daddy and me so we were fortunate to not have to deal with any stink eyes by other passengers. We had wonderful visits with grandparents, great-grandparents, an aunt, an uncle, and more extended family and feel very blessed by it all.
So let the snapshots begin of our very special, very sweet time in Delaware on Christmas Eve with Too-dad & Mary Catherine, Tom & Viv, Sam & Kim, Susan, and of course, Uncle Dan, Nana & Pop-Pop (and Gracie!) :)
Excited over the Frosty the Snowman book from Too-dad
And enjoying some quality time with the great Too-daddy...
Santa's little helper
The anticipation...
The joy!
Too-dad in one of his stylin' new hats
Tickle time with daddy!
And some flips with Too-daddy!
A favorite game- getting bonked on the head by something soft :)
Family Portraits
And amazingly, all smiles and everyone looking at the camera!!!
'Twas quite a wonderful night before Christmas!
Maelee sure loved the spotlight but missed having cousin Caleb around and will be excited for the new, little Postlethwait baby boy, Mason, to join in on the fun, too. She did pretty well handing out the gifts, though, and loved running around and making everyone laugh. She has definitely become quite the life of the party!
This Christmas Eve tradition is one I treasure, with precious memories that go back decades. I'm so thankful that we have been able to continue to share this special time with family and it makes me excited for the unique holiday traditions we will create for Maelee and our family.
For even more pictures of our Christmas Eve fun, check out this slideshow:
Onto the second half of "Part One!"
After a lovely Christmas morning of sweet cinnamon buns, a ridiculous amount of gifts, and a delicious brunch (more on that time in "Part Two" of the Christmas Posts!), we packed up the car, thanks to Nana & Pop-Pop, for a beautiful and fairly peaceful drive down to North Carolina to see Steve's family. What a treat it was to see Mee-Maw & Grandpa, and Aunt Kim! We enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner, complete with the famous and oh-so scrumptious Black Bottom Pie, and had a wonderful, relaxing evening where Maelee excitedly tore into more offerings...
Including one of the favorites of the year- the Leap Frog Dinosaur from Aunt Kim!
Enjoying some of the whipped topping from the amazing afore-mentioned pie
All smiles for her Aunt Kim!
Admiring a little hand-made gift from Mee-Maw
Walking through the neighborhood
To a local park...
Watching an airplane go by... one of her favorite things to do
Reading with Mee-Maw
And nose-touching with Grandpa!
The whole fam enjoying a lovely dinner at Olive Garden
And finally, here's a slideshow from the NC visit:
We had a great visit in NC and were thankful to be able to make the trip
before travel becomes even crazier as the years pass. It really was a
blessing to have such priceless moments with over a dozen of our dearest
family members within just two days! God has continued to pour out His
blessings over our Christmas season, in addition to His greatest gift of
His Son. We are so thankful for SO many things during this time of
year.
