We went to Christmas Eve mass at 4:30pm. It was PACKED! Thankfully we found one seat so we could take turns holding/passing our busy girl back and forth. We stood with Sarah, Anthony, and Kathleen as well. They helped read books to Hannah to keep her busy. There were so many young children during this mass, so many little girls dressed in their red plaid. It was so adorable! The mass was beautiful and the message very meaningful. It is hard not to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays, but remembering the true meaning of Christmas, Christ's birth should never be forgotten.
After church, we went home to feed Hannah dinner quick before heading over to Aunt Virginia's for her party. This is John's great Aunt, he has been going over to her house for many years! This is a fun tradition because we get to see more extended family and all the kids that go along with those families. Hannah had fun coloring with Gianna, following Dominic around, and seeing the dogs that are there. Santa even made a surprise visit, and much to our surprise, Hannah was pretty excited to see him. When he called her name to give her a gift, Hannah's face lit up! She must have been shocked that Santa knew her name. But still no luck getting a picture on his lap, there is always next year!
We came home to get ready for bed. John lit a fire in the fireplace and we helped Hannah put out a cookie and milk for Santa. Hannah helped herself to a little nibble of the cookie, then put the rest on the plate. She is such a funny kiddo!
We settled on the couch where John read Twas the Night Before Christmas to Hannah. Last year she had absolutely no idea what was going on (being 3 months old), but this year was neat because she was pointing to the pictures in the book and making animal sounds. It was such a special moment that we all shared. This is a tradition that John is carrying on from his dad who used to read to his kids as they were growing up. Now that we have a family and a child of our own, we are able to do this with our children for years to come!
Hannah went right to bed, hardly a peep out of her, as she was probably exhausted from day one of the holiday festivities. "Santa and Mrs. Clause" came to our house to finish getting gifts ready for the big reveal. We wrapped last minute gifts from us, and set things up under the tree to be ready for Christmas morning. Early to bed for us, as Christmas day will be such an exciting time!!
my beautiful family <3 our little angel
putting the last gift up on the advent calendar sitting with Rudolph
Checking out the fire with daddy
just taste-testing for Santa
reading Twas the Night Before Christmas all ready for Christmas morning
No comments:
Post a Comment