It’s been a great holiday season, and we’ve enjoyed every extra minute that we’ve been able to spend with Grace. It was also our first Christmas as a family of three, and the first time we stayed home for Christmas Eve. Grace has brought a whole new set of wonderful traditions to the holidays, and we enjoyed our first try at a lot of them!
The holidays started with Christmas at Grandpa Paul & Grandma Darla’s house. It was Grace’s first real chance to get into the wrapping paper, and boy did she enjoy it! She also got to say hi to several new cats, and meet King Arthur, her first 8-point buck!
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Next came the Benton family Christmas with Grandma Donna & Grandpa Ron. Grace spent the evening getting into trouble with Landon as they helped unwrap presents. It was also a chance for Grace to be a STAR! We took Benton family photos, and Grace was the center of attention as everyone waited for her to smile in the pictures. Fortunately everyone was patient enough that we got some great shots.
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Then came Christmas with Great Grandpa Bob & Great Grandma Bea, and a chance for Grace to meet some family she hadn’t met yet.
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After a great weekend with family, it was time to return home. This year was our first year to have Christmas at home, and to prepare for Santa’s arrival. That meant preparing our stockings, baking Santa cookies, and getting to bed early so we didn’t hold Santa up.
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Then it was time to jump in the car for the long trip to the cabin, Grace’s first visit and a test for a long road trip. Fortunately, Mom & Dad decided to leave close to Grace’s bedtime, so Grace could sleep the majority of the way.
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With the holidays behind us and our return to normal life, both Jill and I are already missing the extra time we were able to spend with Grace during the holidays. The few hours we get each night before bed don’t measure up to all of the great time we got over the holidays.
We also look forward to the next surprises from Grace. During our time off with Grace, she got her two upper front teeth, learned to sit up on her own, began feeding herself cheerios, and has started what might be considered crawling. We can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!
Many more pictures are available in the gallery, so check them out! Happy holidays from our family to yours.