Christmas Fun

We had a great time this year at Christmas. My mom was able to come into town from MN and although Maelin wasn't really herself from being so sick (she was a bit cranky and clingy), she had mostly recovered and had a blast with all the family and her new loot!

We always spend Xmas eve at my Aunt Laura's house and we get to see all of my family: my aunt & uncle, my cousins, my brother and sister, etc. We had fun this year because we did the White Elephant Junk Exchange. I ended up with a really cute bank from my Aunt Laura that I plan to slip back into her house the next time I'm there because I think she needs it more than I do. :-)

On Christmas day, we stayed home for a few hours and opened the presents that Santa brought for Maelin. Jeff and Kat came over to watch and we had a really nice morning with cinnamon rolls and watching Maelin enjoy her new car and Elmo. Then we headed over to Kevin's parents' house to see all of Kevin's family and my mom came with us. We had fun over there because we just hung out all day and opened presents slowly and Maelin was able to take a really long nap which probably helped her feel better.

The day after Christmas we went to the zoo for a few hours. Maelin LOVES the animals: the hippo ("ippo") and the lions ("rooooooor") were her favorites. Even though it was a bit chilly with the wind, we had fun. We plan to head back to the zoo as often as we can because we know we're lucky to live so close to it!

I love Christmas time because I love how we finally get to see all our families. Everyone is so busy these days that it's hard for us all to get together but it seems like it always works at Christmas. Can't wait for next year!

Here are a few pictures of Maelin enjoying her new presents. Her favorites are the car, Elmo Live (which is actually kinda freaky because he acts so real!!), bike and laptop.

Hope you all had a great Christmas too!