Long Awaited...

Christmas 2010 was nothing short of perfect and I enjoyed each and every minute with my little family. Seeing Christmas through my daughter's eyes was amazing.
Let me rewind a month or more so I can tell you all about what we have been up to. This could take some time so bear with me....

We spent Thanksgiving in TN with Mike's Aunt Sudi and Uncle Nolan. We had a great time and were very thankful to spend some good quality time with them and Mike's cousin Todd. We arrived on Thanksgiving Day to a huge traditional turkey and dressing meal. It was delish. Friday, we ventured to Gatlinburg which was fun, but a certain two year old only wanted her Momma (me) to tote her up and down the streets which was interesting to say the least. On Saturday, the men went to the farm while us girls headed to downtown Knoxville to do some shopping. That night was the big UGA vs. Ga Tech game (Todd is a Tech grad) so we had a good time watching the game. Here is a couple of pictures of Brae and I riding Nala. 

The first Sunday of December Nunna got us tickets to the Fantasy in Lights at Calloway Gardens.  It was SO much fun! It was freezing cold so we were happy we had tickets that allowed us to stay in our car to drive through the lights. After each set of lights Brae would hold up her hands out and say, "gone, gone". It was so precious.

The next couple of weeks at work were pure CRAZINESS. I was swamped. When I got home each day I was ready to just enjoy my girl, so that is what I did. The madness at work went by pretty fast and before long there were Christmas parties to attend. The first was Mike's work party on Dec. 17th. The next night, Dec. 18th was the Wilson Christmas party at my parents house. To say it was a wild house would be an understatement. Children, children EVERYWHERE!

After the Christmas party, Braelyn was so pumped up from all the excitement she stayed up all night. Not so much fun for this Mom that needs her sleep. It is one thing when your child is sick and you have to stay up but it is pure torture when all they want to do is play. Finally around 4:30am I put her in the Tahoe and we went for a ride. She fell asleep after a few minutes and I was able to transfer from car to bed without her waking up. She slept till 9am and was ready to go again. I however, was not.

I had to work the week that lead up to Christmas and was happy to take off Christmas Eve. Mike and I decided to have some fun with our girl and make and decorate some sugar cookies.

 Most the day we practiced saying, "Who's birthday is it Braelyn?" and with the most sweetest voice she would say, "Jesus" and "Who is coming to see you tonight?" to which she would say, "Claus!".
So cute!

Christmas Eve night we headed to Nuna and Grandaddy's for Christmas with my parents. I love this tradition with them. It is always a really special night. My parents always fix a superb meal of prime rib, potatoes, mushrooms, asparagus, salad, bread, and desert...and let me just tell you it is SO good.  They try to change the menu, but I always tell them nooooo!! After we ate, we sat down to open presents. Miss Braelyn was up first.

 She got a Bitty Baby American girl doll. She was in total love. I have never seen a more sweet affectionate girl with her babies. She is so cute and take excellent care of them. She also got some new tennis shoes from Nunna and Grandadddy. Mike and I got new sheets/comforter/mattress pad and some money from my parents. Which was very generous! The new mattress pad makes us feel like we are laying in the clouds...it is SO comfy!

When we got home and put Brae in the bed. Soon after, Santa came. He brought Miss Brae a shiny red kitchen with pots/pans and food, a bed for her baby, and a few small items picked out by the big man himself without any help from Mrs. Claus. =)

Christmas morning our best girl woke up about 7:30 and we told her Santa Claus had come. She said, "Claus" in her most questioning voice...to which I replied, "yes, Claus". It took her a few seconds to observe and then she slowly started exploring the new toys.

Soon it was time to get ready and head to Mike's Mom's house. And then to Mike's Dad's house. Braelyn was sure not to forget Bitty Baby.

 

Around 3pm we picked up Mom and Dad and headed to Janie and David's new house in Atlanta. By the time we arrived it was snowing big time. In a rush to get inside, I forgot my camera. Oops! But the snow was beautiful....so I can officially say that I have seen snow on Christmas Day. It was slow getting home and continued to sleet all they way home. We did not have any accumulation of snow at home though. 

The next day Sudi, Nolan, and Todd came down from TN to spend the night with us. We were so glad they got to come, because they had major snow where they live in TN. We grilled steaks and had a great time visiting. Again, I have no idea why I didn't get my camera out. I guess I was living in the moment! =)

Mike and I had all week off with Brae and spent a lot of good quality time with her. She is an amazing little girl and I am so happy she is mine! 

More updates on what we did on our Christmas break...coming soon!