The Christmas Re-Cap.

We're home.  Home from four solid days of staying up late, no naps, constant games, opening presents, un-loading and re-loading the dish-washer, eating more gingerbread cookies than Hansel and Gretel ever dreamed of, laughing, picture taking, living out of suitcases, not showering until noon, watching football, and making memories.  Christmas 2011 can be deemed a success and my living room, bedroom, kitchen island, and dining room table can attest to that.  They are all littered with random toys, new clothes, jewelry boxes, fresh packages of markers and construction paper, a lot of new Dora stuff (that makes noise), stocking stuffer items, games, and a disco ball (that's right.......Studio 54 here we come).

Georgia asked me this morning when I got her out of bed at 8:45, (let's say a big AMEN for the magic of sleeping in your own bed and finally sleeping in), if Christmas was really over.  "Yes," I said......even though we're heading over to Tarah's house tonight where there will probably be more presents yet.  She loved Christmas this year and even exclaimed things like, "I've been wanting this for a couple days," "I saw this at Target," "I love opening presents," and "I hope this isn't socks," often while ripping into perfectly and beautifully wrapped presents from my mom and sister.  She even shrieked while opening up her Dora guitar and I loved that.  Maybe my favorite reaction ever to watching her open up a present.

So here's a few of my favorite snaps from the last week.........hope you have just as many great ones of you and your family celebrating Christmas!

Happy Birthday cupcakes for "Cheez-its"...... my old youth pastor was the first person I knew to do this while growing up and still does this at Christmas and I love it! It's our family tradition now too.

Pictures of G eating are priceless............and appetizing.

The disco ball........sure to revolutionize Crazy Lights in one easy step........

Since our house is now controlled by Georgia's imaginary friends, Dorothy, the Tin Min, Glinda the Good Witch, the Scarecrow, and Toto my dad made some Wizard of Oz puppets with Georgia and his band-saw.  He's pretty awesome about doing stuff like that with G and she loves it!

I love this picture because it's so Georgia right now.  The personality oozes out of this little girl and it can hardly be tamed.

What's cool about this keyboard is that we heard it played for two and half hours in the car on the way home from Detroit last night.  That's right--Georgia is the only toddler who doesn't fall asleep in cars.  We've got seventeen hours of uninterrupted dialog on the way to Florida last year to prove that.

Enna's starting out G on Vera Bradley early.  No time to waste.

Georgia picked out matching snow-men necklaces for Enna and Gaga.  She could not be swayed and my dad almost had one too.

Jim made sure our Lion's house was stocked with Steeler terrible towels.........who knew what we'd been missing all these years?

And there is an appropriate way to wave them as he demonstrates above............

Because Christmas wouldn't be complete without some bottom issue concerning Georgia......we had another round of antibiotics to fight through, due to another bladder infection......poor girl.

A Christmas morning tradition--our matching pajama's.  

Enjoy those twinkling Christmas lights for the next few days.....or weeks if you're one of those......and even enjoy the debris that the toys and boxes and wrapping leave behind.........it's just once a year.