Christmas Eve

Do I dare go out on a limb and say that this was "the BEST Christmas EVER!" Having a little one brings so much joy and excitment to the holidays.

Here's how Christmas Eve went:

Love this family shot: (yes, her first "up 'do")

Cousins and best friends:

The group shot! We share Christmas Eve at my parents:

Child swap...They *love* their uncles!

We opened some early gifts, so the girls could play

Plus, we wanted a distraction prior to Santa's visit...

Saying *cheese* by her new tower! She loves to stack!

We were nervous about Santa coming since earlier in the week,

it looked like this:

But she was super brave (and Tay was a champ!)

Even a hug:

And a kiss (lucky Santa!):

Then we played dress up with Tay...

Leighton didn't think it was a good idea:

The mess we left at Grammie & Papa Botkin's:

Back at home.

The last shot after we put out the reindeer oatmeal and sparkles outside...

And of course, we had to put out cookies, milk and carrots for Rudolph...

Don't be fooled: that's excitement on her face!