Christmas...finally

So much has happened that I want to blog about that I feel overwhelmed!  Silly, I know, because who cares if I miss something anyway, but I seriously need to do a better job of staying on top of blabbing about my life online!  We have about a trillion pictures from Christmas since we got a new camera (that we still need to figure out how to use) as our Christmas present to each other.  It's hard to narrow it down (and we still have a bunch we need to upload from the camera), but here are a few highlights of what we did over Christmas:   

   

Lila took this adorable picture with Santa.  In the first picture she looked sadder than when she got her two month immunizations, but since the picture cost a whopping $20, my dad encouraged me to ask for another try.  After some prompting on the nose by a feather duster, this is the happy version of Lila's first Santa pic.   Santa was quite the jokester.  When I asked him what Lila said she wanted for Christmas, he whispered "Brother!"  Oh and the adorable outfit is courtesy of my best friend Melissa.                        

I got to spend time with both of my beautiful sisters for the first time in what seems like forever!  Oh how I wish we all lived close to each other.  We're about as spread out as it gets: California, Utah, and Virginia.  I love them so much and aren't they just too cute?  Lindsay (on the left) is taken, but Kelsey's available...hint hint : ) 

We listened to Matt's awesome guitar playing and he even reminded me of the few chords I learned back in the day and I actually played Silent Night--whoopie!  It was fun sitting in the living room playing music and singing.  Matt has a gorgeous tenor voice.

Most importantly: We celebrated the birth of our Savior.  What a special time of the year when the whole world honors Him.

Lila got her homemade felt stocking from Grandma Carter like all of the Carter cousins have (see mine too?)  Thanks Grandma!  She also got some recycled toys in the stocking.  I figured why buy new ones before she's sick of the ones she already has?

She was still working on that whole sitting thing.  It was so cute how she just toppled right over.

We got to play Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus at Grandma Carter's Christmas party!

We took the traditional bow on baby's head picture.  See, I told you she'd like that old toy I put in her stocking.

We opened a bazillion presents (have you seen that email joke about Pres. Bush and the brazilian?)  The evidence:

And doesn't my mom look beautiful for Christmas morning?  I definitely don't look that good right after waking up.  I swear she has the perfect picture smile...so lucky!  Why didn't I inherit that?

We had the traditional present hunt.  Every year since I can remember, my parents hide one present for each of us (usually the "big" one) somewhere in the house.  Magically a few hours after all the presents are opened, a little envelope for each of us appears in the Christmas tree.  These special envelopes contain a clue that leads each of us on our own treasure hunt of clues through the house until we find our gift.  I LOVE this tradition and will definitely keep it with my own kids.

Our treasure hunt led us to these bad boys: tickets to Wicked!!!  Yes, we went to see it for the first time.  I know everyone's already seen it (maybe even years ago), but I hadn't had a chance yet and had been wanting to go FOREVER.  It definitely met and possibly even exceeded my expectations (which were pretty high).  Needless to say, I LOVED it!!!

We took many, many, many pictures with our new camera.  Even pictures of ourselves taking pictures.

Lila looked darn cute and got nonstop attention, which is to be expected since for two weeks we were in a household of seven baby-loving adults and only one baby to give them all their baby fix.

Baby lover #1: Lindsay.  She was sooo great with Lila and I swear she held her for about 10 hours every day.  Lila loves her aunts!

Baby lover #2: Kelsey.  And me in the background taking more pictures of myself taking pictures.  Can you tell I like the new camera?

We played HOURS and HOURS of Rock Band for Wii.  Especially on Christmas day.  Jason is on the drums and the guitar player is from my parents' ward.

Aunt Colleen testing out her guitar skills.

A close-up of my serious singing face and the cute shirt my mom got me for Christmas.

Even Grandpa Hackett had a little jam session on the drums!  Grandma Hackett thought the whole Rock Band thing was hilarious and just sat in the corner laughing at how silly we all looked pretending to be a band.

Wow--look at the intensity on those faces.

Close up of the most serious Rock Bander in the family.

My mom, Lindsay, and I took a golf lesson.  Kelsey was supposed to be there, but she got a really bad kidney infection and actually had to go to the hospital.  Luckily she got better in a few days.  I learned that golf instructors really like to talk and that golf could actually be really fun if you could somehow hit the ball where you want it to go.  Thanks for the lesson dad-it was a blast!  

More Lila cuteness.  If only that darn binky didn't block her face in every picture.  I'm deciding when to start phasing it out.  It's not going to be easy...at all.

Byron used the moby wrap to do all kinds of things with Lila: throw the football, ride a bike, hike around the tidepools (photos to be posted later), etc.  She was a trooper!

We had a great vacation and wish it could've lasted longer.  It's always so much fun to spend time with family.