christmas eve

3We celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve. It worked out better with our schedule to let our kids open presents a day early. Delaney was excited to have Santa come to her house and bring her presents. At one point, she squatted down and pointed to the floor and said, “Santa come to Nini’s house.” What a concept to try and understand!

We had a nice day together. And after the Christmas Eve candlelight service at church, our celebration continued at my parents’ house.

All the kids got Pillow Pets this year from Gaga and Papa.

It didn’t take long to get a pile of wrapping paper and boxes. Can you find Nate in this mess?

On Christmas morning, we had a brunch at our house. And then later that day we went to Jeremy’s parents’ house to celebrate Christmas with his family. We had a great Christmas and I’m almost sad it’s over.

I hope everyone else had a Christmas as wonderful as ours!

first [official] haircut

Delaney had her first hair appointment today. I’ve given her a couple of cuts in the past year or so (remember the gum incidents?) But today was her first actual haircut. In a salon. She was so excited to get a “haiw-cut”.

Before.
Normally I do more to her hair before going out in public. But today was just a headband kind of day.

She sat very still for the whole haircut. What a big girl!

And after.
Not at all in the mood to smile. Plus she has a big wad of gum in her mouth. Hopefully that gum stays in her mouth and not in her hair!

mccoskey christmas

Traditionally, we have always celebrated Christmas with my mom’s family on Christmas Day. This year, my mom invited everyone to her house to get together a few days before Christmas. And we had a great time!

Delaney with my cousin, Ashley (who is expecting twins in June!!!)

Curtis’s daughters-in-law, Ashley and Emilee. And Curtis’s wife Kristen.

Curtis is holding Delaney. I think he had to bribe her with sweet treats to get on his lap.

A new doll from G.G.

Ashley’s daughter, Emma and some of Curtis’s kids…Lyvette, Ryan and Sean.

Bri with some of Curtis’s other kids (boy he has a lot of kids!!), Phillip and Kyle.

It was a great chance to see my cousins. A few were missed, but most were able to make it. What a great start to our Christmas celebrations!

now THAT’S an ugly sweater!

 

Allison performed with the dance team at the basketball game last night. It was a Christmas routine, performed to All I Want for Christmas is You. And to add to the holiday cheer, the girls wore Santa hats and…

UGLY Christmas sweaters.

We had a heck of a time finding a Christmas sweater on short notice. I think all my Christmas sweaters went out with the 90’s. But Allison was able to borrow one from another girl’s mom. Too bad we don’t live closer to Jason and Molly. I do believe Jason found a lovely Christmas sweater last year in our parents’ basement (our mom is sort of a hoarder…in a fun and convenient to find stuff kind of way).

So just in case you have a tacky Christmas sweater hanging in the back of your closet, keep it around. Because you never know when your teenage kids may need it. (Ok, Mom. Now I understand your hoarding!)

the stockings were hung…

This year I asked my mom to knit Christmas stockings for my kids. And she graciously agreed. And ended up making 2 extras, so now there’s a stocking for Mom and Dad. (Santa may not be so excited about that!)

Didn’t she do a beautiful job? Jeremy’s is the far left, then Allison’s, Nate’s, Bri’s, Delaney’s and mine. They look even more fabulous in person. And if you think that is impressive, check out these:

My mom has been a knitting fool for several months. And I mean “fool” in the most endearing way! She knit a stocking for every member of the family, including G.G. (Great-Grandma/her mom). Mine is the black one. :) She personalized each one. Blue with a silver star for Molly, the Cowboys fan. 1940’s stocking for G.G. Noel stocking for Brianna Noel. She is so talented!!!

And in other news, the unwrapping didn’t end with the advent gifts. There used to be 2 more gifts under this tree. Until Delaney decided to unwrap two of Allison’s gifts. That little turkey. I guess I need to keep her on a shorter leash. At least until after Christmas!

kansas city getaway

We went to Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City to celebrate Bri’s Sweet Sixteen. It was all decorated for Christmas and it even snowed inside (something teenagers don’t appreciate too much).

Great Wolf is a hotel with an indoor waterpark. Giant slides, lazy river, hot tubs, water spraying everywhere. It was a lot of fun! Even for the grown-ups! Especially since we left the little ones at home with their grandma’s.

Brianna was allowed to bring a friend, so Taylor joined us.

Allison opted out on the tattoo.

Then, after we’d had all the water fun we could handle, we went to Dave and Buster’s. I’m pretty sure Jeremy was in heaven!

 

 

Dave & Buster’s is a restaurant/sports bar/adult version of Chuck E. Cheese. Like I said, heaven for my hubby!

Good food. Great friend. Awesome weekend!!!

holiday home tour

We’ve been busy decking the halls since the day after Thanksgiving. Thought I’d share some of the decorations on here for those of you who aren’t on Facebook.

Living room tree

Living room

Entry

Dining room

Above the bar between the kitchen and dining room

Kitchen pantry

Family room stairway

Family room

Family room tree

Main bathroom

Hope you enjoyed this short and sweet tour of our home!