***Forewarning: This is going to be a long recap, with A LOT of pictures!!***
Christmas morning we all slept in until around 8:30 a.m.- Ilah's usual waking time. I'm not sure if this will be the case next year when she is 3. A few new changes will come with that age...she might be out of a crib and in a "big girl bed" - and next year she may have an understanding of what will be under the tree Christmas morning - presents! - so next year we may all be up at O-dark-30! This year Ilah is a few weeks shy of being 2, and obviously doesn't get the whole magic of "Santa" or the fun "Christmas morning" festivities just yet. All in due time. But we were still hard at work behind the scenes making the magic of Christmas come to life on December 25th!....
Daddy stayed up until 3:30 a.m. putting together Ilah's play kitchen for her! Thank heaven for daddy's!
Good Morning Ilah! Merry Christmas!!...
This year we hung Ilah's stocking on her door and she opened it up next to her Christmas tree. Maybe a new tradition?....
Inside of her stocking she got:
Dora Coloring Book
2 Sets of Gloves
Crazy Straws
Hello Kitty Note Pad
ABC & Shape Flashcards
I put a pair of reindeer ears outside of Ilah's bedroom door; she put them on herself and then headed downstairs with excitement as if she knew Santa came!....
Ilah just LOVES mimicking mommy in the kitchen so we knew this play kitchen would be the PERFECT gift for her! I did a lot of research on which one to get her and while a few others were a bit cuter, they were rather short compared to this one - which will give her YEARS and YEARS of play! And it's very durable - made of solid wood.
This picture is blurry but you can see the excitement on Ilah's face when she first saw it!....
And right away she wanted us to get to cookin'!....
Checking out her new kitchen!....
REALLY checking out her kitchen! Ha!....
"Come on Daddy! Let's play"....
Ilah had a lot more presents to open but she wasn't fazed by them....
Eventually she brought me one to help her open....
What a difference a year makes:
Opening up her baby Cabbage Patch Doll....
She gave her new baby a kiss right away. Already a good mommy! ; )...
Welcome to our family Morgan Coco!....
Another gift that I knew Ilah would love was a play electric guitar. And boy, does she love it!...
They grow so fast don't they?!?!...
Ilah got SO MANY gifts for Christmas that she opened all of them over three days. My mom went wild...and then the day after Christmas, she braved Toys-R-Us to get Ilah some play food for her kitchen.
Naturally Ilah wanted her toy put together right away. She's already becoming pretty domesticated! ; )
Peacock wrapping paper to match my peacock decor theme this year : )
Silly mommy!...
Mommy was good this year too - Santa brought me a lot of stuff!...
What I wanted most! A mac-daddy foot massager from Brookstone! My husband scored a GREAT deal on this during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales....
One of the gifts that my amazing mom bought me - my favorite perfume {Jean Paul Gaultier}! I first discovered this perfume when I was in Italy. My girlfriend and I were walking through the streets of Florence and came across a perfume shop. We both wanted an Italian fragrance but after I sprayed this, I left with a French one! I've been wearing it for over 5 years now. Love it!
I was on my feet for HOURS making Christmas dinner but it was worth it! We enjoyed a great spread!...
We aren't Brazilian but we had to have Brazilian Lemonade...and this year I also made Brazilian Cheese Bread!!
Ilah ate her breakfast/lunch/dinner off of her cute Christmas plates....
For dessert I made a Chocolate Raspberry Forest Cake. Three layers of sinful goodness!!
Three layers of chocolate cake, chocolate ganache and raspberry filling, vanilla buttercream frosting, and dark chocolate trees.
A sweet friend of mine at church gave me the "Elf on the Shelf" book to do with Ilah next year. I can't wait!!
This past week we have enjoyed having Daddy home! We have done a lot of fun things together as a family, and once the little one is asleep, we cuddle up and watch movies - we have seen A LOT. We're all enjoying this holiday season and hope you are too!
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16 comments:
Love her! Looks like you all had a wonderful Xmas!
Her excitement over the kitchen is priceless!
What a great Christmas! I love her little kitchen. We are thinking of getting our almost two year old a kitchen for her birthday in February. May I ask where did you get your kitchen or what brand is it? I don't think I have ever seen one like it.
Hi Wendy!
In my post I linked to where we got Ilah's kitchen but maybe you missed it.
It's by KidCraft.
You can purchase it online from Walmart : )
Here's the link: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Kid-Kraft-Large-Play-Kitchen/9916870
We got a great deal around Black Friday!
Hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas!!
oh my gosh - I can't get over her nightgown - so cute lol
Ilah is too cute. I love that she has the hairbow to match her adorable nightgown (what a lady),ha! We gave my daughter a play kitchen when she was 1.5 years old and at 4 years old now, she still plays with it just about every day. Great idea!
LOVE LOVE ALL of your posts! Ilah is quite the doll as usual! Very wonderful Christmas! The food looks delicious!!
My daughter is almost 3 and in a big girl bed and we had to wake her up at 9:30 this year on Christmas morning! Haha.
Ilah makes me heart happy!
Your tree looks great! And your daughter is precious!! Glad yall had a good Christmas!
Looks like you had a great day! And Ilah is such a blessed little girl :)
what a beautiful Christmas!! and your tree is GORGEOUS girl!
What a beautiful family!
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Hi! I read your blog sometimes and I admire you a lot. You seem to be a genuinely warm and caring person and you come across as a good wife and mother. I like the fact that you're also a Christian, so you have a serious faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
I just want to ask, why would you want to introduce your daughter to the concept of "Santa?" I know for North America, Britain and parts of Europe, Santa is promoted to young children as the saint of Christmas. Have you ever stopped to wonder why? Why should the central figure of Christmas be a fat man in a red suit, and not Jesus Christ?
Why should we as Christians have to lie to our children and tell them that a fat man in a red suit brings them presents? And what's the deal with the "magic" of Christmas? Magic is not a good thing. Magic is certainly not something that our Lord Jesus Christ endorsed. Magic is evil and is something associated with witchcraft and sorcery. Not very Christian at all.
I would urge you to please think carefully about what you expose your daughter to. As a Christian, we should not be conformed to this world. We should question things around us that are contradictory to our faith.
I would also urge you to do a lot of research into things before you indulge in them. Halloween is another prime example.
Instead of Santa (which is only an anagram for SATAN) please teach your daughter about the real meaning of Christmas - the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ who came to save us from the doom of separation from God for eternity. Let your daughter know that the presents she receives at Christmas time were given to her by people who know her and love her, and are sharing gifts because God gave us His best gift at Christmas.
No reindeer, no elves, no fat old man in a red suit, no nice/naughty list, none of these things are a reflection of Christmas. If you must use symbols, use something that comes from the story in the Bible - there were angels, a star, wise men bringing gifts, etc.
I hope you don't feel offended by my comment.
"Kikimetics",
This Christian blogger did a great job of explaining her reasoning of incorporating the magic of Santa into Christmas....
http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/2011/12/visit-to-santa.html
I will send you there to read her wonderful thoughts instead of writing a rebuttal novel.
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