The most wonderful time of the year

Christmas was wonderful-legitimately wonderful. I haven't had a Christmas this relaxing, fun and happy for quite a few years. This does not mean that my past Christmases have been bad at all, just that this one was especially great.

First, let me report that we have officially told family THE name. Want to hear it? I think that mostly only family reads this, but in case someone else decides to read this. The name is (drumroll please) Finn. Finn is based on a combination of Huckleberry Finn and Atticus Finch. We are still deciding on the middle name, it is currently between three (I think it's really between two). If you are reading this and I haven't already told you--please don't write about it on facebook, it's not FBO yet. :) Telling the name was much more smooth than I anticipated it being. I think everyone liked it, if they didn't--they acted like they did, and that was good enough for me! :)

Christmas really started for us on Christmas Eve. We had our first "official" get-together at our house, which was really exciting for us. We set up things, and cooked, and baked to get ready for it. We were really excited, and we think it was a success. We made meatballs, spinach-artichoke dip, chips & ranch dip, br-oreo's, chocolate covered pretzels, cookies, etc. It was kind of lame, but it was exciting for us and we made a big deal about it. My mom, dad, grandpa and Ashley came over and we ate and watched It's a Wonderful Life. It was relaxing and fun. The best part of the night was that my mom and dad brought over two really awesome presents. First, my mom brought the blanket that was in my crib as a baby, and my dad brought over the rocking horse that he made for Finn, which is so beautiful, and so incredibly special because my dad made it. I don't think my dad realizes, or understands how much we appreciate what he makes for us. It is truly a priceless heirloom for us, and it's gorgeous. I can't wait for Finn to play with it. After we watched the movie, we went to church, which was good, but it was also REALLY late, which is rough on me lately.

Part of our pretty spread :)

Gorgeous rocking chair that my dad made. Beautiful!

Christmas day was even better! Randy woke up WAY too early (before 6 a.m.), and we started opening our presents, which is always great. I bought Randy a table saw, a circular saw, socks, underwear, undershirts and some CD's that he wanted. Randy got me a pandora bracelet, two charms, the first season of Glee and Eclipse. We tried to stick to a budget this year, and did pretty well. It was a great morning. We then headed off to the Hoyle's for Christmas breakfast. We ate bagels, apple pancakes and (Randy had) bacon. Everything was delicious, and it was such a nice, relaxing morning. We opened our approximately 1 million gifts and we both got a TON of great stuff from everyone. Highlights included Christmas decorations, a Keurig, cologne for Randy, Butterbeer body polish, Burt's Bee's gift set and a beautiful necklace :) Finn also made out like a bandit! He got a homemade blanket from his Aunt Betty, which is gorgeous, three adorable outfits and even more loot. He is a lucky man! After opening presents, and announcing his name, we got to sit, relax and talk, which was really nice. It was great to not have to be in a rush all day.

One of the great gifts that we got at the Hoyle Christmas :)

We then made our way to our next destination--my parent's house. We got some bad news earlier in the day. My sister and brother-in-law both had strep throat and weren't able to make it, but John was able to bring the kids down, so at least we were able to see them. This put a bit of a wrench in our name plans, because there wasn't an opportunity for the entire family to be together. We decided to tell my parents first, and they really liked the name, which was a relief. People then started trickling in and we opened gifts, and ate dinner. We got a lot of great gifts. Some of the highlights were a few giftcards, diapers, and some great soap that my Aunt makes. Finn made out like a bandit at the Norris household too (he is already spoiled :)) he got some new books (ones that his mommy really wanted), a snowsuit to come home in, a Cubs hoodie, and even a few toys. He is a very lucky boy to be so loved. After dinner we went home to pick up Ella (some people had begun to leave), and brought her back so she could play with Phia and Emma. We were able to sit and talk and drink with my mom, dad, Ashley and Laura for a few hours. It was really, REALLY fun and it was nice to be able to sit and talk and joke around.

Little peanut Addy, full of Christmas cheer :)

I know that this is kind of a boring post. I mostly just wanted to re-cap my Christmas. It was fabulous, and I loved it. I am so grateful for Randy, Finn, Ella and both of our amazing families--presents are great, but that is the best present of all. :)