Christmas 2011

We had a busy, but wonderful Christmas this year! I say this every year, but this one really was the best! Having a baby makes everything so special, and for the first time since I was a little girl, I was more excited about giving gifts than receiving them (even though Eliza had no idea what was going on).

On Christmas Eve, we spent the night in Anderson at my grandparents' house. After waking up to Santa's presents in Anderson, we went to Laurens to have a late lunch with my dad's side of the family. That night Ryan's family came over to our house to have dinner and exchange presents. We had such a good time and I feel so blessed that we were able to spend the day with our wonderful families.

In true OCD fashion, my tree was down and my decorations were put away by the next day. Bah Humbug, I know! In my defense, our tree was so dry that it needed to come down immediately.

Sorry for the picture overload, but I couldn't choose between all of them! 

3 Months

This little nugget turned three months old a few days ago, and she is the best Christmas gift that I've ever received! She is smiling at us and "talking" to us all the time. It's so much fun! She is becoming much more alert, and loves to watch TV. (She takes after her dad.) Eliza got baby sign language and Baby Einstein for Christmas, so she is going to have a lot to keep her entertained.  She still loves bath time as well. Now, instead of bathing her in the sink, I put her in the bathtub with a little bit of water and let her splash around. It is so funny to watch her kick water all over the place.

I'm not sure how much she weighs because we didn't go to the doctor this month, but I think she's around 13 or 14 pounds. Eliza can hold her head up on her own now, but she gets tired after a while, and gets a little bobble head. She is also sleeping through the night (from about 11 to 7 or 7:30)! She has slept in her crib since the first week we brought her home from the hospital. We used to swaddle her, and put her in the Nap Nanny in her crib. Now we have gotten rid of the Nap Nanny and she is sleeping in a sleep sack. Eliza eats every three hours during the day, and naps for about an hour or two in between feedings.

Ryan and I are loving every minute with this sweet girl, and we can't wait to watch her grow over the next month!

Merry Christmas

 

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luke 2:14

Coming Down the Chimney Tonight

Merry Christmas Eve! I hope Santa brings you everything you want!

Christmas Things

We've been busy doing a lot of Christmas things around our house this week.

On Tuesday we wrapped presents.

On Wednesday we made salt dough ornaments with Aunt Caroline and Sutton.

On Thursday we went to  visit Santa. 

And today we baked lots of goodies and delivered some presents.

May Your Days Be Merry and Bright

I hope you all are enjoying these last few days before Christmas. I have a little bit of shopping and a lot of cooking to do over the next few days. We are taking Eliza to see Santa tomorrow, so I will be back with pictures!

Biltmore Trip

On Sunday night Ryan and I had a little mini-vacay to Asheville to see the Biltmore. We left on Sunday morning around 10:00. When we got there, we checked into the Grove Park and had lunch. After lunch, we headed to the Biltmore, where we did a self-guided tour. I've never been to the Biltmore, and it was pretty impressive to see such an awesome place. It's hard to believe that one family lived there!

After we finished the tour we went to Antler Hill Village and did the wine tasting.

Then we went back to the hotel to have drinks and watch the sunset.  The view was not bad at all!

That night we had dinner in downtown Asheville at an Italian restaurant called Cucina 24. The menu was really unique and the food was not your typical Italian, but it was very good.

After dinner, we went back the hotel and walked around to check out all of the gingerbread houses that were on display. They were amazing, and I was obviously impressed. I can't believe they were made only of food. The last picture is of the winning gingerbread house. It could be on Cake Boss!

On Monday morning we slept in, and had breakfast at one of the restaurants in the hotel. The view from our table was gorgeous and our food was delicious. After breakfast we took a few pictures, and went down to the spa. We got a day pass to the spa, which allows you to use all of the pools and hot tubs. We thought about getting a massage, but decided not to since we could get one in Greenville that would probably be just as good for half the price. The spa was so relaxing though, and it was nice to just soak in the hot tubs, and then sit by the fire once we were done.

  

Once we finished at the spa, we checked out of the hotel and went to a late lunch at Tupelo Honey. Holy yum! The food was so good! The menu was all southern food, and before the meal our waitress brought out biscuits and jam with honey. I could have eaten just that for my lunch! Ryan and I both ate so much.

After we stuffed ourselves ate lunch, we headed back to Greenville. I was sad to leave because we had such a good time, but I was so ready to get back to this sweet face.