Christmas in a nutshell...

Christmas has come and gone- I can hardly believe it! This Christmas we decided to stay in Utah, as we have traveled for 6 of the past 7 Christmases together. We were excited to start some traditions of our own and to enjoy a low-key holiday together. 

Of course, things rarely go exactly according to plan. Due to a death in Ben's extended family, we had some visitors arrive at our home on Christmas Eve- Ben's dad, Grandma Janet, and Grandpa Paul. 

The mood in our home has had a somber note, but we have done our best to continue on with our old and new traditions. After all, Christmas isn't about everything going exactly according to plan, it is about celebrating the birth of Christ and spending time with those we love. 

For Christmas Eve dinner we decided on Mexican food, so I made my favorite chicken enchiladas, with apple pie for dessert. We put Dylan in his new Christmas pj's and put him to bed after he was exhausted from play with his grandpa (he pronounces it "Crapaw"). 

Here is a peek of our living room after Dylan went to bed and the gifts came out. I decided to put all of Dylan's gifts inside of his new tepee. The work bench is a gift from my parents. 

When Dylan woke up at 7:30 I had already been awake for almost an hour. I was just so excited for Christmas morning! Apparently Christmas turns me into a 7 year old :)

When we went to the living room Dylan made a beeline to his work bench and started playing immediately. He didn't even notice the tepee or presents!

Soon enough Dylan noticed all the fun on the other side of the room. He took a seat in his tepee and was so excited to start unwrapping presents! It really was precious.

The first present that Dylan opened was a Superhero costume that I had bought for him off of groopdeals way back in August. He started running around the house saying "Supa-hewo!" This picture captures Dylan mid-pose as a Superhero.

Dylan really seemed to love and appreciate each and every one of his gifts, which was very sweet. Here he is admiring the cool placemat that Aunt Sarah had personalized for him. He is really getting into learning colors, so he was pointing to each little skull and saying which color it was.

Dylan with some of his gifts and me with my fabulous new shoes!  Thanks mom!

Christmas night was quite interesting, because my stove and oven completely died in the middle of making Christmas dinner. Luckily, the turkey and ham were both cooked, but making mashed potatoes in the microwave didn't quite work out. After dinner we made a gingerbread tree, which Dylan loved. He was concentrating so hard, which was adorable.

After dinner, Superhero Dylan came back and entertained us all with his antics.

All in all: One memorable Christmas.