I think Christmas 2016 was my best Christmas to date. I know Charlie is only 8 months old, but it really is so magical to celebrate holidays with him! This is just such a special time.
On Christmas Eve Eve, we went to Chili's with my family for lunch and then we went to see our traditional late night movie (Rogue One) and then went to IHOP after. This is a Richins tradition, and I know Charlie is going to LOVE this as he gets older. He did pretty well in the movie, and slept for most of it. Suzette and I had to take him out a few times, but I was surprised by how much of the movie we actually got to watch. Ha! At IHOP Charlie was a little delirious because it was WAY past his bed time, but he was such a trooper. It was so fun to have my parents and Emma come too! Maybe more people will come next year? ;)
It's so great having my brother Nick here from Spain
He ZONKED out the minute we got in the car. Sweet boy!
On Christmas Eve we had a relaxing day at home and then had pizza for dinner, played games, and drove around to see the lights. Charlie, of course, slept through the lights and didn't get any pizza. Next year, bud! :)
Cookies and milk for Santa!
SO excited for Santa to come!
WHITE Christmas! It finally started snowing in the evening!
I seriously could NOT fall asleep that night! Does anyone else have this problem as an adult?! I remember having it as a child, but gosh, the anticipation of Christmas keeps me up!
Christmas morning was so special! Santa came! He brought Charlie this awesome dinosaur toy. He loves to watch me put the balls in the holes, and once he figures out how to do it, he's going to LOVE it even more. Thanks Santa!
We got Charlie a few toys (a train, a crawling crab, a turtle shape sorter, and a walker) which Landon said was overboard since he's just a baby, but whatever... He was definitely confused and mostly just wanted to play with the wrapping paper. Landon got a new lego, snow boots, gloves, dark chocolate, clothes, and a new kite (for kiteboarding). I got a new wallet, a fancy waffle maker (I loooove waffles), snow boots, cute ankle boots, an apple tv, and the cutest "C" necklace. Landon did good picking out all the girly things. :)
After we opened presents Charlie took a nap while we tested out the new waffle maker. Then we went to Nini's for Christmas lunch (the best ham EVER) and presents. Oh man, Charlie was spoiled by Nini and Papa! We are soooo grateful that we have so many people that love Charlie so much. He got a Beep-Bo stuffed animal, a Grover stuffed animal (Landon had one when he was little too, so it is super special!), a few darling ornaments, an owl puppet, a fox head rest, Mickey socks, the cutest piggy bank, play beads, and this awesome V-tech activity cube. Suzette cried when she opened her sign that said, "There's no place like home except Nini's." It was soooo sweet!
We went home and had a bit of time for Charlie to take another little nap before heading over to Tim and Ang's for Miller family Christmas. I love my huge, crazy family and am so grateful that Tim and Ang hosted at their house so we could all sit together and hang out. It's getting hard to do that at my mom and dad's since there are soooo many of us. We had almost the whole family together and it really was the best night. We did a sibling gift exchange, played the funniest game, and just hung out together. We surprised my parents with a shore excursion for their cruise (they're coming with us!) and they got Charlie the CUTEST fancy sweater.
Charlie finally got to meet Aunt Brooke. I teased Nick because he LOVED Brooke and screamed when he met Nick.
Christmas crackers is my favorite tradition!!
Charlie LOVED playing with his cousin Audrey!
Game of Phones is sooooo funny. We were DYING at this conversation. Tim is the best.
Charlie wouldn't take his eyes of Pops. It was so funny! My dad kept saying "it's freaking me out! He keeps staring at me! It's freaking me out!"
I am now crying as a I write this because my heart is just so full. I definitely do not take for granted how lucky I am to have so much LOVE in my life. Family is EVERYTHING and I truly have the best. Christmas is such a special time to spend time with our family and celebrate the birth of our Savior. I always get so sad when it's over, but to quote my favorite Christmas movie, "wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas!" So really, Christmas is like year-round with all the love I have. I'm soooo happy to be in Utah with family. I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas spent with their loved ones too. :)
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