Christmas 2015 | Dallas

It may be late-January already, but I've still got to get these Christmas recaps up here for posterity. Plus, it adds a little holiday cheer to an otherwise cold, boring, and slightly depressing month.

We spent the week leading up to Christmas at home in Dallas. 

We got a new tree-topper this year…a cross-eyed angel that I just couldn't pass up.

Unlike years past, I managed to wrap all the family presents a week early (thanks to a marathon wrapping session made possible by Adele, Love Actually, and lots of wine).

The kids' school was closed for two weeks, and I saved up enough vacation days to join in on the Christmas break fun with these two little monkeys.

Luckily the weather was amazing, so in addition to completing our advent activities, we were able to spend lots of time outside.

Josh got to join us at home on Christmas Eve, and we enjoyed another relaxing day. Ava and I were even able to slip off for a mani-pedi date, complete with snowman nails for her...

And an iced coffee for me (there is something very odd about enjoying cold coffee whilst celebrating Christmas...only in Texas.)

Since it was just the four of us, we outsourced our Christmas Eve dinner to Chuy's, which may be one of the best decisions I've ever made. Especially because, even though we were good about getting all the other presents wrapped well in advance, Santa had some work to do!

I thought that Ava "got" the whole Santa thing last year, but the anticipation and excitement this year was even greater. After waiting patiently for Ry to wake up, she made a beeline for the living room.

"Whoa" :). 

And while he didn't really understand that it was coming, Rylan was more than happy to participate in the Christmas-morning gift opening bonanza.

In addition to the joint soccer goal gift, Santa brought them each a book with a "matching" toy...

One other book each...

 And a few toys…

Rylan got a bubble mower, remote-control car, vehicle magnets, and monster bowling. 

And Ava got a LeapPad along with a case and headphones, art supplies, and a kitty.

And, of course, the stockings were also full of goodies (my favorite part).

Josh and I got each other stockings full of fun gifts as well, but I clearly didn't manage to capture any of that on film.

Ava and Rylan also got a few things from us (Santa couldn't get all the credit), and we kept with the "something you'll wear, something you'll read, something you want, something you need" mantra.

Ava's favorite gifts were definitely the LeapPad, glow-in-the-dark stars (which are already displayed proudly on her ceiling), kitty, and "jewl-ry" kit.

Rylan's favorites were the bubble mower and the remote-control car, which emits some sweet, dance-provoking jams...

But I think he would have been happy with just an orange roll.

That smiling face totally depicts our Christmas day. And we weren't even close to being done with celebrating.