Merry Christmas Day!

Growing-up, my parents always got a picture of us peeking over the balcony on Christmas morning. When Cora started fussing to get up, I grabbed Landon and pushed him out of bed, telling him that we couldn't come downstairs until he was set with the camera.

When Cora peeked over the balcony, it was clear that it wasn't Santa she was looking for, but instead, her Daddy. She squealed with excitement when she saw him.

Our little family, Lovey included, cuddled on the couch Christmas morning. I had all the Christmas presents I needed curled-up together right there! My day was complete even before we touched the first present :)

Cora opening her first present...

A new baby doll from Mia & Poops. Later in the week, when I handed her this baby, she clearly said, "My baby!"

We didn't get many pics of her opening presents (I'm not sure how we got distracted), but Cora got a little bored midway through. She perched herself by the tree to check out the lights...

Cora had a cold on Christmas Day, so her nose had to frequently be swiped. It wasn't long before she was swiping her own baby's nose.

And, giving her baby milk from her new bottle.

Cora is really into blocks. We often find her playing in the block bins when we pick her up from school, and she tends to stack things around the house. Coincidentally, I saw a great article today in BusinessWeek (it came out before Christmas, but I hadn't checked my mail at work in several weeks to see it). Lego is working to capture the other 50%... little girls! Landon has a HUGE tub of legos in our attic from when he was a kid, and I had my own favorite set of blocks (ringamajigs) and every kind of imaginable hand-me-down block from Matt (Lincoln Logs, Legos, and wooden blocks included). Bring on the pink Legos!!!

 She likes the blocks... but she LOVES her babies. Even though she got several new babies for Christmas, her favorite is still "Baby Mia", her first baby doll.

I guess that she was trying to fill the bottle?

Brushing her baby?

The entire Christmas break was so much fun. Cora is really starting to develop a little personality, and she is certainly on the go.

 Aunt Heather arrived on Christmas evening, and we settled in for a nice dinner (Grandma M, Heather, Landon, Cora, and I). Sharon & Heather stayed through the new year, so we got to have a few fun outings and a lot of good ole' downtime at home.We did the annual December 26 puzzle (not finished until December 29), and then we hit the mountains with Julie and her family.

Merry Christmas!