Gemma's First Christmas, Part 1: Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve this year was hosted at our house. The rest of the Shealys plus Kelly's mom and sister all came over for the festivities. Andrea made chili and I made corn spoonbread and wassail. For dessert, we had peanut butter pie plus an assortment of Christmas cookies. We tried to take some pictures of the three cousins together, but Gemma and Liam didn't want to cooperate. Gemma picked a fight with Liam by grabbing his face. When she wouldn't stop, we had to separate them. But then Liam decided it was time to retaliate and pretty much tried to tackle Gemma. After that, we really had to separate them.

After dinner, Cy read the story of Christ's birth from Matthew and Luke. Then we gathered around the piano and sang some Christmas tunes. Noah in particular enjoyed the singing.

Then it was time to open stockings. We each got a ton of great stuff. Gemma scored some socks, a bib, and her favorite: a bottle of formula. After everyone left, it was a toss-up whether Gemma or Daddy would be the first one to fall asleep so Santa could come.