c'est noël // part III

let's wrap this christmas business up, shall we?  it was great and all, i mean really great, but since all of our decorations are down and new year's resolutions are trickling in faster than swimsuits appearing in target after thanksgiving, it is time to move on and talk about 2013.   but we never quite got to what christmas day looked like did we?  so, before we talk resolutions and diets and crazy mantras, here's the last of what was BY FAR our best christmas to date:  

*now i must confess that i have been up since 3 am thriving on strong cold meds so if this post is, uh hem, a tad long and random at parts, forgive me.  i've got the flu which means crazy sleep patterns and pancake making at insane hours of the day (see below) resulting from, which i strongly believe, a lack of lunch or dinner from the previous day.  but i digress...

1. one cheeky little diva ready to tear open her gifts. 

2. our family of three.  and stella screaming "baaaaabbbbyyyyyy!" she adores her new present.  

3. a jam sesh going on with papa and stella on christmas morning. 

4. holiday cookies from some wonderful friends. 

5. papa and baby girl's sing along on christmas morning. 

6. pickles from my sweet grandma. 

7. reading new books in bed. 

8. wrapping up the last of all our homemade goodies.

9. our christmas tradition //  the 12 days of christmas.

10. best friends.  aka. goofballs.  (sibling love)

11. what santa brought us grown-ups: a new address stamp and a mustard knit throw! 

12. andrew and stella playing puzzles at nana and papa's house. 

13. what christmas looks like in iowa. 

14. an eager present opener who's also intrigued but her dada's childhood ornaments. 

15. stella and her new baby serenading us on uncle shane's keyboard. she's a pro at multitasking. 

and now that this post has come to a close and it appears i have not slept all evening, maybe, just maybe i will drift off to sleep.  probably not, but my fingers are crossed because lord knows i need it. 

and here are those 3 am pancakes you were wondering about...

they were scrumptious.