This Christmas was awesome. There were plenty of 3+ hour naps, delicious food & no stress anywhere. I had a lot of fun hanging out with my family before we left for Phoenix. We got together & chatted, made caramels & ate delicious hot soup. It was perfect. The next day we woke up super early (5 am - too early for me, sleeping in for my sisters) & took off for Phoenix. Penelope has never been so well behaved on a flight. EVER. She was a gem. We had a great time partying with Chris's family. We ate delicious ribs, home made clam chowder & more treats than anyone could possibly imagine. My mother-in-law's parents sent the family some farm-fresh hand-dipped chocolate covered hazelnuts that were pure heaven. I admit I ate more than my fair share. YUM! I gained 4 pounds over the 5 days we were there, by the way.

Christmas was filled with all sorts of surprises. Penelope got a bunch of fun toys, I got an indoor garden (for growing weeds like basil, spinach, cilantro, etc) and a few other goodies, but best of all was the gift from Chris. About a week ago we were talking about gift giving & I decided to ask him point blank if he'd picked me up a present yet. NOPE. I hadn't bought him anything either, so we decided that exchanging love letters would be the perfect way to celebrate Christmas. And it was. Chris totally one-upped me by writing me a love song & playing it on the guitar. It was, hands down, the BEST gift I got this year & perhaps of all-time. I have the best husband ever. Speaking of music, my sisters-in-law made their 3rd annual lip-synch video! It's hilarious as usual. Penelope makes her debut in this video & cracks me up the whole time. I can't help but giggle how she can't keep her finger out of her nose; she loves digging around in there.