Santa's First Visit

There's an awesome holiday weekend in progress over here. It's almost perfect too....who knew that losing your voice would be so frustrating? It's not like I imagined it would be a walk in the park but this has been a whole level of annoying that I never thought possible. My family is up from South Florida for Christmas (Part 1) and not being able to communicate with everyone has definitely put a bit of damper on our celebration for me. On Friday night when they arrived my voice was ridiculously raspy. Saturday morning I woke up and it was completely gone. So far this morning it doesn't seem to be much better so who knows how long this will last. Thankfully I took the day off tomorrow to take Ella to her 15 month checkup. Isn't it funny how sometimes things like that work out. I can't even imagine how much work I would be able to get accomplished without a voice. Now let's hope it's back by Tuesday!

Yesterday morning we woke up to see what Santa brought our little lady. Boy, was he good to her!?! Look at her go!

It was a nice day of staying home and playing with all Ella's new toys. A dollhouse, shopping cart, rocker, mega blocks, baby crib and more..she's totally overwhelmed, in a good way of course! I'm pretty sure we were all into it more than or at least as much as she was. My cousin Kristen made fake breakfast for everyone (quite the spread) before we all had real breakfast. Obviously the kitchen set is a BIG hit! Hubs and I did extensive research on kitchen sets and play food before making final decisions. Worth it!

How adorable is this "Owl-ivia" rocker?! Hey Aunt Donna....I think she likes it! 

A video posted by Stephanie Skoblicki (@stephcial) on Dec 12, 2014 at 7:25am PST

Stephen took a ride to Home Depot with Uncle John and picked up our new BBQ (house/X-mas gift from Uncle John and Aunt Laura, OMG). Expect some grilling to be in the upcoming meal plans! Tis' the season still down here! After nap time for both Ella and I, we went out to dinner at one of my favorite Italian restaurants. I communicated via text, but there was SO much I wanted to say and express...like how thankful I am for our family, and what a beautiful day it was. Love them all so much! In 10 days we will be doing it all over again in New York! In the meantime, let's hope my voice comes back soon because I can hardly wait to ask my baby girl how she likes her kitchen set!!! From the looks of it though, I'd say she is very grateful. 

Stephen and I are pretty adamant about establishing our own traditions here in our new home. This was a great way to start! We're so thankful that Aunt Laura, Uncle John, Kristen and Nikki were able to be a part of Santa's very first visit! There will also be a lot of thanking to do when we see everyone in NY soon! There were quite a few large boxes under the tree yesterday morning we obviously wouldn't be able to travel back with! You're all so good to our sweet girl! Now back to Christmas Part 1 and a big cup of tea! 

*Sunday meal planning fail....expect that tomorrow instead!

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