in great grandma's arms.

on christmas day we made a quick stop by my cousin warren and wendy's house in wildomar to enjoy a few hours with the family.  we wished we could stay longer but had a great time catching up with our cousins and chloe was not lacking for attention spending most of the time in her great grandma's arms.  my grandparents were nothing but smiles with their grand children and greats by their side.  as usual the decorations were over-the-top gorgeous and so creative.  the funnest part, my cousin warren does all of them himself.  now what man do you know that does the holiday decorating?  there are some strong creative genes in this family.  i'd love to have him decorate our place one year.

btw-could my cousins be any cuter?

grandpa and mimi.

kevin coined a new nickname for grandma locklin when misreading a holiday package label for chloe from grandma this year.  he read, from mimi.  we think it's a cute nickname and may just stick around.  we started the morning with cinnamon rolls, little cutie tangerines (also a locklin holiday tradition) and coffee while we waited for the rest of the gang to arrive.

matt and tara arrived from paso robles and in the evening we celebrated with a delicious dinner around the table when the aunts and uncles arrived.  pot roast, turkey breast, potatoes, brussel sprouts, baked yams, dinner rolls, all made complete with aunt linda's famous pecan pie.  later that evening we opened gifts beside the beautiful 12 foot christmas tree.  it truly was a christmas to remember. 

  

pisole aplenty.

one of my favorite holiday traditions is devouring of pisole a mexican hominy soup that my stepdad peter cooks up for us every year.  a light brothy soup you can top with anything you wish.  i always add lime juice, fresh tomato, avocado, green onions and tortilla chips.  i could eat it daily and be content.  we also celebrated with christmas crackers, as usual they were filled with paper crowns and silly jokes.  we opened stockings, gifts and enjoyed a mountain of mock toffee, my mom's best holiday recipe, aside from her delicious prune cake that is.

chloe got a beautiful book from tia sara called wherever you go, my love will find you by nancy tillman.  i was crying before we got to the second page...i can already tell it will be a bedtime favorite forever.  "i wanted you more than you ever will know, so i sent love to follow wherever you go."  we've also been enjoying an adorable penguin cool mist humidifier at night; our breathing and skin could all use some help with the cold dry weather.

chloe was even the tree topper this year, also a silly christmas tradition.  we always make ornaments with our pictures on them and try to see who can battle it out for the place of honor at the top.  chloe got to be the star.

    

christmas with pops

we started our celebration out with lunch at a family favorite, taste of india.  the food is always delicious; we probably ate enough garlic nan to feed a small village and the mango lassis' were so refreshing.
then we headed over to my dad's house to open gifts and enjoy the traditional sparkling apple cider and warm fire.  my dad builds the best, warmest fires you can imagine.  chloe took a nap with grandpa pops while we enjoyed some time together.

p.s. we all got water piks for christmas...the oral hygiene fanatic in me is so excited to use this.  

my fav.

one of my very favorite things about unpacking our christmas decor is these plates.  my mom got them for me a few years go and they make me so happy.  i find just about any excuse to use them all month long.

so i was extra excited when my mother-in-law surprised me with this table runner and napkins that fit the theme so well.

then i went out and bought a similar platter...i think our holiday decor is nearly complete.

cozy at home.

we spent so much time snuggled around the tree this year.  chloe loved the sparkle of the lights and we have always wanted a house with a fireplace.  it was as cozy as we imagined it would be.

we opened our stockings before we packed up to leave for temecula to spend time with our parents.  santa was very generous this year (visiting us at 4 houses).  we got everything from tasty new cooking spices to warm little socks.

this year we:
-celebrated with a cozy home-cooked dinner in on our never-been-used wedding china,
-bought official stockings as our parents still hold our childhood ones captive,
-and bought a tree that was taller than me.

with a new addition to the family we started thinking about what traditions we'd like to have for our little family.  we'll see what we come up with for next year.