A Milligan Family Christmas

This Christmas has been full of miracles!! Now, don't get too excited. Keep in mind that in the land of parenthood, "miracles" is a relative term. But, I'll call the recent happenings in this house miracles none the less.

About 2 weeks ago, I had the bright idea to get family pictures done for Christmas. I have always loved those family pictures with the Christmas tree in the background and the kids in their pretty Christmas dresses and I wanted one of those pictures with my sweet hubby and The Boss Lady. But I KNEW going in to it not to expect too much. When I told Mike I wanted to do this, I told him that I had no expectations for these photos and that if every picture of Oli was of her screaming her head off then so be it. Our families would just have to have photos of our angel doing her Demon Scream on their walls for the next year!

We made our appointment for 7:50 a.m. since our baby is a morning person. She slept in that morning and when we showed up at the studio ON TIME, wait let me say that again,

ON TIME!!!

she was in great spirits. We took our pictures and got some great shots of our sweet girl. You'll see the awsesome shots below! I was so excited and felt like I was on top of the world. Afteward, we headed to church and we were on time again!!! The rest of our afternoon was spent relaxing around the house. Christmas Miracle Number 1.

My sister and I also took Oli to see Santa and she did great!! She didn't smile at him but she was, as Santa put it, "neutral." In the land of parenthood, "neutral" is ALWAYS good! Christmas Miracle Number 2.

The Christmas Miracles just kept coming this weekend as we embarked on a 3 Day Christmas Celebration Extravaganza! For 3 days, we celebrated the holiday with family and not one meltdown occurred. Olivia was a champ through all of our visits and getting out of her normal routine. She loved all of the attention and even showed some interest in her gifts. Well, maybe she was more interested in the wrapping paper and bows but she she still had a great time! And so did we!!

I am so very amazed by my sweet child. I was so looking forward to this first Christmas with her and it truly was wonderful. Actually, it would have been wonderful if she had had a meltdown or two. It was wonderful just because she is here. But it sure was nice that our Christmas was meltdown free!

This Christmas truly was one to remember. Last year, we were only imagining what it would be like to be celebrating with our sweet baby. This year, we got to watch her giggle and smile as we spent time with our incredible families.

As I was putting away our Christmas loot tonight, I couldn't believe it's already over. This season, I was rushed and it was hectice and I was buying gifts on Christmas Eve on the internet at 8 p.m. (for real). I didn't get my Christmas cards out until December 21 and I didn't have enough cute Christmas stationary to print our Christmas letter on. I was so pressed for time to get everything done this year that I even let Mike help me decorate the tree (this is a big deal, trust me!). But, despite all of the craziness, it was the the greatest Christmas on record here in the Milligan house.

I especially want to thank our families again for all that they have done for us. Our families were so generous with us and our angel and we are so blessed that we got to spend time with all of them. They truly made this holiday season so special by being a part of our circus!

And speaking of my little circus, I'll have to wrap this up now. Because, while The Boss Lady may have been great about breaking her bedtime routine these past 3 days, she is NOT okay about going back to it. She's currently in her bed letting me (and most of the neighborhood) know just how unhappy she is. I'll still go to bed tonight with a smile on my face though; thankful for the miracle of my sweet little girl and this awesomeness that was The Milligan Family Christmas.