Christmas -- the most magical time of the year

Christmas felt like a 3 day special this year. On the eve of Christmas Eve, Robyn and Chris joined me for a visit to grandma & grandpa's. As usual, their set up at the house was lovely. When we were growing up, holidays at their house was the best because they went all out. Obviously, as the years went by, the decorations decreased. But, there's always a little bit of that magic there that I felt as a kid. (This is the same apartment my dad grew up in! He is the oldest of my grandparents' 4 children).

Later that night, I went back to Jonathan's as his Aunt Ro & Uncle Dom were coming in from Florida, as they do every Christmas.

Haha...goofy Grinch like face.

Christmas Eve was quickly upon us and I parted ways with Jonathan for the day/evening as I would be going to Long Island with my family. It's a Christmas Eve tradition for us and last year was the first time we didn't go so this year was extra special, with the return of the usual plans and Alexandra being pregnant and Amanda (my cousin) having a 5 month old. It was also the first time we'd be meeting Kaeleigh, the baby. Excitement all around!

Sleeping angel!

Haha...whose got the bigger belly?! ;-)

Kaeleigh is awake! She is gorgeous.

Kaeleigh with her Aunt Morgan.

I'm pretty sure my mom missed holding babies...after having 4 of them LOL

Kaeleigh was the star of the show.

Baby's first Christmas!

I wanted a good photo with her but this was the best we got because she was squiggling around LOL.

The evening wrapped around 9pm so I headed back to Queens via the LIRR with my mom and sister. The trains weren't running too well so by the time I got back to Jonathan's it was 11pm and everyone was pooped. But, it's common knowledge around these parts that I'm dating an elf (LOL) so we stayed up to 2am, wrapping presents for the next day. Needless to say, waking up the next morning, not even coffee could make me feel human. But presents? Oh yeah! Jonathan surprised me with a point and shoot camera (this one) that I've been wanting, among other things. He always knows exactly what to get me :D And I think it's safe to say he LOVED his Playstation 3, because he's been wanting that for...forever. Once we opened the gifts, we popped into the nearby church for awhile. I am very disappointed that I didn't go to the midnight Mass because the next morning, I knew we'd be pressed for time but I stupidly thought I'd wake up early enough LOL. But oh well, that's another story for another time. It was a lovely morning anyway. That afternoon we went to White Plains, to Jonathan's other aunt and uncle's house and had a delicious dinner with great company.

Johnny is the next Beethoven, don't ya think?

More gift opening when we got to Aunt Connie's. It's not pictured but she was generous enough to get me a small Coach bag -- I was floored!

The table was beautifully set.

Johnny sat long enough to watch an episode of his favorite character ever, Thomas the Tank Engine.

Jonathan's dad is clearly ready to eat! =P

It was easy to get him into his chair since he seemed to be in some sort of daze. Hehe.

The Ambrose Christmas tree was gorgeous! Photo credit goes to Jonathan.

I hung out with Jonathan's cousin Danielle in her room. She has the coolest set up -- any Disney fan would love it!

Look how neatly she lines up her cards!

A sweet shot of Jonathan and his cuz.

When we got back to Queens, Jonathan and I hit up my parents' house to see them before the night was over.

Haha...the things I make him pose for.

My reaction to Alex's gift LOL. It was a scrapbook + scrapbook accessories! Perfect for me -- especially because I wanted something to commemorate 2010. She knows me too well.

Much much later that night, after Robyn and I both got out of our respective theatres, we went back to Jonathan's house to open the remaining presents we had for each other. Plus Robyn and Jonathan had a little something for each other as well.

And the magical day was thus over.

I really have to thank everyone for their generous gifts this year. My parents, Jonathan's parents, his sister, his family, my family and friends (like Tiffany, John, Stephen, Wilfredo & Jenn) really made my day with their generosity (and company.)