This New Year’s Eve for us was as wild and crazy as it could get. Okay…no, it was exactly the opposite. But strangely enough, it wasn’t a bit less fun than years past. This year, our friend Seth Davis volunteered to host the evening at his apartment. What a brave soul he is. The single one of the group, he opened up his bachelor pad to all of his crazy friends…with crazy children. It’s a great thing that our kids love him so much. “All kids love Seth.” We say that all the time.

It’s already evident that Emma Kate is much more of a risk taker than Brittain. She decided to climb into this box, having no idea what the end result to be. The series of pictures:

“Let’s get greasy, kid fingerprints on Seth’s nice keyboard”:

Can you tell that they’re father-daughter? Just look at their shirts!”:

I LOVE this picture. Take a look at Bradley’s face!:

After the group picture, I suggested that I take a picture of all the kids.

I have to admit that one of my favorite parts of my sister working at The Ritz Carlton (besides the discounted hotel stays, of course) is the fabulous Gingerbread House they have at Christmastime. In addition to the one million Christmas lights that adorn the grounds (yes, I said a million), they also have the largest Gingerbread house in the South in their lobby! We attended last year so it was only fitting that we go this year as well. Even though we weren’t able to go until after Christmas, Brittain still had just as much fun.

“Mimi, is this for real?”:

Keep in mind that at this time Brittain wasn’t walking yet. You have no idea how thrilled I was with this moment, even though she was holding onto our hands:

Jeff, Cecilia’s co-worker, hung around to visit. He even took us on a golf cart ride around the property to see all the lights. Brittain LOVED it!:

What a wonderful end to the evening – a candy cane (and it wasn’t even a real one :-)):

As a child (and even as an adult) I’ve always looked forward to Christmas and wondered what gifts I would receive. I can’t believe how these feelings have completely changed since Brittain was born.

Although Brittain may not understand the real purpose of the day yet, she very quickly caught onto the fact that she saw many wrapped gifts…and they were all for her. Dan and I made a decision that we weren’t going to buy any gifts for each other. It was going to be all about Brittain. I can’t tell you how much fun we had purchasing gifts for her and then deciding which would be from Santa and which ones from us. I realized the change in me when I knew that I would never need a gift for the rest of my life, because seeing her face light up brought me more joy than I could ever get from anything else.

I’m sure it’s no surprise to you to see that Brittain was spoiled this Christmas (by us and the rest of her family, of course).

Christmas morning at our house. A little sleepy, but not too tired to play with her new toys:

At Gramy and Papa’s house:

The Gills showered Brittain with tons of great clothes. (She’s already like her Mama. She LOVES pretty, new clothes. :-)):

Mimi and “Doot’s” house:

Brittain and Uncle Matthew compare Santa hat styles:

This picture cracks me up because I remember the moment so well. This was the first gift that Brittain opened – Pinky Pie.

Doot made a special purchase of the set of Harry Potter books:

Her very first cash gift. I think Cec and I were more impressed than she was: