De Jong Christmas 2018 (and Ellory's first hair cut!).

Christmas with kids and family is just the best! Not that everything goes perfectly, but just being together and celebrating His birth is such a special time. The whole month of December was just so fun. We spent most of our Christmas break in Des Moines with my side, but we were able to do our big celebration with the De Jongs before we left, and even throw in a couple smaller celebrations when we got back. 

Christmas dinner with everyone! For those who don't know, Kley has one sister, Elizabeth, who is married to Brett and they are expecting a little boy in February!

Gift opening! We are so grateful for gracious grandparents, aunts, and uncles on both sides who are so generous to our our girls. Kley and I seriously contemplated not getting our girls anything because they really don't need anything else and get plenty of gifts from others, but then we said we have to at least get them a small something. If they found out when they were older that we didn't get them anything for Christmas, we'd never live it down!

Love spending time with Brett and Elizabeth! And this ice cream parlor was a big hit!

This is one of my new favorite pictures, totally unplanned. I love Kley being a great dad and building toys in the background, Norah watching and helping, and the girls sharing ice cream. It's not often that candid photos are taken of me with the girls (it's almost always me taking them of them), but I just love the look on my face as I'm looking at Ellory. Motherhood is exhausting, but it truly is a great joy.

I also really love this picture because of the look on Kley's face as he opens a gift. Kley definitely has a childlike, entertaining spirit, which makes him a pretty fun husband and dad!

Ellory also got her first haircut in the midst of the celebrations. She did great, mostly because she was entranced by an animal sounds video. Ellory sure loves animals! Lucy got a hair cut too, but this was her third one. They both look so grown up now!

(She has a bruise on her cheek from a toy fight between her and Norah. Oops.)

And, to end with a favorite whole family shot. Hope everyone had a great Christmas!