A Prelude to Christmas

The official kick-off of the Christmas holiday occurred Thursday when Nonna, Pops, and Aunt Sydney arrived.
Aven introduced her Aunt to her favorite pastime, stacking whatever she finds in the pantry.
What lucky kids! They enjoyed dinner with their Nonna, and ...
... they had their Grandma for lunch on the very next day!
On Friday, Christmas Eve, we visited the U.S. Botanic Gardens to see the train display and holiday decorations.
Rory was a big fan of the woodland fairy theme.
Later that evening, we hosted Tim's family for the traditional Christmas Eve Hors D'Oeuvre Dinner!
We had a feast! The highlight had to be the made-from-scratch Cincinnati chili that Jenny's friend Alex had prepared.




Aven found a few things that she could sink her teeth into.




As the evening came to a close, Rory and her Mommy prepared a special treat for Santa Claus and Rudolph.
Rory penned the note all by herself!
For tonight's events, the role of Rudolph will be played by Wrigley.