Christmas, Round 2….or Ham, Round 1

For our second Christmas celebration we headed out to my mom’s house for dinner and gifts. We arrived there at 3pm and spent time with my mom, my sister, and my niece and nephews. My sister and I helped my mom finish cooking dinner and then we all enjoyed a feast of ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, and rolls. It was quite yummy!

After dinner we all sat down together to unwrap gifts. This time, Sophia had help from my sister’s kids with passing out gifts. She so enjoyed being one of the “big kids”. After gifts came dessert – pumpkin pie and birthday cake. Every year since I was pregnant with Sophia (and started hosting Christmas dinner at our house) I have baked a birthday cake for dessert on Christmas. I think it’s fitting since we are celebrating Christ’s birthday. Plus, I don’t like pie.

After dessert came an Anderson family tradition – teaching the young kids how to play poker. I remember when I was a kid, all of us cousins sitting around my grandparents’ table playing penny-ante poker. Ernie is doing his part to keep family traditions alive by teaching my sister’s kids how to play poker. Sophia sometimes likes to get in on the action, usually by organizing the poker chips. She is definitely my daughter!

For my mom and Kaitlyn, after dessert it was naptime, not poker time...

We had a lovely time with my mom, sister, and the kids. We would get (hopefully) a good night’s sleep before leaving town for Christmas, Round 3…