Everyday is Christmas Day

Meeting Nana and Pop for the first time!

Christmas is a big deal in Ryan's family. And I mean BIG deal. In fact, family legend tells that once upon a time his Nana was asked why she had an image of Santa hanging on her wall well into the warm weather months, a question to which she promptly responded, "Because everyday is Christmas day!" This saying has become popular amongst Ryan's family (and even has a song and motions to enhance the experience), and I'm sure E.V. will learn how to join in soon enough. With this being Emma Vance's first Christmas, we're happy to have the Nana and Pop here all the way from New York to help introduce her to the most wonderful time of the year.

The first night they drove in, we met them at Wendi's house to make proper introductions. Here's how the evening went, in a nutshell:

Wendi's house, all aglow!

E.V. got immediate kisses from Nana (of course).

(Not indicative of her emotions, but too cute not to share...)

Nana bought E.V. a bonnet, which she had to try on right away!

When Pop got his hands on her...

...they were equally smitten with one another. :)

admiring her bonnet

(a sneak peak at Wendi's Christmas decor)

We sat down to dinner, but the food played second fiddle to the baby, as is to be expected. Ha!

Nana played "Patty Cake" with Emma Vance.

Ryan got a quick smile as he passed Emma Vance around the table.

Pop couldn't get enough of her...

...and vice versa!

Pop pretended that a bee was buzzing toward Emma Vance...

...and we discovered she has a fear of bees...

...but she recovered quickly once we told her it was just pretend. :)

Then Emma Vance got all bundled up to head home.

Bedtime came too quickly, making their first visit a quick one, but Emma Vance has gotten the chance to hang out with Nana and Pop a few times during the last week. This evening, the whole gang (including Ryan's family, my family, and some of Wendi's neighbors) all went to dinner compliments of Wendi and Mike (Thanks!) at La Casa in downtown Alpharetta to officially start the 2012 Christmas festivities. Emma Vance got all dressed up in her fancy Christmas dress (Thanks to Grandma!) for the occasion. It was a relaxing evening full of good food and good company, and E.V. was excited to see everyone.

Emma Vance clearly out-dressed me this evening. She's tough competition, that one!

Ready for Christmas to start!

Appetizers and catching up...

(She LOVES her Uncle Shane so much!)

After visiting with lots of family members, she ended the evening with Aunt Alana. So cute!

Now that Nana and Pop are here and we've had our official Christmas Kick-Off Dinner, the festivities can begin, and although most people leave Christmas celebrations to December 25th, around here we like to remember that everyday is Christmas day! :)