Morgan Family: Christmas in Virginia

We were so fortunate to be able to spend such a long time up in Virginia this year. We were able to be a part of some Christmas traditions that we usually don't arrive in time for. One of them being Christmas brunch at the Norfolk Yacht Club. This tradition was started many years ago to celebrate my parent's anniversary and dad's birthday. It was sad for me to be back there for the first time without my dad, and it didn't help that my mom wasn't there this year either. But the amazing view and unbelievable food quickly brightened our spirits :) Professional Christmas carolers sing to you while you eat, and really help put you in the Christmas spirit. It's such a neat tradition, that I hope we're able to be a part of often.

These two are much more a brother & sister to me than cousins. We just love being together for things like this again!

We pulled into town the day that my cousin Patrick graduated from Old Dominion University. He and his girlfriend Brittany graduated together, despite their slight age difference :) We were able to join the whole family for their graduation dinner that night at a fancy restaurant. Eli thoroughly enjoyed himself, despite his long day of travel with little sleep.

We arrived on Saturday, and by Monday I had already visited all 3 of my favorite malls. To help ease the shopping burden for Eli, we stopped for a ride on the carousel. He's always begged to ride carousels, but this time wasn't so sure. He hung onto me for dear life once it started moving.

We got plenty of much needed time with my grandparents. We stayed at their house for our entire trip, and they just loved having Eli around for the week. My grandad had bronchitis when we got there, and my grandma caught it a few days later, but thankfully we've somehow managed not to get it. Another Christmas miracle as my husband would say! I didn't even stress about germs, and surprised myself by not obsessing over it. I just decided early on that if we were going to get it, then there wasn't a thing I could do about it.

He spent an entire evening running back & forth into the arms of his great-grandparents :)

My Aunt always hosts a little Christmas party the night before Christmas Eve. To say Eli enjoyed himself would be an understatement! He just simply loves the extra attention he gets at family gatherings. He was showing off his new dance moves, his new found singing voice, and spent plenty of time playing with his favorite basset hound, Cleo.

What's the best way to get a picture of your toddler in front of the Christmas tree? Well...you must catch them as they happen to be walking past the tree :)

What an extra special Grandad we have!

We went to Christmas Eve service as a family, and then all of the adults went to a movie! My grandparents were excellent babysitters each night, watching over Eli as he was in bed :) It was such a treat to be able to go out after we put him to bed for the night.