I spent Christmas and New Years with my family up in Bend, OR. Overall it was a fabulous time, minus the trip to the ER with my dad. I arrived several days before Christmas which allowed for some quality time with Lili – my most adorable niece – as Jess had to work the week before Christmas. It was a blast to spend those days with Lili. She helped me pick out my clothes for the day, what earrings to wear, and what make-up to wear. She truly enjoys helping others. Christmas Eve day my sis, brother-in-law, Lili and I went over to his Grandmother’s house for an ornament exchange and dinner. It was a lovely time and of course Lili stole the show. LOL. That night Jess, Lili and I made Christmas cookies. This year Lili was a lot more involved and she had fun being the sprinkles decorator. You can see how intent she was about it in the picture. We had a little trouble getting her to go to sleep so Santa would com but eventually she did. And Santa brought her all sorts of gifts, making the tree look very beautiful. Christmas morning Grammie and Papa came over to watch Lili open her gifts from Santa, Jess and Michael, and Auntie Kim. It was such as bast watching her open her gifts this year because she was so into it. And the happiness and surprise on her face was exactly what makes this time of year worthwhile. Christmas continued a little late ron when we all went over to Grammie and Papa’s house so Lili could open gifts from them and we all had Christmas dinner there. Yummy as always. I of course was starting to get sick so I was not feeling the best. Ended up being sick for most of the rest of my trip. Luckily Lili didn’t catch it. Just my sis. Sorry Jess. The rest of my vacation was relaxing and spent with my sis, Lili and my parents- hanging out, running errands, and having quality time together. Then came New Yeas Eve day when we ended up bringing my dad to the ER due to feeling dizzy/nauseous for a few days. Supposedly he has vertigo and after 4 hours he was released. That night was low key- Jess and Michael went over to his step-fathers – so my parents and I watched Lili. My mom and I stayed up for the new year and then headed off to bed. New Years Day – with my dad still not feeling well – found us just relaxing and my mom finally got me to watch the first two Harry Potter movies, which I liked. I am looking forward to seeing the rest. The last couple days went quickly and it was time to head back to Phoenix. It was so hard to say bye to Lili this time and I think she had more understanding of what it means this time as well. My dad still was not feeling well so Michael drove me and my mom into Eugene so i could catch my flight. It was a nice ride, with good conversation and a couple of stops along the way. I look forward to June when I will go back up for Lili’s 3rd birthday!

LiliAnn is such a joy to be around. I love these times I have with her because I want her to always know who Auntie Kim is. I love Lili so much. This was taken as she took her nap yesterday. She fell asleep on me and when my mom and dad came home, Papa moved her to the couch.

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