Christmas!

After our delicious Christmas Eve dinner of steak, twice baked potatoes and other yummy things, Phil let me open the present that he had been making for me. He was so excited that he just couldn't wait!

He had me wait in a separate room while he brought it in from the car. I also knew that he was waiting for his family to bring over another part of the gift. No one knows this but I was seriously so excited as I waited alone in the room. It was kind of ridiculous. I was like a little kid. Phil told his family to wait outside as I opened the first part of the gift. I opened it and found this. . . .

I remember seeing it, and immediately turning to the front door to see Phil's family walking up with this little cutie pie. . .

I was so excited and surprised. Phil knew that I wanted a little puppy, but I never asked for one (especially since we are living with his parents right now). The puppy kept us entertained for the rest of Christmas Eve as we cuddled with her and brainstormed names. Phil and I decided on Gracie!

For the first several days Gracie was such a cuddle bug. She loved to curl up around your neck and sleep and she loved being held. However, lately she wants to sleep in peace on her own. Gracie had this horrible habit of getting tired and falling asleep at like 8pm so she would sleep all evening and then she would be excited and want to play when Phil and I were ready to go to sleep. This made for a few nights with little sleep between the yapping and the potty breaks throughout the night. Phil and I then decided that the goal was to keep her awake between 7 and 10pm. Lets just say Gracie wasn't a fan of this plan. She was tired and just wanted to sleep. That's when she decided that she wasn't going to cuddle if she wanted to sleep. She figured out that she had a better chance of successfully sleeping is she was far away from human contact. Fortunately for us, sometimes she will still cuddle and we love it.

She has been such a good dog with potty training thus far. She has had a couple of accidents inside but she is good at trying to communicate when she has to go to the bathroom. For the past two nights she has gone about 6 hours without yapping to go potty. Phil and I have thoroughly enjoyed the sleep!

She seriously is the cutest little dog! We both just love her. How could you not love this face?!

Overall, Phil and I had a great Christmas. We slept at my parents on Christmas Eve and then got to go to church with both of our families on Christmas day! I loved having Christmas on Sunday this year. It was such a good opportunity to reflect on the Savior and the true meaning of Christmas. It allowed the focus of the day to be more on Christ and family, and less on presents. I loved it!