Calling all traditions

Do you all have any good Christmas Eve traditions that you do? I am searching for one to start this year.
Every year for as long as I can remember we've done Christmas Eve with my mom's extended family. We used to do it over at my grandparents, but as they started to have a harder time taking care of their house, we started doing it alternating at my parents', my aunt and uncle's, or my cousin's. This year we are not doing Christmas Eve, because of everything going on with my grandpa and many other stressors in my cousin and aunt and uncle's lives. :( I am so massively bummed. My family does not do get-togethers. Luke's family gets together for almost every holiday under the sun, but my family never has. Christmas Eve has always been the one constant. We always had chili and veggie soup and opened presents from and to the extended family. We're doing the soup and chili and presents with my brother's family and my family and my parents the day after Christmas, but nothing on Christmas Eve.

So I want to start a Christmas Eve tradition with my own immediate family. I suspect this year off will turn into every year, for reasons I won't state in a public blog. And I don't think that we should always sit around and do nothing every other year when Zane isn't here (which is the case this year). So I want to do something. I just don't know what. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, or monumental, just something for Raegan to remember as she grows up. Because I have always loved Christmas Eve with my family.

What do you all do? Or, if you know of something someone else does that you think is neat, please share.

I'm an aunt!

I'm an aunt (again!) At 3:01 a.m. this morning, Richard Ryan Zachary Kelley made his appearance into the world. He was pretty adamant that it should be on his time (as is fitting for a true Kelley), so he ignored the fact that the doctor started induction yesterday and waited until a new day to make his appearance. Due to the second round of the stomach bug at our house (Zane came home from school today with it), I will not get to see little Ryan in person until later this week. But the pictures do a pretty good job of showing what a handsome little fellow he is. :) 

Welcome Ryan!

Is that exhaustion or sheer terror on my brother's face? lol

Look at how alert he is already! Going to be smart like his auntie.... :)

The return of the sick baby

Raegan is sick again. She didn't throw up any more Sunday, and did eat a few things (applesauce, part of a banana, some crackers) and was acting more like herself. So I took her to child care today and went to work. A few minutes after we got home this afternoon, she threw up all over the kitchen floor. And proceeded to throw up 7 times total tonight (between 4:00 and 8:00 p.m.) She was dry heaving by the last one. :( :( :( So needless to say, this Mommy will be staying home from work tomorrow. I know how awful I felt last Thursday, so I'm really feeling for her right now. I just hope the boys don't get it. Zane definitely can't get it until after 8:00 p.m. tomorrow, because he has a band concert that he HAS to be at. I probably shouldn't have even posted that. lol

Say a prayer for my sick baby please. I hope she can keep something down tomorrow.

Sick times have descended :(

The last 24 hours have been a little rough around our house. Raegan apparently caught the stomach virus that I had on Thursday. She started off with a cold on Friday - runny nose and watery eyes. Saturday morning she was all out of sorts, and her eyes looked awful because she kept rubbing snot from her nose into them. I left at lunchtime to go shopping in Manhattan. (Note to self: check weather forecast and graduation schedule for K-State before planning next trip to Manhattan. hahaha) When I got home, Raegan had already thrown up a couple times and she was just lethargic. She didn't eat last night, but we were able to get her to keep drinking water. She ended up throwing up one more time after I got home, and spent the whole evening snuggled up in my lap. Today she's playing a little bit, but she's already had two mini-naps, and she hasn't eaten anything more than some applesauce and a half a banana. Poor girlie. :(

You know Raegan is sick when she's willing to sit for extended periods of time.

Sick baby is sick.

Putting up the tree

I was excited to put up the tree this year, since Raegan would be old enough to really be a part of what was going on. This is what Raegan did last year while we put up the tree:

This year Raegan actually got involved with putting up decorations, although she was much more interested in Zane's balloon sword in the end. :) She's done really well with having the tree up. I even put some presents under it today and she hasn't messed with them yet. Today when I came out of the bathroom she was in the living room by herself with one hand stretched out barely touching a branch on the tree. I asked her what she was doing and she came running up to me and gave me a big hug like "Nothing. I wasn't doing anything Mama." We went and looked at the tree together which she LOVES doing. I'm trying to teach her to say "tree" and "pretty". She's getting so good at imitating words, but what she says after I say the words doesn't quite sound right yet.

On to the pictures from this year:

Ragan's new hat

Little Helper

Here's a video that I took on Thanksgiving showing what a good helper Raegan is. She actually loves to help clean up, which is totally awesome! Most nights she'll help put her bath toys back in their tub, and at least help pick up her blocks and put them back in their container too. Gotta start good habits young, right? :)