We had, without a doubt, a wonderful Christmas.

Among all the chaos of moving and just entering my third trimester of this pregnancy, it was so nice to spend time with family, eating great food, and enjoying each other’s company.

This little girl had an absolute ball with all of the holiday festivities.

It’s so nice having my parents and the Duke’s parents all live in the same town as us. We spent a lovely evening with my parents for Christmas Eve.

We feasted on the best pot of seafood gumbo you’ve ever tasted and enjoyed watching Julia open her gifts from Honey and Pop.

Julia adored the custom Kitchen that my parents got her. It’s the cutest thing. A couple of local ladies make these kid kitchens out of end tables they find at garage sales. We love it!

Even though this was Julia’s second Christmas, it was definitely more exciting than last year. She obviously doesn’t “get it” just yet, but we had a ball watching her soak up everything around her.

Christmas Day was spent at the Duke’s parents’ house. We arrived before the rest of the family to exchange gifts. Julia was obsessed with her rocking horse. It moves its head and tail and makes horsey sounds. She got on and off of it all day!

My parents joined us for the feast, which included turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn, peas, etc. etc. etc! It was one for the ages.

It’s hard to believe this was our second Christmas as a family of three and even harder to believe that next Christmas we’ll be a family of FOUR.

We are counting our blessings and thanking God for another wonderful year. Here’s to a happy and healthy 2013!

The Duchess