Holidays At A Glance

We did celebrate the holidays (last year), though I spent much of it sick and/or on the couch. Here's a quick recap:

Thanksgiving: Bryce and Cathi came and stayed a few days. It was so fun to have them here! They joined the rest of my family a couple of hours east of here for a pig pickin' Thanksgiving. Jason was on call, so we had to miss out on it. We crashed our friends' friends' Thanksgiving. The company was great, the food was great, and it was lots of fun. Anna has lots of great pictures up on her blog. If you're a grandparent of my kids, it's worth scrolling to the end to see Colin enjoying chocolate pie. Really, really enjoying it.

Christmas: Jason worked the whole week. Christmas Eve we joined my parents for dinner out (Italian) after he got off work (eating out on Christmas Eve is a tradition my parents started years ago). Afterward, they came back to our house, where we opened all presents except those from Santa. The first present Ethan opened was pjs. He shouted, "A new shirt! Awesome!!!", and I knew Christmas was going to be a big hit. So cute. We enjoyed hot chocolate and each other's company.

Colin wasn't sure quite what to make of the presents at first.

Christmas morning we woke the kids up at 6:00 am, much earlier than normal, because Jason had to leave for work at 6:45, and he wanted to be part of their reactions to Santa's gifts (the best part of Christmas with kids!). Colin was very confused and took a while to warm up to it, while Ethan jumped right in. Santa got him exactly what he wanted, despite his mother's personal opinion. Jason left for work and my parents showed up shortly before noon. I will always remember this as the Christmas my parents saved. My dad spent 3 hours building a Coast Guard lego helicopter and life raft for Ethan, while my mom cooked Christmas dinner. I laid on the couch alternately wanting to die and feeling sorry for myself. I'm super fun when I'm pregnant. Jason came home in time for dinner. My parents also gave us a Wii, which has been used every single day since. We love it!

Colin loves Grandpa. They have bonded over a mutual love of wrestling (each other).

He also loved all his toys, once they were set up. This hit is from Grammy and Papa. New Year's Eve: I wasn't feeling well enough to go out (a theme, I know). We decided to invite friends over for a low-key evening. Jason worked all day (yet another theme). At 5:00 pm I was vomiting in the parking lot of the grocery store and at 6:30 Jason and our guests showed up. Once again, I was the life of the party. It turned out to be a fun, easy going, low-key evening. We had 4 other adults and 6 other kids over, which was very manageable. Most of the kids, including Ethan, made it to midnight. Colin slept the whole night. Ethan had a great time and we really enjoyed hanging out with our friends. I don't have a single picture. Oh, well.

New Year's Day: We met my family for bowling (another tradition with my family, about 20 years old at this point). Then gathered at my parent's house for all sorts of fun finger foods and to hang out. It was very fun, and the perfect way to end the holidays.