What a wonderful holiday!
Noah and I took Christmas Eve off. We had lunch with Hilary and Cheree before going to "obby obby" (Hobby Lobby) to pick up a few things. Then we picked Dave up after work to go to the 5:30 p.m. candlelight service at church. Such a lovely service, even if it's harder to pay attention than it used to be!
We opened gifts Christmas morning - Noah got a tent, a keyboard and some "cool" small things, like bath paints, a water bottle like Dad's and some other treats. The tent is much bigger than we thought and looks like a fish. The part that zips up is the mouth, and there are teeth hanging into the tent! He LOVES it!
We took off for Concordia later that morning. We beat Josh, Veronica and Alli by about four hours! They were supposed to get there late Christmas Eve but had to stop in Arkansas because of the weather. Brave people, making the trip in that weather. But we were all so glad to see them. Alli was perfect, only crying when Aunt Kelly picked her up for the first time! She didn't seem bothered about being passed from person to person, and she had big smiles for Grandma and Papa.
The rest of the McGinnis clan, minus Jeff and Braxton (poor guy was sick), came later, and Mickey and Regina were there, too. I think we had almost 25 people there! Lots of good food, great visits and tons of pictures.
We decided to come home that night - it's always nice to get into your own bed! Norita came yesterday morning, and she spent the night with us. Had a great lunch at Flat Branch and homemade enchiladas for dinner. Noah loved chasing Grandma around the house, and he even managed to get a nap in!
We were pretty low-key today. Mostly read, watched TV and played with Noah's toys. We're trying to go through them to pull out things he doesn't play with or books he doesn't care to read, but we're having a hard time with that. He seems to play with most of his stuff, but we can also take a lot of it to the farm. Hmm. There's an idea!
Now, on to the pictures . . .
Our Christmas tree
Noah holding Cousin Alli
Christmas was the first time all the grandkids were together
Watching Alli
Two-year-old Noah fits in the doll stroller
Chad, Kelly, Dave, me, Josh and Veronica
Regina, Mickey and Noah
Noah, me and Kelly (that's not dirt on his face - he walked into a doorknob at daycare last week, and the bruise is just now fading!)
Grandma Pat, Todd and Lori opening "big kid" gifts
Kelly and Chad opening gifts - Grandma Pat is notorious for wrapping gifts in food boxes. The first year Chad came for Christmas, he got a gift in a hot chocolate box. He didn't open the box because he was so excited to get hot chocolate! So he definitely got a hot chocolate box again this year!
Noah decided to take a picture of Uncle Josh and Aunt Veronica
And of Uncle Todd
In lieu of a nap, Noah opted to lay down at the top of the kitchen stairs when he thought he might be getting tired
So happy in his new tent
Dad and Noah on his new four-wheeler from Josh, Veronica and Alli (this is actually the second one they bought - the first was stolen when their garage was robbed! Apparently, they weren't looking for big-ticket items, as they left most of Josh's tools and Veronica's vehicle that was unlocked with the keys and her purse in it!)
I think we're all somewhat ready to have a somewhat normal week. Noah keeps talking about Nodney (Rodney), Jeje (Ginger), Seesee (Lacey) and Avery. Rodney, Ginger and Lacey are Carol's dogs, and Avery is a little girl at daycare! He says yes when we ask if Caroline is still his girlfriend, but he can only say Avery's name!
What a great day at the White Stone!
Grandma Pat's cousins (Sandy, Diane and Vickie), her uncle Virg, Sandy's and Vickie's husbands (Gary and Louis), Vickie and Louis's friends Kim and Kim's husband (didn't catch his name!), Tracy and Roger, Grandma Pat and Papa Rusty, Mickey and Grandma Regina, and Dave, Noah and I had quite the afternoon!
We had a nice, warm lunch (some even got to watch football during lunch!), then there was lots of visiting. Then we started baking cookies. Well, some of us baked cookies (Tracy, Dave, Grandma Pat and Kim). Others had some wine. And still others cleaned the house.
Noah found Mickey's vacuum and insisted on pushing it all around the house. For a few hours. With me beside or behind him almost the entire time. Even when he wasn't near the stairs or kitchen area, I heard, "Mommy, come. Peas."
Grandma Regina wanted to give Noah an early Christmas gift. Oh, boy!
Then we took several pictures of Grandma Pat with her cousins. We get to see Sandy and Diane a little more often - they're in Concordia to see Virg and to check out the craft fairs! But Vickie and Louis live in California and don't get back as often.
Dave made shortbread cookies - they came out wonderfully!
Other than being extremely tired (my feet are worn out from walking around and around and around, and I think Dave's are from standing in the kitchen so long!), we're looking forward to spending Christmas with our family and to remembering why we celebrate it in the first place!
We haven't actually fallen off the face of the earth!
Had a great time visiting family over Thanksgiving. We had lunch in Concordia and dinner in Dover. Then we had breakfast with Norita the next morning. Noah has become quite the "coffee drinker." He likes dipping a spoon in a cup of coffee, so he gets a taste of it!
I turned 30 that Saturday and had such a wonderful birthday! I got to sleep in til 8 a.m.! Then Noah and I ran some errands while Dave cleaned the house in Dover. Dave threw me a bowling party in Independence at this great bowling alley off the Square (thanks, Nicci and John, for introducing us to Diamond Bowl!). We got to see so many family and friends! Most of our "local" friends and family, as well as so many out-of-towners. Then Dave told me we were going to dinner, just the two of us, at a place I'd always wanted to eat but had never been. Hmm . . .
So we drive through Independence, then Blue Springs, then into Grain Valley. Then I realize we're going to Gambino's, and I felt sorry for Heather because I knew we were going to Gambino's, and she would be jealous she didn't get any. I told myself to remember to get her some leftovers! So we walk to the door, and I see Mickey and Regina, then Erica and Russ and it all dawns on me - surprise party at Gambino's! So good! I had one and a half pieces of cake on my birthday (Mom brought chocolate cake to the bowling party, and Regina brought carrot cake to the pizza party)!
After that, several of my girlfriends came to the house in Dover for a slumber party! We (well, at least I) had SO MUCH FUN! Nicci brought her Wii, and we played Rock Band for a while. Never thought I'd be the one to have a video game birthday party! Mostly had margaritas and talked for a while. All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better 30th birthday! The party lasted about 12 hours!
Dave's birthday was the next day, and we didn't party nearly as hard. But I think he had a nice day, too! He came up to cook breakfast for me, Noah and Laura (everyone else had to leave earlier) before we started heading home. Had a nice afternoon, then we met several friends for dinner at Outback.
Last weekend we took Noah out to Starr Pines near Boonville to get our tree. He loved riding the hay wagon out to the field to get the tree! They have a barn full of candies, ornaments, tree necessities and hot apple cidar where you pay for your tree. There's a huge, old farm scale inside, and Noah loved weighing himself (26 pounds - woo!).
He liked the tree when it was outside, but he wasn't so sure about it once we got it in. Dave and I decorated the next night. Noah woke up around midnight while I was still proofreading, so I went in to get him up. We came back through the living room, and he saw the tree all lit up. He said, "Ooooohhhhh! Light in tee!" He loves seeing the lights on the tree and hearing Dave's Star Wars and train ornaments when we first plug it in.
I know he doesn't do so in public, but he really is a ham when it's just us and grandparents! He talks all the time and climbs everywhere - tonight he tried to climb up the back of the dining room chair I was sitting in! He ran from his bath and crawled into Dave's fleece - the one Dave was currently wearing.
He also loves wearing our shoes around the house.
We borrowed Mom and Rusty's Tahoe Saturday to get the tree, and Noah and I went to get it. I had to borrow their car seat because I couldn't get Noah's out of my car for my life! So we followed Grandma Pat into the garage, and she said the garage was a mess. Noah has been repeating "zage mess Papa" all week! Yep, that's what Grandma Pat said, isn't it? Un huh.
And now I'm just waiting to hear from my friend, Jeanette - she went into the hospital tonight to have her second baby boy!
