I thought there would be no time like Christmas to start back on "the blog." So many things have happened and/or changed since the last time I posted - I feel like it's going to take me a while to catch up. For now, I'm in the mood to talk about Christmas.
We have had a wonderful time with our family and friends this year! We even were able to work in a trip for "just us" thanks to the help of friends and family. Last weekend, our plan was to have "christmas" with Ryan's mom & family and Saturday night and his Dad & family on Sunday night. Due to the stomach flu and some other drama I'll get into later, we didn't make it on Saturday. We planned to do Christmas early this year b/c his sister flew to New Hampshire with her boyfriend to see his family and no one could imagine celebrating without them...so we just did it early.
Ryan still wasn't feeling all that great, but he managed to drive us to Ted & Val's house and we had a great time. It was so much fun to watch Audrey open gifts. Of course she was completely mesmerized by the paper & boxes. Ted & Val gave her a puzzle that was made out of the letters of her name...she LOVED it. She immediately recognized the letters and now she says "A-U-D-R-E-Y...spells Audrey!" She (and Ryan and I as well) got lots of fun toys!
Ryan and I left for North Carolina on Thursday around lunchtime. My mom was scheduled to keep Audrey the first night we were gone, but that stupid stomach flu carried over to her house....so "Aunt Nicole" (my wonderful college friend) swooped over in a pinch and kept Audrey that night so we could still go. Our friend, now known as "aunt kim" came over as well to keep them company. BIG thanks to them.... Anyway, Ryan and I had a great time on our trip. We stayed at a bed & breakfast in Waynesville, NC. We drove over to Asheville the night we got there to see the Biltmore House which was great. We had tickets to go through during the Christmas Candlelight time, and we ate dinner and did some shopping there as well. The next day we had NO PLANS...and we were as lazy as I can ever remember being. I honestly don't know what we did with our time before we had Audrey. It was so weird being able to say "hey...let's run to the store" and we were out the door in 5 minutes. It was a very relaxing and much needed trip for the both of us. I still can't believe Ryan agreed to stay in a place that had no TV's.
Yesterday we went to the service at church. Audrey was very excited to tell us about the Baby Jesus sticker on her sheet that she made in her little class. I love that she is starting to bring "art" home...so fun! We celebrated Christmas with my family last night at my nana & papa pat's house. I think it was a little overwhelming for Audrey at times, but all in all we had so much fun. She couldn't quite grasp the concept of why we wouldn't let her have the whole plate of cookies instead of one at a time. I can certainly understand that :)
She's been going on and on for a while now (thanks to a particular episode of barney) about how she wants a bicycle (really, a tricycle)....She's been saying "I said Papa a bike" which translates to "I told Papa I wanted a bike" Well, surprise surprise..... Audrey got a fancy new tricycle complete with streamers, a basket, a bell and a horn. I think Papa (and Grammie) got the message :) She has been spoiled rotten all the way around.
Today Audrey got her presents from us and from Santa. She woke up to find her very own kitchen and a new shopping cart! She was stirring her spoon in a pot from her kitchen, she pretended to take a bite, and then said "it's yucky!" I guess she isn't a good cook...too bad ...I guess she gets that from her mom :)
While Audrey was eating in her high chair today, we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. It's really hard to explain to a nearly 2 year old that the real meaning of Christmas isn't all the gifts, food, Santa, etc.... but I think it's important to try. We've been talking a lot about baby Jesus and how Christmas is when we celebrate His birthday. I know this is something she's heard at church and at preschool too!
Tonight we were able to see Ryan's mom's family for a little bit. We'll do a "make-up" christmas with them at the end of the week when his sister gets back.
I have SO MUCH more...but I'm tired and I'll admit....I want to go play with my toys from Christmas while Audrey's asleep and I'm not... so more later! (and if you happen to see this before I add pictures to it....check back soon...)
