We had planned to spend some of the time at Nick's parents' house and some of the time at my parents' house at Christmas. However the timing of guests at both places didn't really make that possible. My grandma visited my parents the first few days, Sam and Suzy at Nick's parents' house. Then Matt and Nisse, they left early Monday morning and Ben and Co showed up early Monday afternoon. So we ended up staying at the Robertson's house the entire time. It was nice being plopped in one location but it is always stressful trying to balance time between the two families. Luckily both families are understanding and get along with one another, so there is much time shared.
The few days after Christmas were relaxing, calming down from the craziness of Christmas Eve and Christmas. We watched the movie The Right Stuff from the early '80s and quite good story on the history of the early space program. I strongly recommend it. Once Matt and Nisse arrived and Nisse and Lilly napped, we opened presents.
We went for a hike at Lowes Creek park on Sunday afternoon. Nick and I left a screaming, nap fighting Lilly behind (who we were told went to sleep soon after we left, which was nice of them to tell us even if it wasn't true) and walked through the woods with Sam, Suzy, Nisse, and Matt. We stopped to take the above photos. For some reason I didn't get a Matt and Nisse photo. *Update! Matt sent me a lovely photo of the two of them.* And later Matt photoshopped this picture of Ben into the picture, which makes me laugh every time I see it.
There was also the Packer game on Sunday. Lilly received an adorable Packers dress from Tim and Dianne for Christmas and was very excited to wear it. And was very excited for the Packers game. She didn't want to watch a movie Sunday morning, she wanted to watch the Packers. Lilly and I went to church on Sunday and as people came up to talk to us after the service, Lilly informed them the Packers played after her nap. The dress did not make it back on in time for the game, and her enthusiasm waned significantly. Lilly probably watched a total of five minutes of the game.
Sunday night we watched Home Alone and chatted a bit. Monday morning Matt and Nisse hit the road early. My mom and I went to the library with Lilly. The Eau Claire Public Library is an amazing place. Especially the children's section. They have a play area, tons of books, and I am amazed we got out of there as swiftly as we did.
That afternoon the Brainerd bunch showed up and Lilly was basically taken care of by her cousin Cally the rest of the time we were in Eau Claire. We opened presents one last time (thank goodness!). Since Lilly already had her major present and a few others, Dianne made a quick run and got Lilly a few presents to open since the other grandkids would have some too. The big hit of the presents - a box of Cracklin' Oat Bran. Dianne made this awesome apron for Cally. Nole got about seven-hundred books. This is a picture of Owen trying to get his new hockey pads on (before opening them).
As you can guess from these pictures and the number of books that Nole received for Christmas, reading is a common activity in this family. One of the games Lilly and Cally played was that Lilly was Baby Julius's mama, Cally the father (or sometimes other family member). They would go to bed and read by flashlight. Lilly received a slew of accessories for her doll from my aunt Julie. They came in this cute bag, which Lilly turned into the "changing hat" and when you changed the doll's diaper, you wore it on your head. What a great cousin to play along!
It was great seeing everyone and having other people to entertain Lilly for so long, but we were all ready to come home and get back into a home routine before having to go back to the routine of work and day care. We left Eau Claire after a nice lunch of fake chicken nuggets at my parents' house and tried to convince Lilly once again that sleeping in the car is the way to go. She didn't fall asleep until past Grand View, which gave her about 30 minutes or so to sleep in the car. Needless to say she was a hot mess when we got home, sobbing very easily and only wanting mom. Luckily this phase passed and we had a few nice days organizing, cleaning, and playing at home before we got right back in the swing of things.
The few days after Christmas were relaxing, calming down from the craziness of Christmas Eve and Christmas. We watched the movie The Right Stuff from the early '80s and quite good story on the history of the early space program. I strongly recommend it. Once Matt and Nisse arrived and Nisse and Lilly napped, we opened presents.
Lilly did some more dancing and played with her magic wand, a lovely gift from my parents. One of those gifts where you focus on the joy of your child, rather than the obnoxiousness of the toy itself. Because Lilly does really love it. Saturday night we played a fun game of Scattegories.
We went for a hike at Lowes Creek park on Sunday afternoon. Nick and I left a screaming, nap fighting Lilly behind (who we were told went to sleep soon after we left, which was nice of them to tell us even if it wasn't true) and walked through the woods with Sam, Suzy, Nisse, and Matt. We stopped to take the above photos. For some reason I didn't get a Matt and Nisse photo. *Update! Matt sent me a lovely photo of the two of them.* And later Matt photoshopped this picture of Ben into the picture, which makes me laugh every time I see it.
There was also the Packer game on Sunday. Lilly received an adorable Packers dress from Tim and Dianne for Christmas and was very excited to wear it. And was very excited for the Packers game. She didn't want to watch a movie Sunday morning, she wanted to watch the Packers. Lilly and I went to church on Sunday and as people came up to talk to us after the service, Lilly informed them the Packers played after her nap. The dress did not make it back on in time for the game, and her enthusiasm waned significantly. Lilly probably watched a total of five minutes of the game.
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| If this doesn't say I need more sleep, I don't know what does. |
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| Here is the dress, but worn this past Sunday. |
Sunday night we watched Home Alone and chatted a bit. Monday morning Matt and Nisse hit the road early. My mom and I went to the library with Lilly. The Eau Claire Public Library is an amazing place. Especially the children's section. They have a play area, tons of books, and I am amazed we got out of there as swiftly as we did.
That afternoon the Brainerd bunch showed up and Lilly was basically taken care of by her cousin Cally the rest of the time we were in Eau Claire. We opened presents one last time (thank goodness!). Since Lilly already had her major present and a few others, Dianne made a quick run and got Lilly a few presents to open since the other grandkids would have some too. The big hit of the presents - a box of Cracklin' Oat Bran. Dianne made this awesome apron for Cally. Nole got about seven-hundred books. This is a picture of Owen trying to get his new hockey pads on (before opening them).
The next day was spent playing, Cally did a great job playing with Lilly. She followed her lead, played her crazy imaginary games, and read her thousands of books. Lilly played with Owen and Nole some too. She was particularly fond of Owen's Whoopie cushion. She'd call it the "tooter."
It was great seeing everyone and having other people to entertain Lilly for so long, but we were all ready to come home and get back into a home routine before having to go back to the routine of work and day care. We left Eau Claire after a nice lunch of fake chicken nuggets at my parents' house and tried to convince Lilly once again that sleeping in the car is the way to go. She didn't fall asleep until past Grand View, which gave her about 30 minutes or so to sleep in the car. Needless to say she was a hot mess when we got home, sobbing very easily and only wanting mom. Luckily this phase passed and we had a few nice days organizing, cleaning, and playing at home before we got right back in the swing of things.
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| Hiding in the car |
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