christmas in a nutshell

ok, i know it won't be a nutshell really, but since the pictures are up too....deal.

this was a crazy holiday. everything really got going the week before we left. nathan's volleyball team got started with their first game before christmas, so we had the annual vb christmas party. i started getting ready a few days before since i knew i would be babysitting that week. this place was a zoo. cooking spaghetti, baking cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, carmel corn, tortilla roll ups, TONS of food. (did i metion that we had the girls over for the national vb championship earlier that week?) it was so much work but we had a blast with the team. connor was, as usual, a flirt and wanted to be the center of attention. thursday night was the party and the game.....they won! it was a pretty good start to the season.

then of course friday was the big test day (PHEW! glad that's over) and that was our family christmas with my parents. what a blast. the kids got so many toys....some for our house, some for my parents house...thank goodness. we had bone yard and tons of appetizers...delish! seriously, i think i gained 10 pounds just that day! it was so good. connor got a tool bench for his "big present" and ava got a wagon. the kids wanted to ride in it forever. everytime they'd get out, they would go right back and beg to get in. it was cute. my dad pulled them in a circle around the house and then they braved the chilly wetness outside and went for a short walk. connor managed to hit ava in the head with a block, which i have to say, truly, i was thankful for.....ok, i know that sounds bad...here's why: ava got a tea set for christmas and connor was playing with it more than her. yeah, that's why i was glad he was chucking blocks. but he seriously played with that tea set for about 45 minutes. ava was too cute with it...she would stir with the little spoons like a grown up. i loved it. mike and nic got us a movie pass...yeah! date night!!

saturday was a blur. we went to trevor and annette's wedding in the morning and then came home to finish packing a few things and jet to the airport. my parents watched the little man and took us to metro. this flight was definitely NOT my favorite. i hate flying as it is. connor was in a funky mood and squirmed the whole flight. he got pretty out of hand for about 15 minutes....and NEVER slept. it was almost midnight when we got in and the con man was still going strong. finally he got in the car and fell asleep for the hour or so ride home. everything seemed fine once we got to nathan's parents' house. then came morning......nathan was sick. we got ready for church and halfway there connor puked. oh, boy. here we go. trip one to target for antibacterial and gatorade. that lasted a day. then it was a slow domino effect hitting pretty much everyone. the little man actually got sick again later in the week. trip two to walmart for pedialyte, bananas and clean sheets. but we still hit the beach, cute shops, and shells. so overall it was a fun week. jo-g and drew (roommate and buddy from nbbc) came for christmas from marco island. steven and christy were there the whole week with the kids...which was great fun. connor loved it. and the kids loved making him say PWEEEE. translation: please. and yes, he always yells it. the kids played in the pool and especially the hot tub. connor went under water and loved it. nathan would dunk him and he would come up, shake his head, and want to do it again.

AND.....

miracle of miracles. connor took three steps. we couldn't get him to do more. i think he was just getting tired of hearing people ask if he's walking yet. we tried so hard to get it on tape. but he was like, "ok, i did it to get people off my back....now lay off!"

the last day we went down to marco to see jo's place and hit the beach. that was fun. we had a nice walk, and got some sun....some of us got too much, but that's another story.

the flight back was way better. connor fell asleep after a while.

so now we're home, and i'm doing everything in my power to put off cleaning the house. i did nothing before we left for florida. oh, well. it gives me something to do.