An Enjoyable, Entertaining, Lively and Charmed Christmas Week!

That's my title for the week my Mom and Wayne were here, but right now I need to head out to the grocery store. Danny and Paul are at the playground. I will write more about the week later tonight or tomorrow. I am still catching up on sleep! :-) More on the holiday week below....

Here's Paul loving his Polar Express Bell (fallen from the Reindeer) Grandma and Grandad got for him! A very special gift indeed!

My Mom and Wayne arrived an hour late on December 20th! When Paul saw them coming down the stairs in the terminal----it was amazing! I was holding him and turned red and tensed up with major excitement and was yelling hi. People around us were quite impressed that he was sooooo excited to see his grandparents! It took forever to get their luggage--but then on to Chester's Hamburgers to meet Danny for dinner. Friday morning took us to the Zoo. We were practically the only ones there. Paul had loads of fun and did not taunt any of the animals. He loved the bears, elephants, giraffe, zebra, lions, kangaroos and the tiger. He loves all those animals but is not fond of birds. We went to dinner Saturday night at Bravo with our friends Diane and Adrian. Paul did not have a good nap that afternoon and so he was a little cranky, but he didn't mind all the people in the restaurant--which is awesome! He used to have a ton of anxiety around large groups of people or crowds. The manager, Jesse, sent over a 3 tier dessert assortment as a special treat. Caramel cheesecake, tiramisu and creme brulee. All were yummy!

Having fun at the SA Zoo!

Being silly at Bravo--where does he get that from?!

With my Mom and Wayne here, Paulie did not wish to go to bed at his usual time or take his nap. It certainly was a chore to get him to sleep all the time. He is like his Mommy and doesn't wish to miss out on anything fun! He had a very fun time Christmas Eve opening a ton of gifts...from my Dad and Jean, Lauren and one from us. His favorites---a small, wood BRIO train set, a piano and a Mickey Mouse Airplane. My Mom got him a very special gift---the Polar Express Bell with a ribbon and the gold train ticket. He has been obsessed with this movie for 3-4 weeks! So it was a memorable gift and I almost cried when he held it up to his ear and shook the bell JUST LIKE the little boy in the movie does at the end. Priceless!!!

Showing us HIS flying technique Christmas Eve.

Grandma and Grandad got him an art easel and all the supplies to go with it! He loves to paint and color. And Paul loves books and naturally Grandma brought this really cute book called The Baby Bear. It is fitting b/c Paul loves animals and Mom and Wayne live in the woods of Northern Michigan and there are bears all around!

I made King Ranch Chicken, salad, rolls and a pumpkin pie for Christmas Eve dinner. We went to 10am Mass on Christmas and then back home to open gifts. I made a fried turkey, corn casserole, jello salad, mashed potato casserole and a chocolate, caramel pecan pie for dinner. We ate around 5:30 so Paul could be with us.

Us adults spent a lot of time playing pinochle and even some poker on Christmas and on Wed night. We had many laughs and silliness during all those card games. Paul took an interest in the cards too. He seemed to be learning the suits and all. That is good since playing cards is a family tradition/thing! I cannot wait until he is old enough to play cards and board games!!!!

Mom and Wayne left early Thursday (Dec 27) morning. I did not cry when I dropped them off at the airport terminal curb. I waited until I was back in the car and headed to Starbucks! We don't know when we will see one another again. That is always a scary thought to me.