It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Fair warning: I'm smashing 6 days of family fun into one post. Grab a drink before you sit down to read...

The holidays are so busy with traveling and visiting, but I will say this: amidst the hustle and bustle, the pure joy of a little one's face on Christmas morning makes it all worthwhile. This is Brady's third Christmas, but really the first he's understood what was going on. I can't wait until next year when we have both kids running amok in wrapping paper!

One of her many My-First-Christmas outfits!

To kick off the holiday and our respective breaks, Zach and I enjoyed one of his Christmas gifts: a Trans Siberian Orchestra performance. I didn't anticipate so much hair or so many lights (they should have a warning before the show: "Strobe lights may cause stroke"), but overall, it was pretty cool. I had two drinks with dinner and was hung over the next day, so I'm clearly old, but nevertheless, it was a great start our break!

On Christmas Eve, we went to Zach's parents for lunch and to exchange gifts with them, Derek, and Kim. Brady unwrapped approximately 10 new cars and an easel. And of course Gramma Terri and Pap Rick hooked the boy up with all of the art essentials, including a smock. Can't wait for those pictures ;-)

There's always a football game on. Always.

We ate our early Christmas Eve dinner at Nonna and Nonno's at 4pm, which highlighted my favorite: ravioli soup. We had our secret Santa exchange, and this year, my mother-in-law got my name. She presented me with the gift of relaxation: a certificate to get a massage, an inflatable pillow for the bath tub, and a towel wrap. Luxurious! I didn't know or care what anyone else got because all I kept thinking about was 1 full hour of someone taking care of ME! Afterward, we headed to my parents' for a 7pm dinner. Round two: fettuccine Alfredo. My mom and aunt always make surprise drinks and this year we topped off the evening with shots in milk chocolate shot glasses. Ridiculous. I'm actually gaining weight as I type this. The kiddos, especially Brady, were very good about adjusting their schedules that night. I think the ticket, especially for Ella, is a small crowd. I know this because the following two days we were surrounded by large crowds and the girl was nothing short of impossible. More on that fun in a minute.

Yet another outfit

Before the Return of Ella's Wrath, we had a wonderful Christmas morning at our house. Because Brady is still a little young to understand the urgency of presents waiting under the tree, he was content to snuggle with me and Zach in bed before Ella woke up. Once everyone was ready to roll, we headed downstairs where Brady ripped into his presents and insisted we put together every. Single. Thing. Note to self: next year, put toys together and then wrap them. We enjoyed a Zach specialty breakfast before my parents came over with the kids' gifts. Unfortunately, our plans of attending the 11am mass did not pan out, but at one point during the chaos, Zach and I stood in the living room knee-deep in empty boxes watching our two beautiful, healthy kids play/chew on their new toys and I've never felt the presence of God more than I did that morning. That was all the church I needed right then. Amen.

I have no idea why this picture turned when I uploaded it.

For as chill as the morning was, the rest of the day was anything but. We went to Zach's grandma's at noon where Brady was completely and utterly spoiled with 35+ more cars and Ella, despite also being spoiled, was completely and utterly miserable. She remained that way at Aunt Debbie's, and at our last stop, Aunt Elaine's. While Brady made friends with whomever would give him the time of day, Ella chose to hate everyone who came within a foot of her personal space. She required one of two things for a solid 12 hours: I held her while standing or Zach held her while I was out of sight. She is never easy.

Loves her some Elmo

The following day we went to my parents' for breakfast (have you noticed how much my family eats?!) and to exchange gifts with them and my brother. Brady chugged two cups of milk, stuffed his face with French toast, and then proceeded to puke as he sat on Zach's lap. While I don't find anything about a child in discomfort amusing, I had to laugh. If there is one person who does not do well with puke, it's Zach. And it was ALL over him. For as gross as it was, it was down right hysterical. Plus, Brady was well enough to stomp on all of the plastic bubble packaging until sweat ran down his face a mere 30 minutes later, so I wasn't too worried about him.

Zach and I recorded 'Twas the Night Before Christmas for him!

Later in the afternoon, we headed to our 8th location in 3 days: Crafton to see Aunt Jen, Uncle Doug, and Lani. The kids had a blast, it was a small group so Ella was pleasant, and finally, we could all just relax. Well, until Zach couldn't breathe because of Punkin the cat, but witnessing him under the influence of 4 Rolling Rocks and 2 Benadryl was entertaining. At one point on the drive home, he woke up from a deep sleep to yell, "YOU'RE SWERVING!" When I assured him that I was not, he mumbled something incoherent and Brady asked, "Why's dad talking gibberish?"

And another wardrobe change

Brady's new winter hat ;-)

 And that about sums up the first half of our break.  If you're still with me at this point, thank you for reading! I promise to do a better job of updating the blog on a more regular basis, therefore cutting down on these lengthy novel posts. That's one of my resolutions. That and to get my abs back. A girl can dream, can't she?

The crew