Week by week 26

(December 20-26) This was an eventful week. And not just because of Christmas. James and I decorated Grandma Shelley's Christmas tree. James loved this activity. Johnny-Lu and James got lots of grandma and Daddy attention (mommy attention is normal so it doesn't count). And I got my hair cut! Voila! Here is my new do! I love it! I donated my hair to Locks of Love. Actually, if you go to the Aveda salon where I went they donate it for you. Even easier. My only stipulations for the haircut were that I wanted it short (to be able to donate) and that it had to grow out good (no mullet for me, thanks) since I refuse to pay the prices for a hair cut here. Oh, and it had to look good straight or curly. That is all. I think the stylist did a great job. It is so easy to do! There are a few self-portraits in this week's collage.
In addition to that mundane stuff we also had the great pleasure of Brian's sister coming in to town early (at our insistence) from Montana. It made for a fun time. James loved playing with his cousins and having older kids to follow around.
On Christmas eve we all sat around and ate (I made homemade chocolate mousse with real Swiss chocolate)! And we sang some Christmas songs together (which the kids loved). We also wrapped. In case you didn't know. I love to wrap presents! That is putting it very lightly. My mom and Brian's mom are both under strict instructions to not wrap any presents till I arrive. It is my thing. As long as they provide the supplies I will do the wrapping. It is a win/win situation. So on Christmas eve (between the two families) I think I wrapped about 150 presents. (My mom has 5 kids (4 married) and 9 grandkids and Brian's mom has 6 kids (5 married) and 13 grandkids so it all adds up)! And I also wrapped all of our presents and some for my sisters and Brian's sister and Brian's brother. It was my dream come true! But I was tired after it was all done. (Good thing I had all that chocolate mousse to give me energy)!
One of our traditions is to open a present on Christmas eve. James opened a present from Mommy and Daddy. It was a pack of Dr. Seuss books. He immediately demanded that Brian read! James and Max and Zoe enjoyed the stories. James loves Wacky Wednesday, Ten Apples Up On Top and Hop On Pop.
Oh and did you know that the cardboard rolls that are left over from wrapping paper are great toys for kids. James used his as a (you guessed it!) LEAFBLOWER! Here is our Christmas Eve collage.
On Christmas morning we got up at a normal hour. I was the first on to get up with Johnny because he still wasn't adjusted to the time zone. Then we were joined by Max and later by everyone else. We all got everything we wanted and even a few things we needed. It was a great Christmas and fun to be able to spend it with family.
Around noon we headed out to my parent's house for some more Christmas fun. James was much more into the present thing and ended up opening a few (like 5) presents under my parents tree while we weren't looking (none of them were for him). James got a "real" (toy) leafblower which he was pretty excited about. He was really excited about all his presents and wanted to try them all out. We had an awesome family Christmas dinner and only one of my sisters was missing (they moved a week before Christmas to San Diego). James also enjoys his cousins here too. He follows them around and they are very nice not to be bugged too much!
On the 26th we had a huge Gillespie family party (since most of them arrived that day). Only one of Brian's brothers was missing. It was lots of fun. Lots of good food (All the girls in Brian's family are great cooks)! And lots of fun! Brian slept over while I took the kids home (a little late) to bed. It was great to see everyone together! Family is what holidays are all about for me.
Can't wait to do it all again!