Once the kid(s?) were in bed, the real party started.
To be fair, she (my sister Lara) had surgery last week so laying on the floor was a valid option almost all weekend. Nobody even made fun of her more than 2 times each. Impressive.
We played the game "Ruckus" which was fun. Two reasons: one, Ruckus is the name of Buckley when we first got him, but it didn't really fit... so we liked to yell it out and see his reaction. He on the other hand did not think it was so fun. And two, its super easy and each round only lasts 4 minutes or less. Perfect for those of us that can't handle true concentration.
Once those silly kids arrived (who has to work 60 hours a week and not get off til 6:30 on Christmas eve? Answer: Jewelry store consultants.) we got down to business and opened the presents. I show you these pictures with a word of caution. There is a lot of chaos, and your eyes may not know where to focus. Just note that the point of the pictures is the chaos. :)
Cousin-in-law-to-be Arron, sister Lara, aunt Lynne, dad Paul
continuing around the room: cousin Lindsay (usually quite a bit happier than this?), uncle Mike, mom Laurie, hubby Mike
Controlled chaos
Its getting crazy...
Crazier...crazier...
Paper, bows, boxes, and bags everywhere. She got the most gifts (deserved. Usually she gets jipped and she's the best gma/ma/wife there is) so she couldn't move from this spot for a solid 2 hours.
My mom had to open two gifts for every one that we opened. I also secretly skipped my turn a couple of times to let her catch up. (We open gifts one at at time so we can enjoy each other's gifts as well)
The true winner for best gift(s) ever was the thick socks that my aunt got for the men. Ohmygoodness why these were such a hit nobody knows, but they practically fought over them and were all grinning ear to ear after opening them. Good job Aunt Lynne!
What did my cousin get from her fiance? Good question! The answer may shock you like it did to all of us. He got her these A-maz-ing platform peep toe zebra print shoes that fit perfectly. Who does that successfully?? They looked kind of like this but better.:
The best present for me was the Motorola tablet Mike got me. Like previously mentioned, I wanted a Nook super duper bad, but this is the clearly best alternative. Sidenote: how do you get library books on the Nook app? I figured it out on kindle but I don't really like the whole pay-for-it thing... if I only want to read it once, I certainly don't want to pay for it!
The wine, the company, the whole weekend. It was wonderful.
On to the next thing. Birthdays! Food! Working out! Crawling, teething, and sitting up on your own (do you do that already? Josie's jealous). It's going to be a busy couple of weeks. :)
Being Josie's first Christmas, we had to document all of it. **Sorry, future children, for not doing the same for you. I will do my best but if you haven't figured it out yet, I never finish what I start. Never.**
Mostly my point in these pictures was to point out her adorable new sweater and hair tie. They don't match, but I'm fine with that as is Josie. We both agree that she is a trend setter.
Buckley was all about Josie, especially when she was sitting right by his favoritepersonever Mike. (sorry about the creepy eyes. Photoshop isn't working and I'm too lazy to try another program)
He just about laid on top of her belly side up. She loved it completely. This was the point when we had Jo open her Christmas presents. It was earlier than everyone else since we waited until my cousin and her fiance came, but it worked out well for her being that we showered her with all of our attention (there were like 6 people just staring at her while she did it). Let me tell you something. This girl knows how to put on a show. While this could be trouble down the road, its just all together entertaining right now.
The video's kind of long... but right in the middle, Jo gets super excited for one of the gifts. Worth the watch.
Mike was all about these atom-like toys that Auntie Lara got the Josinater. These things are the craziest funnest thing for all ages. Josie noticed how good they tasted, while Mike noticed how he could replicate what he learned in science 100 million years ago.
See what I'm saying? Fun colors and they go together all funky-like. Win/Win.
One of the things we did this Christmas weekend was go see my mom's parents. They live in a nursing/assisted living home and don't get the chance to get out much, so we go to them. Cool thing: every time we go there, there is a new picture of Josie (8 X 10) that my mom prints off from this here blog... so it will be fun to see one or two of these pictures next time.
Right away, my grandpa asked if he could hold her. You have to understand: he hasn't wanted to at all since she was born because he was afraid that he would drop her. Baby intuition! She knew how important it was and was therefore perfect. PERFECT. She had just woken up so she just chilled in his lap for a while before playing with her pony (in his lap).
This grin right here, seeing him so happy, is the best. Even though he's gotten more fragile and limited in movement and energy, his soul, his being is the same and that is the smile I grew up with.
She would just stare at him when he made faces. Too funny.
Then we gave her the card she got from them. She was into it... into eating it.
The present from them was entertaining too, but not quite as much as Grandpa. She was only interested in it for about 5 minutes.
I didn't get any pictures of my grandma this time, but she was just as excited to watch Jo scoot around on the floor and -just-about- crawl. She's sooooo close.....
My sweet hubby got me one for Christmas. Crazy and wonderful. What I had originally wanted was a nook, but this is so much better. I'll blog much more about Christmas, gifts, and Josie later, but for now I'll just leave you with this sneak preview of Jo's first Christmas.
