This post is LONG overdue! I would love to say it's because I've been so busy that I haven't had 5 minutes to myself. But last week when Audrey had the flu (more on that later), I had nothing but time. Did I use that time wisely? Hahahaha...not at all! Do I regret it? Nope!
Anyways, we were lucky enough to have Michel off work on the 25th and 26th. That meant Audrey and I had no plans on Christmas Eve, so we decided to go to my parents' house. I could watch a Christmas movie that my mom had recorded (parents have cable; Michel and I don't, and I miss it SOOOO much from Thanksgiving until Christmas!). Anyways, my parents and I watched a Christmas movie during Audrey's nap and then we all went to my parents' Christmas Eve service at their church.
Our little stinker is generally such a happy little girl, and tonight was definitely no different! She's hamming it up for the camera. And check out her super adorable Christmas outfit! Each year I've had her, I want to do a 12 Days of Christmas Outfits blog post, but keep coming up just a couple outfits short :( Maybe one year... Christmas outfits for little girls are just so precious!
Anyways, after the service, we ate a quick dinner with my parents and then she and I headed home. I still had loads of presents to wrap and I had to watch It's a Wonderful Life. It's become my Christmas Eve tradition...such a good, good movie!!!
Christmas morning, Michel got home around 7am, and then we had to wait over an hour for Audrey to wake up. I'm adding this little tidbit in because it won't be long before Audrey (and hopefully a sibling) are waking us up at 4am ready to open gifts!
For Christmas, Audrey got a slide, rocking chair, new book, new clothes, a ball, and some fun goodies in her stocking. Honestly, she cared way more about opening the presents than the present inside!
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| One of her 12 Outfits of Christmas! (cutest pjs ever) |
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| She doesn't look so sure of it in the picture, but she loves her slide now! |
Presents got so awesome that she had to have one in each hand!
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| When she opened her stocking and saw those cookies (that's what's in the yellow bag), she immediately started asking "cookie please?" so we opened it and gave her a cookie before breakfast...it's just what you do on Christmas! |
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| That expression!!! "Oooh....Daddy, what is that?" |
Last but not least from our Christmas celebration at our house....this has got to be my favorite picture of her!!
Michel got me a new Google Chromebook and upgraded my cell phone! I gave him cash, lol. That may seem incredibly impersonal for a wife to give her husband, but it's seriously what he wants and asks for. He enjoys either saving it to buy a big expensive techno/nerd gadget in the future or he'll find something online that he just can't live without and spend it fairly quickly!
We chilled at home, had breakfast, and packed our stuff up and headed to my parents. Even though they're only 45 minutes away, my sister and her family come to stay for several days so we opted to stay the night, too, so that we weren't driving back home Christmas night and then back the next day. Plus, it makes it feel more like a vacation if you're away from home. We had lots of fun opening more presents, getting together with all the family, and of course, eating too much (yummy) food!
OK, I have to tell a cute story. Audrey absolutely ADORES Karys (6). Karys will sit in the floor and play with Audrey, read books to her, and usually give her lots of attention that Audrey just eats up. I put Audrey to bed around 7:30 on Christmas night. I heard her on the monitor about 20 minutes later crying, so I went up to check on her and asked her why she was crying. She's pretty verbal for being 15 months old, but I didn't really expect an answer. So when I picked her up, she pointed to the bedroom door and said "Kar-Kar" (that's how she says Karys' name). Zane and Karys were still downstairs playing, and I guess Audrey could hear them and was sad that she wasn't in on the fun, too. Luckily, Zane and Karys were both heading upstairs to go to bed themselves, so I told Audrey that Karys was going night night and it wasn't time to play. Apparently, that worked because I put her back down, and didn't hear from her until about 7:30 the next morning! Silly girl just wants to be a big kid like her cousins!
Audrey loves Karys so much, she kept wanting Karys to pick her up. Audrey weighs 21 pounds. Karys weighs about 31 pounds...it wasn't going to happen. So Mom came up with an idea for Karys to hold Audrey.
Can you tell how much Audrey just adores Karys? This look says it all!
While we were there, the kids had to take the obligatory grandkid pictures! First, they do one in front of the Christmas tree with this red rocking chair. My mom's dad built this chair when she was a little girl, and apparently did very well because it has held up through the years. There's a picture of each generation of kids with the rocking chair:
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| Christmas 2014 |
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| Christmas 2013 (my parents forgot to take the picture while we were there, so Audrey isn't in this one) |
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| Christmas 2012 |
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| Christmas 2011 |
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| Christmas 1983 - my sister, Janette, and older cousin, Daniel |
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| Christmas 1954 - I'd say this chair has held up very well! |
When my 2 cousins, sister, and I were little, we would always take a picture of the 4 of us on the couch. My mom is continuing that tradition with her grandkids.
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| Christmas 2014 |
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| Christmas 2013 - look how much Audrey has changed!! |
On Sunday, December 28th, it was time to pack up again and go celebrate Christmas with the Zoutendams. Michel's brother and sister-in-law had flown in from Michigan, so we were excited to see them again! Audrey had a great time with everyone! She LOVES her grandpa, so she was pretty excited when we buckled her in her carseat and told her we were going to see Grandma and Grandpa. We got there just around lunch time, and decided it would be best for Audrey if we ate lunch, put her down for a nap, and then opened presents afterwards. She took a sad nap of about 45 minutes while Michel, Philip, David (his dad), and I played Monopoly. I love old fashioned board games!
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| I was the banker...yet still managed to lose! |
When we stay with Michel's parents and other people are there, too, we end up putting Audrey in a Pack 'n Play in their office, and Michel and I stay in a hotel (Philip and Erin were in their guest room). Michel and I stayed and ate dinner and dessert with everyone, put Audrey down to bed, and went to our hotel around 9:00. Audrey is a great night sleeper, so we knew she'd be fine.
Our plan was to go back to the Zoutendams' house after breakfast, stay until Audrey woke up from her nap, and then we would pack up and go back home (Michel had to go to work the next day). However, when we got to their house, they said that Audrey woke up a little after 7, played and ate breakfast, and around 9am she started acting sleepy. She laid down on the couch with Michel's dad for like 20 minutes! She was very warm to the touch, so we took her temperature and it was 101! Poor baby. Michel and I decided to go home a little early so that she could be in her own bed and we could be near the pediatrician if need be. Our first sign she didn't feel well: she was silent/sleeping the ENTIRE 2+ hour ride home. Not normal. Second sign she didn't feel well: she took another 2 hour nap after lunch. Third sign she didn't feel well: Around 7pm, she started getting really fussy, so Michel and I were talking to each other about "Maybe she wants to go to bed early?" and she started crying saying "bed, bed" and I looked at her and said "Do you want to go to bed?" and she signed "Please." When a 1-year-old cries and WANTS to go to bed early after sleeping 4 hours in a day, you know she doesn't feel well. I told Michel if she still had a 100+ temperature the next day I would probably take her to the pediatrician. Well, at 6am, she woke up crying! Like
crying, crying. She rarely wakes up before 7, and never wakes up crying, so I had a feeling she was still sick. I took her temperature and it was 101.9. I decided I'd make an appointment with the pediatrician, and lo and behold, she tested positive for the flu. We even had gotten her the flu vaccine in September/October! So, for the next 2 days, she and I (Michel was at work last Tuesday and Wednesday) laid around watching way too much Bubble Guppies, and doing absolutely nothing. One day, she took one 4 hour nap (this is totally unheard of!) and still went to bed around 6:30! The next day she only took a 2 hour nap (woke up because of poop) and was crying to go to bed at 5pm! I hadn't even fed her dinner yet (her appetite never decreased while she was sick). I got dinner ready for her quickly and had her in bed by 5:45. I've NEVER put her to bed that early. I was so afraid that she was going to wake up at 5:45 the next morning, but nope...she slept until 7:30! By Thursday, she was much more herself. She had much more energy to play, only took a 2ish hour nap, and was able to stay awake until 7pm. I absolutely used all of her sleep time to lay around and do nothing! It was awesome (not her being sick, but having all that extra time to myself that I don't normally get). I watched movies, surfed the Internet, and basically did nothing for 2 days in a row.
So that's how our Christmas went! Sorry this turned into a long book (I don't know how else to write...all I know is how to be long and wordy)!
