Christmas Day

Christmas day was a bit more hectic, but just as wonderful!
Mommy and Patrick woke up early and spent some time hanging out with Grandpa and Grammy while we waited for Daddy to get up:

Smiley guys

Ok, Grammy - they're making me wear this hat. What's your excuse?

Once we woke Daddy up, it was time to open presents. Patrick had a mountain of presents, and since Daddy wanted to let Patrick open all his own presents, it took us a long time to get through everything. Patrick didn't quite get what was going on, but liked sitting on the floor with daddy and the doggie Seamus ripping paper and playing with new toys. Ryan and I also got some really great things, it was a very fun morning!

 Daddy was very patient helping Patrick open his presents,

but all Patrick really wanted was to eat the paper.

Nice bow, kid!

 

 Watching Daddy open presents

 Opening the BIG present

 

I love this picture - it looks like my sweet angel is making an obscene gesture and saying "@#$% you, I wanted a REAL pony!"

After the presents were open, we had a big, delicious Christmas breakfast featuring biscuits and gravy for Ryan.

All I wanted for Christmas was my two front teeth, but since they're still coming in, I'll keep chewing spoons!

After breakfast, we had a little time to cuddle and play before getting ready to go to Great Grandma Morge's house.

A cuddle with Grammy

Climbing on mommy

 

Patrick is ready to go to Great Grandma's house, Grammy Dorothy gets in another cuddle!

We packed up the car, which barely had room for us once the gifts were in, and headed to Aurora for the Morge Christmas, Part II. Great Grandma's house at Christmas is always hectic, with tons of people and presents, noise and laughter. It usually causes the 'only child' in me to get overwhelmed, but is Ryan's very favorite part of Christmas, and I must admit that I don't think Christmas would be the same without it! If we could bottle and sell the love and cheer in that room at Christmas time, we'd be millionaires!   

Papa helps Patrick open his present from Great Grandma while Lucy makes a face.

 

Patrick with Grandma Trish and cousin Gabriella

Gift time at Great Grandma's house!

We had a wonderful time at Great Grandma's, enjoyed a delicious meal and spent time with some family members that we aren't lucky enough to get to see very often.

After Great Grandma's house, we packed ourselves back in the car (much more difficult this time!) and headed home. The roads were snowy, but my fearless hubby reported that they weren't as bad as they looked. Just a few short hours later, we were back home in our own beds ready for the much needed "do nothing" day we had planned for Saturday!

Christmas Eve

Christmas eve was a wonderfully low-key day. In the morning, Ryan dropped the dogs off at the boarding place, then we packed the car in the pouring rain. We traveled to Meghan's Mom and Dad's and went to Christmas Eve mass with them. While there, we got to see Meghan's cousin John who lives in Atlanta, as well as her cousin Katie and Katie's husband Jamie, who currently reside in Ireland. Needless to say, we don't get to see them very often, and we were thrilled to see them even for a few minutes. Patrick LOVED getting cuddled by Katie - if only we had gotten a few pictures!

After church, we returned to Mom and Dad's for a wonderful dinner. Patrick got to open a few gifts from his Great Aunts and Uncles and played with them while we ate - such a great kid! Then we curled up and watched a movie, before heading to bed with visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads.

Morge Christmas, Part I

On Sunday the 20th, we had Christmas with the Morge family. We headed to the Peoria house and joined the Mom, Papa, the Wilsons and the Decatur Morges for a wonderful dinner and gifts. After dinner we had a very special treat - on one day during the holiday season, the neighborhood in which Mom, Dad, and the Wilsons live has a holiday celebration. Most of the neighbors participate in putting out luminaries along the street, which is just beautiful. They also have a horse drawn carriage that takes people for rides. After dinner, we all got to take a ride in the carriage. The quiet of the snow, clip-clop of the horse hoofs, and jingle of the bells combined with the beauty of the snow and the glow of the luminaries for a perfect Christmas-y scene that really set the mood for the week ahead.

Almost asleep - the walk to the carriage ride knocked him out and he slept through the whole ride!

 

In the carriage with Daddy, Aunt Mia, cousins Madison and Michael Aaron, and Uncle Mike.

 

The carriage

 

Hello, Mr. Horse!