Christmas was so much fun this year. Even though it was Vinny's second Christmas- it was the first one where he understood and could really dive into the spirit of Christmas!
We kicked off Christmas week with a trip to the Lehigh Valley Zoo. We started this 'tradition' last year of going to the Zoo to see the Christmas lights. We originally purchased tickets for the same day as last year - Black Friday, but the weather didn't cooperate and it was so windy and cold. Instead we got gift cards to use before the end of season and picked the Tuesday before Christmas!
We selected the 6:30 time frame and headed there after work and picked the boys up from school.
It was pretty cold, so we made sure we bundled up and brought our hats, gloves and blankets! Unfortunately, because of the cold none of the animals were out. We were hoping the penguins would at least be in their pond! It was still a great night and I love this tradition.
December 23 is my dad's birthday, however he didn't want anything big, instead the boys had a sleep over at their house and they stayed up late, watched movies and ate cake. Which also gave us a break to finish up all the last minute wrapping, preparation and clean! We also snuck in a dinner together which are few a far apart.
Christmas Eve morning, Joe had to go to some of his accounts to finish up a few things, and I headed to my parents with bagels in tow to pick up the boys. Santa had made an 'early stop' at their house to bring their gifts. The boys were so excited with all the new toys and I was in shock and wondering where in the world this would all go?? We headed home with some gifts in hand and met my friend Brenna since she was home for the holiday weekend. Of course we had to have a '6 feet apart' gathering outside because the night before she may have been exposed (but really when is this all go away). We did enjoy a glass of champagne on the front lawn since the sun was shining bright out. Lucky for me Vinny took a nap and Joey was too busy playing with his new toys to realize we were out there!!
Once Brenna left, I started to gather all the families gifts I needed to bring that night and set the table for the net day. Christmas Eve plans were literally up in the air until two days before. We decided we would go to Joe's grandparents house for our traditional seven fish dinner to be with everyone.
It was a very odd year, with some family members wearing masks, some members not coming due to being sick, just ODD. Again, I will say, when can we get back to normal!!
Besides the strangeness it was so nice to be back together and Vinny's first year at Joe's grandparents house with mostly everyone. It's usually always a late night coming home, so I changed both boys into their Christmas Pj's and we headed home, knowing they would both fall asleep. Once home, we played little elves and put all the magic together.
That night though, we were woken up with Joey croup coughing so loudly and not being able to catch his breathe. We were able to calm him down, and I stayed up most of the rest of the night with him coughing. That didn't stop his excitement of Christmas morning. The boys ripped through their gifts in no time. When they finished at our house, we headed over to my mother in laws for yet another gift opening event! She made us breakfast and we watched the Disney Christmas special. Which was perfect because she had purchased the boys a castle while we were in Disney that she kept for Christmas. Once finished, we headed back home (that whole block) to prepare for the day. My parents, mother in law and Joe's great uncle and cousin all came over. Joe made a delicious beef tenderloin and we shared that with some homemade lasagna and meatballs, and all the sides.
That night Joey was coughing a lot and couldn't catch his breathe again. I made the decision to bring him to the ER around 4 am- fast forward FIVE HOURS we were accepted in and he was given a steroid for - I guessed it- CROUP. We weren't even in the room for 10 minutes with all that waiting that I was so mad. But I better safe then sorry!! We went home, showered had much needed coffee and thankfully both Joey and myself took naps. It was such a stressful night. But glad it was nothing serious!
Besides our ER trip it really was a great Christmas. Vinny really enjoyed this season- even though he hated the physical Santa he loves the thought of it!
No comments :
Post a Comment