Merry Christmas!

Well Nicky had a really fun Christmas. He was up around 8:30 and came out to see that Santa had filled his stocking and left him two toy construction vehicles: a front loader and a dump truck. He was allowed to eat as much candy as he wanted. In fact I'm pretty sure the only 'real' food he ate on Christmas was a waffle for breakfast, peas for dinner and pretzels for a snack.

He was having so much fun with the toys Santa brought that it took quite a bit to get him to try opening some of the other presents! But when he did, he had a great time playing with each. Especially the toy grill (from his Aunt Leslie and Uncle Jim) and the toy electric saw with interchangeable parts (from Aunt Maryellen and Uncle Scot). In fact, after those were opened, it was pretty much impossible to get him to stop playing long enough to open anything else!

In the afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Maryellen came over for dinner. Tom's cousin Mike was already here, he'd arrived on Christmas eve and spent the night with us. And Nana was here already too. So we had a nice big group for Christmas. While Nicky played, Nana, Tom and Mike cooked a beef wellington for dinner. It was gorgeous, huge and tasty!

After dinner, we finally got Nicky to finish opening his gifts. The last one was the BIG package that had been under the tree for weeks! Turns out it was a Red Flyer wagon. Tom and Mike put it together, with Nicky's help of course, and Nicholas LOVES it! I took him for a ride in it up and down the street for a while. I tell you, it's a deluxe wagon compared to the ones they used to have! It has folding seats, seat belts and cup holders!

Nicky never did quite settle down for a nap, so when we were snacking on the pretzels and other assorted yummies in the gift basket from Mike (Yum! What tasty treats in there!) which Nicky was grilling on his grill before eating, Nicky actually started yawning and saying "I so tired!" It wasn't even 8pm, but we got him into bed and he fell asleep pretty quick.

We had a really lovely, relaxing Christmas. I hope your families did also!

Now this morning, the day after Christmas, JM and I are going to drive Maryellen home to Alabama. Tom, Nicky and Nana are staying here this time (Tom and Nana had been the ones to go pick her up last weekend). This will be the first time I've seen Maryellen and Scot's house, so I'm looking forward to it. I think I'll pack some knitting to do on the way. Maybe a warm scarf! It's going to be cold up there!

We're driving up Friday and coming back Saturday. My dad and Gwen are coming on Sunday, so I'd like to be back for that. They'll stay with us for a few days before heading home to GA.

My mom and her sister Melanie are in GA right now having Christmas with my sister Jessie and Melanie's family up there. They're staying at the lodge at the top of Amicalola falls and I'll bet it's just gorgeous! Hopefully they'll stop by on their way back to South Florida though. We have one more present for my mom from Nana. And I'm sure Nicky wouldn't mind seeing Grammie one more time! He had a great time with Grammie and Aunt Liz the weekend before Christmas.

Well it's about time for me to start thinking of what to pack for my trip today. Tom and I woke up early this morning! I just might have to squeeze in a few more hours of EQII playing before I go!

Photos and movies of Christmas to come soon upon my return!