We left Maryland December 15th in our little car to head to Texas for a couple of weeks. We wanted to make the 22 hour drive without stopping, so we invested in a little DVD player for the car to help keep Mina entertained. It worked. Besides a couple of times where Mina was extremely tired and whiny, she was good the entire way! All I had to do to help her relax and fall asleep was reach back to her and rub her little leg. There were no diaper blowouts or leaks. I did regulate how much liquid she could have in between each gas stop, though. We ended up making the trip in about 21 hours. We stopped by the Jorgensens' house to visit for a few hours and then headed to my parents' house to unpack the car and get a little rest. We were pretty darn tired. It's always so nice to be able to go back to Texas and be so close to both families. But, it's also stressful at the same time. It's hard to pack up every day or so to go the other family's house. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it to see everybody. With that said, I can't say it was a relaxing 2 weeks, but it definitely was a lot of fun. We were able to get all of our Christmas shopping done the first week we were there. We spent Christmas Eve at the Duncan home, as well as Christmas morning.
Everybody got their traditional matching pajamas on Christmas Eve and we also gave William and Mina each an early present. Giant Cookie Monster and Elmo pillows.
Uncle Stephane had fun playing with Mina.
She was laughing and smiling like crazy.
William thinks it's cool to put tape on his face. We all think it's pretty cute.
Of course they needed to play with some bubbles before bed.
What is it about bubbles?
They're just so fun!
Grandpa Duncan just had surgery on his neck so he had to wear this neck brace most of the time.
Mina had a blast opening presents and really loved the Sesame Street wrapping paper my mom wrapped her and William's presents in. (a few days before, Mina unwrapped one of William's presents just because she wanted the wrapping paper.) We had a yummy lunch consisting of my mom's DELICIOUS ham!
Mina was very excited to see everything Christmas morning.
She did a great job unwrapping all of her gifts.
She finally got a toy car with moving wheels!
She was so excited!
What's this?
Elmo! I think she thought it was supposed to talk or make some kind of noise. But, she loves Elmo either way.
Finally some black dress shoes that fit!
I think she was about to play with the dogs.
She's got the tennis ball ready to throw!
Playing with her car again. She loves it!
She's still obsessed with the alphabet so this book was a big hit!
Dru got a foot massager!
And a robe! Now he doesn't have to run outside in his underwear. Lol.
Christmas afternoon we packed up and headed to the Easter's home (Dru's aunt and uncle) for a DELICIOUS Christmas dinner. Dru's aunt is a professional caterer. She catered our wedding, so I am excited anytime we get a chance to eat at her home. I ate way too much. We also had a white elephant gift exchange which was themed "a big Texas Christmas." Dru's mom was so kind to do some switching around when we got home and let us take the yummy Almond Roca's, chocolate and pear cider she stole from me at one point. Haha.
We then went to the Jorgensen house where we spent the night and would finish the Christmas festivities the next evening when the Mealeys arrived. Sunday evening, we had dinner, celebrated our niece Angel's birthday with a cake and a few gifts and then we had the traditional Jorgensen talent program and gift exchange. Mina had already gone to bed, so she opened her gifts the next morning. The highlight for me was surprising Dru with an hour and a half full body massage. Well, when it was my turn to open gifts, Marina had surprised me, by turning Dru's massage into a couple's massage so I could go with him and get a pregnancy massage! They were scheduled for the next morning and it was WONDERFUL!!!
Mina once again enjoyed opening gifts and has enjoyed everything she received. However, aunt Marina got her a little Dora fleece blanket that she absolutely loves. She takes it to bed every night and can't leave her room without it in the morning.
The Dora blanket was one of the first presents she opened. She loves it!
She had to try it on.
In between opening the other presents, she would lay out the Dora blanket and admire it.
Oooh! A book! She still loves books!
And a cool light up toy!
The rest of our time there was spent seeing friends and family and making the most of our time. We were able to meet our newest nephew, Aaron Michael Mealey, and boy is he a cutie! We got to see Whitlee's ginormous belly. We spent time with the Bartels, the Reinhards, the Berrymans and we got to see a ton of friends when we threw Whitlee's baby shower, which turned out very nicely.
We dreaded the day we'd have to pack the car back up and make the LONG drive back home. Luckily, we were able to convince Dru's brother, Harlow to help drive back and we would fly him home. My back was bugging me and I had come down with a cold on New Year's Eve so I was incredibly grateful I didn't have to do any of the driving home. Once again, we made the trip in under 21 hours and we were so glad to be back in our own home and on our own schedule. Dru took Harlow out to explore D.C. a little bit before he flew home the next day.
Larsey enjoyed lounging in Mina's Elmo chair. Mina loves Larsey so she didn't mind at all.
Whenever Grandpa took a break from his neck brace, Mina promptly decided it was her hat! Hilarious!
We made cookies for Uncle Harlow while he was here and Mina made sure to test them out first.
She decided they were delicious.
And very satisfying!
