It's the Holiday Season...

Drew and I agreed that this was the best Christmas ever. Now that Griffin is here, the holiday means something else entirely. Creating magic for him and watching the joy on his face has given us a sense of warmth and pride we never knew before. It has been a whirlwind week or so for the entire family filled with great food, lots of family, fantastic presents, and copious laughter. Here is a quick recap:

Christmas Eve: we had a nice video chat with Betsy and Guy which included our gift exchange. Griffin was spoiled rotten! He especially loves the alligator walker and the bath toys! Then we went to church. It was an absolutely beautiful evening service complete with a children's pageant and carols.

I fell in love with the tiny kindergartners dressed up as shepherds. And Griffin was completely enthralled with the entire thing. We came home to the best pot roast I have ever made and Griffin got an extra long bath (since it's his favorite time of the day!) After Griffin was asleep, Drew and I wrapped presents, drank wine, exchanged our stockings, and watched A Christmas Story. It was one of the most perfect evenings of my life.

Christmas Day: even though Griffin woke up REALLY early, he was still groggy at 5:15 when Drew exclaimed it was Christmas, we HAD to get up and lept out of bed to turn on the lights on the tree. I finally realized what my parents must have felt like all those years when I stumbled into the living room wanting nothing more than a cup of coffee. Griffin's first Christmas morning was such a sweet time though. I remember it in soft, muted, reds and golds.

The sun wasnt even up yet and we were illuminated only by the warm glow of the tree. It was clear Griffin didn't really understand the concept though he was more than pleased by the presents we and Santa brought him.

it was EARLY. dont judge.

Santa came!!

I surprised Drew with tickets to the upcoming Broncos game and a Tebow rookie card and he gifted me with the aforementioned spice rack and some really cool art. I made us bacon and eggs (Griffin LOVES scrambled eggs) and then we were off to my parent's house for Griffin to be spoiled some more!

It is clear that his favorite item from that adventure is his pink elephant that blows plastic balls into the air. It hasnt been off much at all since we brought it home! We got to visit with my parents, brother, aunt Chris and grandma all day which was really the best gift of all.

I think the adults liked playing with the elephant almost as much as Griffin did!

Dinner was amazing and Griffin adored the stuffing, sweet potatoes and corn bread!

12/26: unfortunately, we had to wake up early and go to the old house to take care of some plumbing issues. It was frustrating and Drew was NOT happy so I gave him the day off to play his new video games and Griffin and I went to visit with family more. We went to lunch at one of my favorite downtown restaurants, the Wazee, and then we went shopping along Larimer. I love showing people around our city!

12/27: Drew had to go back to work but Griffin and I had my family over for dinner! We all walked around downtown Golden first and then later I served pasta with roasted tomatoes and sausage, cheese bread, and homemade sangria, then tirimisu for dessert. It was GOOD. I wish I had pictures!

12/28: it was a beautiful day, Drew was off, and we met my family at the zoo.

our little animal

I adore this picture 

I loved the boys' reflections in the glass!

Griffin had a great time even though most of the animals weren't out. Later that evening, we all went to The Saucy Noodle for dinner- another one of our favorites! Griffin was SO good and charmed the pants off of everyone.

After dinner we had to say goodbye to my family since they all had flights the next day. I was really sad to see them go, but I was SO happy I was able to have so much time with them!

12/29: Griff and I had an awesome mommy-boy day. We played all morning, then he took a great nap which gave me an opportunity to finally video chat with Cory! It was good to catch up. After that we went grocery shopping to pick up all of our provisions for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day!

... which brings us to today. Drew had to work so Griff and I spent another relaxing morning together. I made us scrambled eggs for breakfast and we played in his room for an hour or so before his nap.  But while he was sleeping, Drew came home early to surprise us! It is so nice to have an early start to our long weekend together. We had lunch at our local Mexican place and then picked up some movies to watch tonight. I'm so excited for another holiday weekend! I cant believe it's all wrapping up soon!