Holy crap, the holidays. The holidays, holy crap. Connor weathered a whirlwind extended weekend of family gatherings, late nights, and exceptions. It all started on Friday night with a party at our digs with Z's dad and brothers. We had a steak and potato dinner followed by conversation and a round of Pictionary Man. Can't remember what we did Saturday...or Sunday. Well, one of those days Z's mom watched 'Rad for us and we had dinner with his brothers at a hibachi grill/sushi restaurant. We ate at our leisure, had some beers and sake, then spent the rest of the night chatting in his brother's new yet-to-be renovated kitchen. That's the first night we went out sans 'Rado since moving. It was nice, but you can bet your booty that I texted his mom a few times just to check in.
On Monday, Christmas Eve, we had most of the day for ourselves, but as the evening set in we got gussied up and headed to mass (Connor's first time back at church since his baptism). 'Rad did pretty well considering all of the sitting, standing, kneeling and quiet that we asked of him. He entertained himself by bouncing on my hip, trying to get the kids behind us to hold him, and kicking at the high heels of the woman in front of us. Afterwards, we hung out in the church basement with my parents for a little while as my mom tended the cake table for the "Baby Jesus birthday party" they were holding. Following that, we went to a gathering of Z's extended family. It was at that point that I started to lose my cool. All of the family, all of the toting 'Rad around, corralling him, it just got to me and exhaustion and a short temper started to set in. Connor handled it with much more grace than I. Sure, at the end of the night, which didn't end for us 11:00 pm, he was whining and writhing, but earlier in the evening he made me so proud by not being shy or pushy with the other kids, none of whom he knew. He even stood near the "stage" in the living room where one of the little girls busted out a solo romp to "Gangnam Style" and tried to mimic her quick, horse-riding like leg movements (I'm still holding out hope that he didn't inherit my awkward social skills). We made our way home after the family picture and Connor's obvious cries for pjs and sleep.
And now we come to Tuesday, Christmas Day. Z's excitement on Christmas Day is what I imagine Connor's will be once he truly understands the holiday - he wakes up giddy, wanting us all to gather around the tree, 'Rad in his green reindeer and santa pajamas (we ended up getting 'Rad dressed before bringing him out to the tree to avoid any extra changing-pad drama). My favorite gift was the "Mom" necklace Z and Connor got me.
Connor's favorite gift was the Chuck-It we got for Blue. After gift-giving, we loaded up and had breakfast at Z's mom's house. From there, we loaded up again and headed to Ohio to Z's great-grandparents' house. We spent most of the day there, greeting his extended family as they arrived.
Connor in a box at great-grandma and great-grandpa's house
As wonderful as it was to be there with everyone, it made for a very long day. I took a nap that barely took the edge off my exhaustion and worn nerves. Connor's cough and running nose made a reappearance and he worked himself into a handful of coughing fits later into the evening. I just wanted to put my little man to sleep and get some true rest myself. And we finally did, and he slept hard into the morning and during his nap the next day.
I feel like I'm not doing justice to all that happened during the holiday, but my mind is starting to slur over the details as it prepares for sleep. The holiday weekend may have been as jam-packed and tiring as it was enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to one more Christmas celebration this weekend.
A tired Connor after Christmas
Then I guess we'll be forced to move on to New Year's and the celebratory void that follows. No full debbie downer thoughts, though! The holidays are still here to enjoy.
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