Happy Holidays!

With Grandma Cheri

I'm sneaking this post in by the skin of my teeth. It was a busy but fun-filled holiday season for us this year! We started out by having our own little family Christmas the night before we left for Minnesota. On Tuesday we took Noah's first flight. It went far better than I imagined it would, despite his unwillingness to nap on the plane. He charmed everyone! Luckily, we were able to get home between snowfalls, and had the pleasure of being home to see a record December snowfall (33.4 inches for the month). It was quite the white Christmas!

Grandma and Grandpa

Christmas Eve was spent with my mom, step-dad, and brother. Noah opened a number of his gifts, with some episodes of fitful tears when mean old Mommy took boxes and paper away from him.

Noah got a number of fun new toys and clothes, as well as a Taggie blanket from my friend/nanny Noelle. He loves it!

Then, Christmas morning my step-sister and her husband came to my parents' house and we celebrated all together for the first time since '08.

Auntie Aimee

Noah opened yet more gifts, then it was off to see my dad. We swung by my dad's to pick him up then headed out to see my only living Grandparent, Grandma Lee. Afterwards, we went back to my dad's and ate snacks and homemade cheesecake.

More gifts were opened and Noah got a few toys to crawl after, which seemed to mostly just scare the piss out of him.

On Sunday, we spent the day celebrating with Brian's family.

All in all, it was a great trip and my favorite Christmas EVER!! The Grandparents loved their time with Noah, and now they're all depressed that we're gone. However, while home, Brian and I did a little (premature) house-hunting. There's a community just a little north of where we both grew up that has become extremely affordable. We even found lake property for under 250,000, which is unbelievable. Our plan is to start searching for jobs back there in the Spring, put our house on the market in March or April, and move back to Minnesota over the summer. It's a little daunting, and a lot of pieces need to come together to make it work, but it's something to look forward to for 2011! Speaking of 2011, our New Years Eve was a bit pitiful. I got a flat tire, a bad cold, and was in bed before midnight. Nothing could really get my spirits down though. 2010 was the best year of my life, and I'm excited to see what 2011 will bring! Happy New Year!