In review, our holiday season looked something like this:
We made it an epic, landmark trip. 5 hours to Milwaukee for Thanksgiving weekend, a trip from Milwaukee to Michigan (another 6 hours) on the Sunday after Thanksgiving to start a week of "pseudo-holiday" with my family in Pinconning, and what worked out to be an 8 hour trip (yes, 8 hours) back from Pinconning to Milwaukee, a quick overnight in Milwaukee, followed by another 6 hours back to Minnesota. So in total, we spent entire day on the road. RIDICULOUS.
But, in hindsight it was all worth it... you know, the drive wasn't that bad. Okay, who am I kidding. The drive was TERRIBLE. What were we thinking? Pregnant wife + monkey-climber toddler + winter storm warnings + quick little blizzard + 20 car pileup = DISASTER. Its true.
While we were actually in locations (Milwaukee, Michigan, etc.) - you know, not confined to a carseat, seat belt or winter storm, we had a great time. So it wasn't all for naught, instead, it just made me realize how hard we'll think about driving anywhere long distance once there are two babies in the mix.
It started with Thanksgiving in Milwaukee where we were able to spend some much appreciated time with Drew's sister Susie, in from Las Vegas, and Chris, Drew's brother in from Madison. Collin quickly re-attached to his Gram's hip and wanted to follow her everywhere. They made cookies together, washed dishes together, played together. He worked hard on wrapping her around his little finger.
We wandered over to Drew's Aunt Jan and Uncle Mark's house, where they hosted a yummy Thanksgiving dinner, and Collin was able to try his first cranberry sauce and stuffing. It was great to see the Montgomery side of the family and hear about all of the latest and greatest happenings that surround greater Milwaukee.
Collin was able to swim in the pool again (its an indoor pool here, folks. No worries, we didn't send our toddler off to a polar bear plunge). The first few minutes in he was a bit apprehensive, but once Drew started entertaining him with boats, floaties and silly daddy tricks he warmed up and started to behave more like a little fish than a toddler.
Meanwhile, Drew's parents had arranged for the family to have dinner with grandma Hollman, or to Collin, Gigi, who is still going strong well into her 90s. We're particularly lucky to be blessed with so many extended family members who are still around and still interested in connecting with family....
We followed family time, with wedding planning, picking out bridesmaid dresses for Susie's wedding. Susie picked a sassy little dress that I LOVE, and I'm anxious to have my post-baby body back to fit into it. I'm already day dreaming about the opportunities to drink wine without even the tiniest bit of guilt or resistance all the while parading around Las Vegas...(can you tell I'm excited!, its only what, 10 months away or so?)....We also were able to squeeze in a visit to Drew's best friend Josh's, where we met Phillip James, the newest addition to their family. It was great to see them, and it made me realize that it feels like we've just about forgotten what to do with a little tiny baby. It should be interesting to see how we adapt to the parenting thing with an infant once baby Hollman arrives. We did get at least a few minutes of practice while we were there, although poor Phillip doesn't look like he's enjoying it much :)
Then on to another day of travel, heading into Michigan. The trip there wasn't actually all that bad. We were able to stop about half way in Kalamazoo and catch up with some friends, and it gave Collin time to run around for awhile before we returned him to the lock-down position of his car seat. We arrived in Pinconning on Sunday night, ready for a week of fun and family.We surely weren't disappointed. From Monday through Sunday Collin was surrounded by family (mostly Auntie Andrea, Nana and Papa) that couldn't get enough of him. We played with toys, terrorized the dogs, got into trouble with Nathan's girlfriend, Faya's daughter, Jayla, and generally secured a spot around Nana and Papa's smallest fingers, nailing down all of the grandparents, quickly and effortlessly to succumb to his ridiculous little charms.
While we were home, our newest addition (to make his appearance in the very near future) made it clear he was not to be forgotten, sending us to the emergency room. It was less than stellar to be seen by a host of doctors that I didn't know at all, with little knowledge about my pregnancy and hear that we were having contractions that they preferred to stop with medication. So, a few shots later and two annoying trips to the Midland hospital made us well aware that this baby had a say in things too.But, he didn't slow us down too much! I was still able to visit with friends from home and while I was out with the ladies, Collin stayed home with Drew, Nana and Aunt Andrea to make cut-out cookies. They were his first cut-outs and he did a fantastic job. First he helped roll out the dough, then he cut out the cookies, and finally he decorated a masterpiece of a gingerbread man, complete with an entire jar of crystal sparkles.
On Thursday we had "psuedo Christmas", waking up to presents under the tree and Collin continuously saying "Open!", "Open!" to every present. Apparently, Santa sure had extra time to shop for Collin, because he went WAY above and beyond in the spoiling department. Its a miracle we had enough room to bring it all home...
First Collin opened his stocking, filled with all things boy (balls, trains etc.) and some yummy fruit leather treats.
Then Collin got a glimpse of all of the gifts around the tree. His little face seemed to say "all this?!?!, for me?!?!" It was sheer joy (and a bit ridiculous that indeed, nearly all of the gifts were for him!).
One of Collin's most elaborate gifts (and now is quickly becoming one of his favorites) was the train table for his Thomas the Train toys. He loves waking up everyday and getting to play with trains and all of the lights and sounds contained that came with the track.
After opening presents and cleaning up the mess, Collin was nearly ready for a nap. All of that present opening had really tired him out. So off to sleep he went, and soon after he awoke another party was about to begin with more gifts from the extended family.
I think Collin's favorite gift was the snow globe great grandma Wackerle gave him. Everyday he goes up to it and says "on!, on!", he loves to watch the snowman and little snow dog twirl around and around in the sparkling glittery snow.
During the second party, after a well rested nap-time, we tried to capture a brief moment of toddlers being still with Jayla and Collin. Getting pictures of two toddlers that are anything but hilarious is nearly impossible, but we tried (and tried, and tried), to no avail. We ended up with lots of shots like these, pointing, looking different directions etc., but nonetheless they sure are cute in their Christmas best together.So party after party we enjoyed spending time with my family, but, as usual felt the time went by so quickly and we nearly didn't have a moment to relax, we were on the go so much. But, time marches on, so we awoke Sunday morning, packed the car (filling every nook and cranny), and started our journey back to Milwaukee. About 2 hours into the trip we learned that the west coast of Michigan was expecting a heavy whiteout due to lake-effect snow. Right past Kalamazoo it started to snow and visibility dramatically reduced. Suddenly, within a split second of going from some snow to whiteout conditions, we found that we were a few cars behind a pile-up accident. We were close enough to the accident to be stuck in the "sit on the freeway and wait it out" group, rather than the "be re-routed because the cleanup of this accident is going to take at least 4 hours" group. So, after sitting with a toddler in the car for two full hours, we decided to take matters into our own hands and follow a handful of risky-behaving folks and go down the freeway the wrong way back to the nearest exit. At this point we were frustrated, tired, hungry and Collin was exhausted and sad. He kept saying "momma, out!" because he wanted out of the car seat and I felt like the worst mother ever continually having to say, no Collin, you can't get out....
So, after getting back on track (but still in blizzard conditions) we started toward Milwaukee again. We landed in Greenfield 8 or 9 hours later ( I quit counting after awhile), miserable, tired and worse for the wear. It was something like 9 pm then, putting Collin at a cross between awake and asleep, and neither willing nor resistant to either....
We found our way into bed and took on driving home the very next day, anxious to see our own bed's and get back to our everyday lives after so much commotion.
Its true, we had a fantastic time, but we are genuinely grateful that the driving only occurs a handful of times each year and that even through all of the mess, it could have been much worse.
We continue to consider ourselves blessed, and thankful for all of the time we were able to spend with our family members. Its hard to be so far from them when family means so much to us, and holidays make being with family the pinnacle of our lives, if only for a few brief moments in the glimpse of each year.
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1 comment:
I can completely sympathize! I get so stressed about the actual travel part of the holidays. Glad you made it home safely. Nothing feels better than having all your favorites safe and sound, in their own beds:) When Will was a few months old (right after my thyroid surgery when I had no business traveling anyway) we got stuck in Fargo for two nights during an awful storm. At a hotel. And the cable was out! I was never so thankful to be home after that! I can't believe boy #2 will be here so soon! Hope you're feeling well...
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