Christmas Part 1- Maynard style

Since we celebrated Christmas Day in NC, we used New Year's weekend to travel north to see family and celebrate a belated Christmas. It was a whirlwind of a quick weekend trip, but we loved every moment of it. Even the adventure of our first SNOW!

What a blessed weekend! First, everyone pretty much knows I'm sticking to a dairy free diet for Caleb. I couldn't be more thankful for the extra efforts made by my momma and mother-in-law to ensure I'd have food to eat! Second, we were overwhelmed with wonderful gifts from our families for Caleb and for us. We have such great examples of parents who are so giving and thoughtful. Third, our friend Josh Armacost (2.0) is a huge blessing for house sitting! Traveling with Caleb and Zedd is rather impossible! Finally, just spending time with our families is a blessing. Don't get me wrong- I love living in NC and the family we have there, but it is never the same as your own blood (or blood-in-law, heehee).

Weekend agenda/plan- leave Friday night, my mom and dad's Saturday, Josh's family Saturday night through Monday afternoon, dinner with my family Monday evening, leave Monday night.

We had the car packed up and ready to leave after Josh got off of work Friday night. We pulled out around 12:30am. Caleb was a champ- he slept the whole way with only a few short moments of "Where's my paci??" We arrived into West Virginia bright and early at 6:30am. It pays to travel at night with a sleeping child! Except we were both worn out- Josh drove but I stayed awake to help keep him awake. So, needless to say, we crashed upon arrival at my mom and dad's. I fed Caleb when we arrived and he let me sleep til 8am, then Josh was up by 9am. My brother Brian and Madi were staying with my Mom so when Caleb woke up we ventured upstairs to find Madi in my parents' bed watching cartoons. It turned into a bed party as we all climbed in to hang out. Such sweet moments! Nana planned breakfast for lunch (french toast, eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy- all out goodness!) and then our more traditional turkey/ham and all the fixings for dinner. We opened gifts in between. My grandmother- Mama- came over to join in on the breakfast for lunch and some gift opening with the little ones. Here's some pictures to reminisce those moments...

My parents have started a tradition of doing a crazy game for when we open our gifts. Last year, we played the Grand Prize game (from Bozo the Clown show). This year it was a mix of Deal or No Deal and Let's Make a Deal. My parents are too creative! It was a lot of fun to play- we are a crazy group for sure!

Then we had to try and get all 3 grandkiddos to cooperate for a picture. This was the first time we were all together! Oh my goodness, they are a hoot! What a crew... here are a few of my favorite shots! Pictures tell more than I could write!

They will be up to no good by next year!

My Uncle Ervin and Aunt Edie stopped in to say hello with all the kiddos together for the first time. Then we feasted at dinner and hung out laughing at the kids til we made our pilgrammage on to KY! Part 2 coming up soon!