The Prochaskas: Baby's First Christmas

Oh my goodness, where do I begin?

Last Wednesday, December 21, was my last day of work for 2011. My office shuts down for Christmas and New Years - I know you are all jealous (except the teachers). We had our company Christmas party that night, so we all left early to get ready. My mom drove up to babysit Charlie. We had a lot of fun at the party. The food and drinks were amazing. We played white elephant (company provided gifts) and we ended up with a set of some pretty good dvds along with apple tv (which is pretty darn cool). It's definitely nice to see my co-workers in a more relaxed setting every so often.

The next day, my mom left pretty early to head back to EC, so Charlie and I finished our Christmas shopping and just hung out for the day. That evening, we had our own little family Christmas. We didn't even wrap Charlie's presents. I just set them out for her and let her play with all of them. I figured she would get enough unwrapping experience in El Campo. Jason and I decided to opt out of buying each other gifts this year. We decided to get some new furniture for the living room instead. Those kind of gifts are my favorite. We definitely needed a new couch bad.

I was pretty stressed out about packing for myself and for a 7 month old for 9+ days away from the house. Somehow I got it all done though, and Friday morning we were on the road. Jason had to work, so it was the first long solo trip Charlie and I had in the car. Usually, we all ride together so one of us can keep her company in the backseat. I must say, she did wonderfully and pretty much slept the whole way. She is like her mommy - being in the car makes up sleepy!

That night we had Prochaska family Christmas at Jason's parents house. Charlie got lots of goodies and she had fun opening her presents. One of the big hits was a pair of pink cowboy boots - oh yeah, she is gonna be rocking those soon. And she got a homemade rocking chair from Grandma and Grandpa - so special.

Saturday morning, we headed to my parents house for the Wied family Christmas. Almost everyone got to come, which is rare, so that was a lot of fun. We played some games and ate a ton of food. We don't do a present exchange, but we did a white elephant with $5 lottos. Charlie won $10 on her's! My cousin Corri was skyping with my Uncle Alex and cousin Brooke in Kermit, while they opened presents. We got to witness Brooke's boyfriend, Trent, proposing to her. It was so sweet. After all the aunts/uncles/cousins left, we opened presents with my parents and Jen and Dean. Charlie got spoiled with a ton of toys (in fact, I don't think all of them will be coming home with us!).

Sunday, we headed to Inez for one last family Christmas with the Prochaska side. The women pretty much sat inside and played with the babies while the men shot skeet outside. We would have been out there too, but it was a tad cold, and poor Charlie was already super congested.

This week has just been a lot of hanging out and being bums. It's nice to be able to spend the time with Charlie, but I do miss being at our own house. I know I should be taking advantage of not having to do anything, but I feel like I could be getting so much more done at home. That's ok, we will be there soon enough.

Charlie has been doing good on her time away from home. The first part of the week, we stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's. The first night or two were a little rough (especially because she was so congested), but she did pretty good after that. Then we moved over to my parents' house and once again, the first night or 2 were a little rough. It is nice being able to go hang out with Laura and Maggie. It's so cute to see the girls together because they are pretty much doing the same things. Charlie is putting EVERYTHING in her mouth, and I mean everything. Her teeth are coming out a little more everyday. She really hasn't been too fussy though. My mom always says that my child is too easy. :)

Just yesterday, I decided to try out some puffs and yogurt melts on Charlie. She likes them both. She will let me know when she wants more. Ha - maybe I created a monster. We still aren't having very much luck with the sippy cup or crawling.

It's hard to believe that it's the last day of 2011. This year has flown. I can remember last year at this time, being so impatient, ready for my baby to be here already and now she is 7 1/2 months old. Before I know it, I will be planning her 1st birthday.

It's been a great break, but I will be happy to be home on Sunday and sleep in my own bed. I'm sure Charlie will be happy too. Luckily, my office is closed on Monday, so we will have a day to recover and readjust before getting back to life as usual.

Bless you if you made it through this whole post! Ha.

I hope everyone has a happy new year! Here's to 2012!

Playing with my new toy