Current mood: jolly
Merry Christmas Eve!! We just celebrated Christmas with the Pizano family in Oxnard! Due to uncontrollable circumstances, for the first time in our family history we had to celebrate Christmas a day early (the day before Christmas Eve) and had to split between my parents and my Brother and his family. Everything worked out though and we got to spend time with everyone, which is a huge treat! Mia had a blast and was showered with gifts!
Since we were going to celebrate a day early, Adrian, Mia and I left to Oxnard on the 23rd. We got ready bright and early and were on the road by early afternoon. We were afraid of what traffic would look like, but it wasn't to bad. There were a few spots of bad traffic but nothing too bad. Mia slept half of the way which was a treat for us, but when she woke up she quickly became bored. I stuffed her with snackies which appeased her for only a short while so soon we had to bust out her BIG Christmas Gift early. Santa had brought her a mini-DVD player that you can mount on the headrest by a buckle. Very easy to install/uninstall. So we turned that on and was forced to listen to Yo Gabba Gabba the rest of the way. She was happy and content and was kicking back eating her Kix and watching her favorite show. We on the other hand couldn't listen to the radio anymore but it sure was better than listening to her cry and make a fuss. We soon made a pitstop in Moorpark and stopped off at the exact same Carls Jr. we always stop at since she was a newborn. We bundled her up and got off the car. Once we were inside, I changed her diaper in the restroom while Daddy ordered some food. I found a booth to sit in and and put Mia on the seat. She was so happy to be out of the car. There were no toys to play with so she made due with the salt and pepper shaker. Yep, soon salt and pepper went flying all over the place and after she made a HUGE grainy mess it was time to go back in the car. So loaded up and back on the road we went.
Soon we reached Grandpa and Grandma's house. Grandpa was still out and about so we were greeted by Grandma. She was happy to see Mia and Adrian and I finished unloading the car. We spent the next hour playing with Mia and resting a bit. Of course Mia ran to their tree and started to "undecorate" it. She pulled ornaments, pulled on lights, tried to bite the lights and then ended up putting toys in the tree (her little blocks and a snowman). Next she started terrorizing all my Moms decorations and I found myself getting up and down off the couch every 5secs saying "don't touch! Mia no!" and chasing her. She hid the Christmas tree light controller and my Dad ended up staying up all late at night looking for it because he couldn't turn off their tree. It was later found hidden behind their DVD player! haha Anyways, soon my Dad showed up and after eating we got to begin our Christmas!!!
My Mom played Santa and handed out the presents. Mia was all excited that she got presents that she soon wanted to open everything wrapped. All you had to do is say "Mia want to help me?" and she would run over and tear apart the wrapping from the gift. It was so cute to watch. She made out like a bandit of course, she got these cute little white sneakers, adorable fuzzy Elmo slippers that had a giant Elmo head on the end, and Elmo toy that had a microphone on it so she can sing with Elmo and her Rock n Roll Trike!!! We were so happy that she got the trike because it was something we were going to buy her but couldn't. Its a toy that first starts off as a rocker, then converts to a big-wheel that you can push her in, then finally a stand alone big wheel she can ride!!! We were happy but Mia was more happy just to play with the box!!! The rest of the night Mia was on and off that box having fun. She did fall off a couple of times but got right back on. That was HER box and she was happy. Adrian and I both got tons of presents too! I even finally got my huge soup pot that I have been wanting for YEARS! I am a soup monster and love cooking soups from scratch. The pot was so big Mia climb in it and sit in in it! haha
Soon it was bedtime and she refused to go to sleep. After Grandma attempted to sit with her and it didn't work, Daddy had to come to rescue. He always sits with her if shes upset and doesn't want to sleep. Soon he worked his Daddy magic and she was asleep.
The next morning I wanted to get an early start and visit my Brother and his family. Unfortunately, Mia had other plans and decided to sleep till 10!!! After 10 I finally woke the sleepy head up. She was bright eyed and perky and went right back to destroying her Grandparents house. After breakfast, I got her all dolled up in her Christmas outfit and off to her Nina and Nino's house we went.
Once we got there we were quickly greeted by everyone. Her Nina, Nino and cousins had not seen her since Aug. and were shocked on how big she has gotten. Her Nina commented on how much she looks like Adrian now. I agree shes his little clone!!! I quickly went to Baby Sophia and held her. We introduced Mia to her brand new cousin but all Mia cared about was running around, playing with her cousin April's Gabba guitar and dancing. I held Sophia so much while we were there, I couldn't put that little pumpkin down!! She was so cute and getting so big. Adrian held her alot too, hes an old pro now and loves to hold babies. Meanwhile, Mia got to play with her cousins.. especially her cousin April who is only alittle over a year older than she is. They shared toys and watched Gabba together. At one point, they were both sitting on the same couch together (one on each side) eating a bowl of goldfish crackers and watching Gabba. It was a priceless moment and I just had to take a picture. Tracy and Sarah were having fun as usual and we really got to catch up on things. April followed Mia everywhere... not really sure if it was because she was curious about her or that she wanted to make sure Mia didn't destroy her toys! haha. At one point Adrian followed them into April's room. He wanted to see if Mia would like April's crib and decided to put her in. BAD IDEA!!!! Mia started screaming because she thought it was nap time and April got upset saying "My bed My bed!!!" So he quickly took Mia out and they left the room haha. They later played in the playroom and had more fun. Then the chain reaction poopies happened! Sophia started it off. I was holding her then soon smelled that familiar smell!! I ran her over to her Mommy and went to help her change her then I heard a yell from the livingroom "Angie Mia went poopies too!!" Oh no! So I ran over and took care of my little one. Once Mia and Sophia were all set it was April's turn and sure enough she joined in and pooped herself!!! This all happened within 10mins of itself! It was crazy but really funny. We visited some more and I got to hear my second youngest niece, April sing her "Lady Bug" song. It was so cute I just kept making her sing it over and over again. Its a made up song that her big sister Sarah came up with and taught her. Its to the tune of "Ol Christmas Tree" and has to due with a little Lady bug that is loved. I wish I would have captured it on video it was too cute!!!
Unfortunately, our present time was delayed a tiny bit because my Brother had to take care of an urgent errund, however, once he came back we got to open presents again!!!! The girls LOVED what we got them for Christmas and it was awesome to watch their faces as they opened them up. Soon it was Mia's turn and after a tiny accident where she crashed into their TV stand she got to open her presents with the help of her Nina. She got a cute little bird that chips and can be used as a flashlight (she LOVES it by the way), a "little people" carnival set that spins and makes music and a tiny little snail blockset!! YAY!!!!
After visiting a bit more it was time to head out. We wanted to get on the road back home before too much traffic built up. Traffic + Mia = DISASTER! so we wanted to avoid as much as we could. We went back to my parents house to pack up the things we had there. We visited a bit more and checked the traffic report. Sure enough it didn't look to good. So we decided to kill 1 more hour before heading on the road, hoping it would get a little better. So we spent that time visiting. I still had Mia all dolled up in her Christmas outfit so we took some picture by the tree. She ate some dinner which included her Grandpa's famous Turkey and she ran around playing with her Grandparents. Soon it was getting late and it was time to go home. We said our sad goodbyes and on the road we went.
At first things seemed pretty good. Traffic was light and Mia was knocked out in the backseat, however, once we hit Pasadena we drove right into gridlock! It was horrible!!! and didn't let up for most of the way on the 210. Mia slept through a majority of it but soon woke up hungry and mad! I fed her some more snackies like a celery stick and cucumbers. It was too funny listening to her crunch in the backseat. When those snackies weren't cutting it anymore I turned on her DVD player. Thankfully it wasn't Gabba this time and was Baby Einstein. I love that show because it plays soft music and doesn't consist of yelling and screaming and loud noises. She watched the rest of the way and was happy.
Once we got home, I fed her some oatmeal and let her watch TV a bit until bedtime. She had a blast with her new little bird flashlight and was running around the dark parts of the house with it. Soon it was bedtime, and once she was in bed, Adrian and I spent some time together. I even got to open 1 present!!! He had bought me a nice bamboo trimmed caserol dish! Something I have been needing so bad!!! I cook so much now and presents like that really do come in handy! I was so happy and was eager to open more but decided to wait till morning.
Well here we are. Its Christmas Morning and I am the only one up. Mia and Adrian are still snoozing. I am about to climb back into bed but I think I will enjoy this quiet time a bit more. We are going to celebrate our own little Christmas after breakfast then we are zooming down to San Diego to spend time with Adrian's side of the family. I am sure I will have lots more to write about then. Till then...
Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!!!!
