A Christmas to Remember

As I mentioned in my previous post, we've had such a great time hanging out with family and friends over the past few days! We started our celebrations in Mebane on Thursday morning and they ended in Riegelwood on Sunday. I was ready to get the three of us back in our own beds, but I already miss the time we spent with some of our favorite people.

More than anything, I think Ethan absolutely loved all the extra attention! See for yourself...

He got to nap in Grandma A's arms,

watch TV with PawPaw,

play with Uncle Nick,

and get hugs from MawMaw...

...not to mention seeing Auntie Terry & Uncle Rich, and playing with the slew of animals that were around the house! And that was just in Mebane.

Then, at my parents' house, he enjoyed lounging in Grandma B's recliner,

snuggling with Aunt Bubbie,

and sitting with Poppy,

He also got to hang out at my favorite restaurant in Wilmington with two of my favorite friends, Donnie and Taylor!

This was only the 2nd time they had seen Ethan. Their first visit was back in March, when Ethan was still in the PCICU recovering from his first heart surgery.

What a difference 9 months can make, huh?!

I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such loving people. We were showered with such generous gifts, including tons of much needed (bigger) clothes for our fast-growing baby boy! But even without all of that... take the gifts away... and those four days would have been just as sweet and memorable. There were days at Duke when I wondered if Ethan would ever celebrate his first Christmas. The simple fact that he did, and enjoyed every single minute of it, is enough for this mama.

Here are a few other tid-bits about what else happened over the weekend:

-Nick, Jeramie's brother, won the annual Christmas Poker Tournament and Jeramie had to hand over the trophy. Although I'm sad (cough cough) for Jeramie, I'm thrilled to have my mantle back! (Love you, babe!) :)

-Ethan received his most painful present to date: two more teeth. This officially evens out the bottom with the top, for a total of 8!

-My dad found, by far, the biggest oyster we've ever seen. We have an oyster roast each year at Christmas and, between my daddy & I, we've eaten a lot of oysters over the years. Never in my life have I seen one as big, and nasty looking, as this one! The picture really doesn't do it justice...

-Ethan officially learned to wave. He's been doing it over the past few weeks, but not really with meaning or great skill. Now, he waves at his toys, people in restaurants, his feeding pump, the fan...you get the idea.

-He's also started babbling a little more. His favorite sounds are "mmmmmm" and some funky combination of a b, a, and y (it sounds something like buuhwaah) and it makes me laugh every time!

-After our lunch with Donnie & Taylor, Jeramie dropped me off at the hospital in Wilmington so I could have a quick visit with Jesse & Jennie. It was such a blessing to see Jennie! Even with all she's been through, she looked absolutely beautiful. Thank you, Jesse, for letting me come up and spend some time with you and your amazing sister!

So, here we are, back in Raleigh gearing up for a busy week, including celebrating the New Year! I look forward to what 2010 has in store, but I will never forget how 2009 made us the family we are today. More on that later...

For now, we've got to get ready for some developmental therapy, then a visit to Duke for some pre-op screening for Ethan's hand surgery next Monday. I'll be sure to update y'all on those details later on today!

Happy Tuesday!