We headed down to Joliet and spent the first half of our week with B's family. B's sister, Amanda, opted to stay at the family homestead for the weekend with her two adorable kitties, and it was great spending extra time with her this year.
Saturday turned out to be an extremely eventful and SURPRISING day for me! The plan was to drive up to my sister, Karla's, house with my MIL and SIL for a day of cookie baking. My other sister, Cathy, and my mom would round out our little baking party. We got to Karla's a little after 11:30 and walked into the house. She had the Christmas music rocking, and everyone had their aprons on and were ready to bake. After a round of hello hugs, Karla tells me about an amazing quilt her MIL made for her that she had to show me downstairs. We head on down where I am shocked out of my mind by the surprise baby shower Karla and Cathy put together!!!! I was so suprised that I couldn't even register the faces of everyone there! All of the sudden my best friend Summer steps forward (I haven't seen her since her August wedding in '06, and she lives in MN) and I nearly start crying because I was so happy to see her and could hardly believe she was there! My cousin and dear friend, Amy, was also there and between the 3 of us we have set up a bit of a precedent for surprising each other at showers! I surprised Amy at her baby shower, and I surprised Summer at her bridal shower. This time around they both got me at this shower! 
The gathering included my mom, sisters, nieces, MIL, SIL, Summer, Amy, and Karla's MIL (the aforementioned quilt maker).
My sisters also very wisely advised the shower guests that baby clothing and gift cards would be the way to go since I had to get back on a plane to get everything home again. Summer crocheted a BEAUTIFUL soft and fluffy blanket for Baby D. I am so looking forward to using it! There were so many cute outfits, blankets & bath time items! My mom found the most adorable pair of baby shoes - a mintature version of what B already wears! We also got a very nice diaper bag and my MIL passed along B's baby books - those provided a lot of entertainment for us girls (much to B's chagrin)!
Big huge thanks again to my wonderful sisters, Cathy & Karla, for putting together such an amazing and wonderful day. And double kudos for pulling off the surprise - something that is not easy to do with me!!!
Link to Baby Shower Photos (pics courtesy of Alyssa Misura) - just scroll down the page after you click the link.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were both great. We spent Christmas Eve with the B's family and our big surprise gift was a camcorder for getting all of baby's firsts recorded and sent to the grandparents!
Now we've just gotta figure out how to use the thing! We left late Christmas Eve and drove up to my mom's for the second half of our stay. My entire family came over Christmas Day and it was great seeing everyone ('cept for my sister and her family who just moved to AZ 
) We started a new tradition this year where we each wrote something nice/that we like about each family member. Each sentiment was deposited into each person's specially decorated box. After tearing thru our presents, we all shared our sentiments from our boxes. It was a really nice way to spend an hour or so with our loved ones and remember that Christmas isn't just about the gifts.The other fun Christmas event was teaching both families how to play the Wii. Bowling was by far the huge hit! I never thought I'd see the day where my mother wanted her own gaming system! She kept trying to convince us to leave the Wii behind and that she'd take good care of it.
My Mom Bowling:
Later in the week we had the chance to go out to dinner with 2 good friends of ours - Jerry and Linda. It had been a year since we last saw them, so catching up with them over some excellent food made for a wonderful night out! :)
Link to Christmas photos - just scroll down the page after you click the link.
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