Christmas 2016

A day late on my usual blogging but here we go. It's been a busy week, with Mia finishing up school before Christmas break, and my brother/SIL/Nephew flying in for the holidays. Wednesday, Mia and I did her traditional gift where she picks something out for Jill at Charming Charlies for Christmas.  Jill helped with Mia's Holiday party on Thursday. The kids had a lot of fun and did all kinds of fun crafts and games. Friday was Mia's first day off for her break so we met up with Olivia and her brother and the kids went sledding. Myself and Steve (Olivia's Dad) built a kicker for the kids to sled off. Mia had so much fun going off. Olivia on the other hand, was a bit crabby and wasn't having it. After sledding, Mia and I braved the busy stores and got some last-minute items for the feast. Later that day, my bro and his family flew in so we hung out at my parent's house. Mia and Alex were reunited once again, and they didn't skip a beat with their antics involving tackling me, Jill or anyone near them.

Saturday, we had Christmas Eve at my parent's house. Everyone came and it was a lot of fun. The kids ran around like crazy causing all kinds of havoc. The food was delicious. Jill made 4 different types of meatballs (one veggie) and we all ate basically appetizers that my Mom and my SIL Ashley made. The kids all loved their gifts and had an awesome time. We had a big family game of PIT that was a total blast.

Sunday was Christmas morning. Mia got lots of amazing gifts including a beautiful pink violin that we need to fix and adjust so she can play it. The best was saved for last. I somehow was able to complete the book for Mia that Jill and I wrote/illustrated. It came down to the wire, but it was complete and Mia LOVED it. She really liked how I drew the pictures to look like her and even included the detail of Mia wearing her Monster High winter hat. Although I felt rushed doing the book, I'm pretty content with the final product. At one point, Mia said it was her favorite present she received. Later, we had everyone over for breakfast and later dinner. Jill hand-made fettuccine noodles and Alfredo sauce(s) and they tasted AMAZING. Fresh pasta is incredible and we have so much left over, I'll be eating it for days. Jill loved the necklace we got her, and I loved the Sheldon ornament the girls picked out for me. My BIL Tommy got me some much-needed art supplies and I got some money towards my near-future purchase of a Go Pro camera.

Monday, My brothers, myself and I drove down to the Highbury for some Boxing Day soccer. We watched the first half of the Chelsea vs Bournemouth game before jetting to my brother's hotel for the 2nd half. The pub was PACKED with fans watching all of the games on the TV's. We were practically hanging out the door watching and left within a few minutes of the the 1st half. Luckily, my brother had the channel at his hotel and we were able to catch the last few goals. Pedro picked up a pair as well as a PK from Hazard to end the game 3-0. Impressive win from a team that is looking like serious title contenders. Even with out two key players (Costa and Kante) we're looking really good going into our NYE match. Later, we hung out with everyone and swam with the kids. Mia and Alex had a great time chasing and racing each other in the pool. Today, they went back to the usual "tackle Jill and I" again complete with heavy pillow beating and tackling. These cousins are so fun to watch play together. Whether it's Alex showing her apps and games, or the two just being silly together. They said their goodbyes and my brother and his family were on their way.

Later, Mia packed up and Jill's Dad and I drove the girls to Midway International Airport for their trip to Ohio. I miss the girls already but I know they'll have fun visiting Jill's aunt who hasn't seen Mia since LAST December.

My week off from work is almost done. I can't say I'm missing KT. It's been really nice having this time off to spend with family and getting some much needed relaxing in.

This weekend the girls come back. No immediate plans for NYE and we'll probably keep it that way. The girls will be too tired to do anything so we'll probably watch a movie.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Fantastic Florida

How's it going everyone? Good? Back to Wisconsin after a wonderful trip to sunny Florida. Real quick, her birthday party was great. She had a blast painting with her family and friends.
We spent a week in Sebastian, which is about an hour and a half (give or take) from Orlando. We went down a few years ago when Mia turned one, so we wanted to go back and visit Jill's Grandpa again. It was awesome. After a great successful flight, Mia picked up an Ariel doll from the Disney store inside Orlando Airport with some birthday cash and we were on our way to Sebastian. She was wonderful with her Great Grandpa. We went to the beach every single day we were there. Mia loved the ocean. One of my favourite moments was when she was washing her hands off from sand at Wabbaso beach, a small wave came in and surprised her little face. She wasn't mad, but the surprised look was priceless. I'm not going to go into what we did every day, but overall, it was a great trip. She survived the plane ride back. A little crazy at times, but did well. Already missing the ocean.

Missed a really really good and important Chelsea game the other day. We defeated PSG and are moving on to the semi-finals in the Champions League :) Wore my Oscar jersey today in celebration.

Today, Mia and I hung out with my bro Andy and Easton at the park in Hartland. The kids loved the playground and had a blast. Always nice to have some quality time with Andy. We don't hang out that often so it was long overdue. 

Jill's busy tonight, so after a lengthy nap, Mia and I are chilling and relaxing tonight. Finally gonna be able to watch Modern Family :) Going to play futsal Sunday night. It's been several months so I'm excited to play soccer finally. Gonna feel rusty, but hopefully can get a goal or two. 

Something that I've already noticed since Mia's turned 3, is that a phrase that's becoming more common these days. "I can do it by myself". She's been going to the bathroom solo more often (one day in Florida she peed in the toilet without peeing in her diaper). She's been trying to master getting her jacket on including zipping. Makes me proud. Somethings will take a while to master, but she's determined and that's awesome. 

That's all for now. Thanks for reading.