Adam and I were lucky to be able to travel to see both of our families for Christmas this year and, since it's probably the last time we'll be able to get together en masse before the baby, both of our families threw us baby showers. We were so humbled that people took the time and energy to think of our baby during this holiday season, and we were lucky to receive a lot of wonderful gifts to use in the nursery.
Of course, getting to our families is the biggest hurdle. We live in Virginia. Adam's family lives in Florence, Alabama while mine lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana. You don't have to know your geography very well to know that Alabama, Indiana, and Virginia aren't exactly right next to each other. On the other hand, though, at least they are all on one side of the Mississippi River...so it could be a lot worse.
For our first leg of the journey, we drove from our house to Nashville, TN. Because we left mid-day, we knew we'd be tired and wouldn't want to drive all the way to Florence. Plus, my aunt and cousins live in Nash-vegas and we wanted to see them! It was wonderful to catch up with all of them, and Adam's brother stopped by to catch up for a bit too. I love time with relatives! Oliver LOVED
I found this wig in my cousin's room! Merry Christmas to me!
Over the next couple of days, we relaxed, played a lot of games, and had an early Copeland family Christmas.
Some Christmas shots of me, taken by my photog-hubby, in the Copeland's beautiful, new family room.
The pillow says "Merry Christmas, Y'all" because this is Alabama! Roll Tide! :)
There were SO MANY presents! We are all so very lucky!
All of the next shots were taken by my sister-in-law, Laura.
The Copeland siblings
All of us at a fantastic meal prepared by my m-i-l
The girls all received beautiful scarves from Grandma Butler! Thanks!!
Bethany's present to each person was wrapped in wacky costume....funny!
My m-i-l cooking up a storm
The outlaws!
On Friday the 23rd, the Copelands and the Spiveys met up for a Christmas lunch and some gift-giving at Grandma Butler's house. Afterwards, they threw Adam and I a beautiful baby shower. The decorations were adorable, the cakes & cupcakes were delicious, and so many people came to celebrate with us. It was great! Also, Laura took these pictures as well, since I was "busy" unwrapping gifts. :)
Laura's gifts...the onesie is an inside joke. The frame, and in-set picture/design, and the elephant all are perfectly coordinated for the baby's room. :)
Look at the gorgeous decorations and desserts. YUM!
Diaper cake made by Anna!
A friend of the family got our little guy a perfect Shakespeare shirt. "Read More Shakespeare." That's right!!
We left Florence on the 26th and made the trek on up to Fort Wayne. The trip was uneventful and, thankfully, the shortest leg (a mere 9.5 hours), so we were glad for that. We woke up the next morning to the only snow that we saw the whole Christmas break!
View from my parents' back porch...I forgot to get pictures of their new hot tub. Dang!
My parents threw their annual sing-along that first night. The Bloses are kind of known for singing and doing the motions for all 12 days of Christmas. We are basically the masters of the 12 Days. My brother and I have, recently, turned it into a competition to see who can do all 12 days the quickest on the last refrain. (For those who don't know, you gradually get to all 12 days on the last refrain.) What follows is the 11th day (regular speed) and then proof that I am the TRUE master (even whilst pregnant, I'd like to point out) of going through the 12 days the quickest. All 12 movements are there. I'm awesome.
The next day, my mom and sister threw me a baby shower. They also had beautiful decorations (including some blue, foamy punch with a duck in it---bathtub punch? it was awesome), delicious food, and friends and family!
Me with two great high school friends, Jenny and Sarah! I'm so glad they could come!!!
Some of the cute decorations
The food was amazing
My sister also decorated with onesies...how creative!
And she got Baby Copeland a beautiful cake.
The punch was superb! And so super cute!! Plus, the ducky can function in Baby Copeland's bathtub because it has a sensor on it to tell when the water is too hot. Practical and cute! :)
Diaper cake made by my sister, Annette. (She had to change the look completely after she saw a picture of Anna's diaper cake because they had made almost the exact same one. Great minds think alike!)
We then had a few days to relax with family--especially with our cutie-pie nephew and niece! We went to a hockey game, toured DeBrand's Chocolate Factory, caught some colds (thanks to the aforementioned cutie-pie niece), played some new games (Quarkle was awesome) and just had a brilliant time!
Uncle Adam and Eva
Annette, Ethan, and Eva
My dad, with Ethan, trying to create a living indoor Mickey Mouse snowman.
Two DeBrand's ice cream sundaes plus a mint hot chocolate. The one on the left is raspberry and dark chocolate, or the right is caramel and dark chocolate.
'Twas decadent!
Ethan with the iPad
Aunt Cathy and Eva
Here are some funny videos. The first is of a dance session by my adorable nephew. He's got the moves! The second is from a "halftime" show during the ice hockey game. It was a non-virtual take on Angry Birds...pretty awesome.
We headed back home on the first day of 2012. Thanks to Christmas + baby-showers, our car was PACKED. (Mr. Oliver was not thrilled to share his seat with giant suitcases.) My brother-in-law and Adam packed the car well, and we borrowed the Bulls' car-top carrier. Adam drove most of the way because it was windy and I was scared; I'm lucky to have such a caring husband who lets me nap while he does the hard work. When we got home, we unpacked it all and then promptly collapsed. What a great, busy Christmas!
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