'Twas the Week After Christmas

The week after Christmas was especially fun - Josh and Jamie were still in town, I only worked one day, and Jeremy was off all week.  It really felt like a vacation.

Monday, the 26th, I got up early and met my mom at the Container Store for 50% off wrapping paper and other Christmas supplies.  My paper collection was depleted this year minus a few scraps, so I had to really stock up. I got there right at 9am, when they opened, and I am sure anyone who got there after 9:15 would have been out of luck.  Afterwards my mom and I stopped by Plants for All Seasons, a cute little nursery with a great gift store, and all their Round Top Collection was 60% off.  Since we're in a rental it's hard to buy more Christmas decorations, but I did get a few little pieces.  I drove straight back into town to go to Jamie's 3D ultrasound.  Their only place in Arkansas closed, so they scheduled one while they were in Houston.  It was so much fun to see an ultrasound again, and we got official official confirmation it is definitely a girl!  We had lunch and hung out at Jeremy's parents' house for a while, then we headed home to get ready for a fun night out!

My mom so kindly kept Sawyer that night so we could eat somewhere nice, so we had dinner at America's River Oaks.  That might be my all-time favorite place to eat in Houston (order the lobster pops, trust me).  After dinner, Jeremy and I went to Justin and Emily's annual holiday party.  We got to catch up with lots of friends, and I was especially excited to catch up with Carrie and Zach, our friends from Austin.  We had a lot of fun and were up way too late, but we all need nights like that with friends once in a while.

Tuesday Judy and I helped throw a shower for Jamie at our other favorite Houston restaurant, Shade.  They were so nice to accommodate us, and I think we all had lots of fun.  It was small, just the family girls, so I didn't plan any traditional games.  I did get a "Wishes for Baby" fill-in-the-blank page for all the guests to fill out between courses, and that was the perfect thing to do.  My plan is to laminate the cards and make a blessing ring for Jamie to keep in baby Lauren's room.  After a very filling lunch, I met Jeremy at home for a little nap while Sawyer finished napping.  After nap time, the day was so, so gorgeous we met everyone at the zoo.  It was crowded, but we still had a lot of fun and the animals were all out enjoying the weather too (until about 4:30pm - the animals apparently eat around 5 and all disappear!).

Wednesday I had to work, and I'm not sure what everyone else did.  I guess they had fun!  I bet the park and/or wagon was involved somehow.  That night was UT's Holiday Bowl game, but while the boys watched it, we went to get some ice cream and looked up baby bedding online for Jamie!  A much more fun way to spend the evening, I think.  (But UT did win!)

Thursday Sawyer spent the day with Lolly, Pops, Jamie and Josh while Jeremy and I attended my grandmother's funeral in Wharton (a separate post on that later).  We got back in time for an early dinner, so we opted for the Black Lab, one of Josh and Jeremy's favorites.  We were going to play games back at our house, but everyone ended up being pretty tired, so Jeremy and I got a night to ourselves!  We started watching Friday Night Lights and became totally hooked on it.

Friday was our 5th anniversary!  (Another separate post about that night!)

Saturday we took it easy, hung out with family, and went to an early dinner at Grandluxe.  (Incidentally, I have eaten there twice before and didn't care for it, but liked it a lot this time we went.)  We went back to Jeremy's parents' house to put Sawyer to bed, and to play games.  We played Things then Balderdash until midnight, watched the ball drop and toasted with champagne (and sparking apple cider), then we got Sawyer and headed home for the night.  Happy New Year!

Sunday Josh and Jamie had to leave for Arkansas, so we went to see them off.  I think we were all very, very sad to see them leave!  We won't be seeing them again until April when it's time for baby Lauren to arrive!

And that wraps up our fun, fun holiday.  It was so difficult to return to work and routines this week - we've had so much fun spending time together, but routines are good to get back into as well.  We have a lot to look forward to in 2012!