Oh the long awaited "First Christmas" has come and gone. It was a nice week and although Drew might be too young to get it, he certainly powered through and played in his fair share of empty boxes and threw a few pieces of tissue paper. He also thoroughly enjoyed seeing friends and family and watching his cousins get really into the Christmas spirit.
We started Christmas the weekend before with a lunch with Santa at The Dunes Club. It was a great little Sunday and quite a brunch! Complete with an ice sculpture of Santa's sleigh (what?!?). It was cool though and Drew handled Santa quite well.
 |
| How cute is this?!? Side note...Soo Soo said she felt bad for people that opened her Christmas card and saw this picture....I asked her why. She said because they probably think they have the cutest grandkids and when they see this, they will see that I have the cutest grandkids. I nearly died laughing.....but they are pretty cute :) |
 |
| Soo Soo's family |
 |
| Mama and Drew |
 |
| Cute girls telling Santa what they want! |
 |
| Mama and Drew again.... |
 |
| Liza graciously went back up to Santa with Drew to help the transition. Drew was very curious but managed well. |
 |
| When all else fails, chew on your finger |
 |
| Funniest realization every.....Drew was crawling around and noticed himself in the kick plate. |
 |
| Cute family photo in one of the prettiest places on the beach |
The following weekend (Dec 21), Drew and I went to Southern Pines for a few days to just hang out and see friends/family. We took a billion trips downtown and ate some great food along the way. It was COLD, so drew was bundled up and prepared for what NYC will be like in February. BRRR.
 |
| Walking home from the Downtown Grill |
 |
Breakfast - Sassy Style (This was saturday morning, which was Dec 22, which was also
Mom and Dad's 39th Wedding Anniversary) |
 |
| Mom and I were eating at the Cafe and Market and LOOK WHO WALKS IN!! Andy & Lauren! |
 |
| Cruising back home with some goodies. |
 |
| Meeting Natalie for the first time....at the Bookstore. We were way to excited and loud to be in this store! |
 |
| Having coffee with Justin at Cup of Flow in DTSP. Cool spot. |
On Sunday after the above documented coffee date, Drew and I drove to Whiteville to meet up with David and family for Granny Sledge's dinner and to celebrate/exchange gifts with David's mom, Jen, Curry and the girls. At this point, Drew was in a full blown cold and I felt like we left a trail of snot everywhere we went. Sounds disgusting because it is. He was a trooper though. Of course he fell asleep about halfway there and stayed asleep for 45 minutes after we arrived....so I sat in the car with him until he woke up. I didn't miss much family fun though because Soo Soo's septic tank pump was messed up so David and Curry were waist deep in S#&T (almost literally) fixing that so we could actually flush the toilets. We packed up and went to Granny Sledge's house for dinner and poor drew lasted about 45 minutes. I didn't quite get to eat because I needed to get the sick/upset/over it boy back to the house and to bed but the rest of the group brought me back a plate of goodies and I ate after they all got home. The next morning we opened presents and everyone went back to their respective Christmas Eve houses. The girls were so fun to watch open presents and they really got into Drew's presents as well which brought a little excitement to a boy that really doesn't get it yet.
 |
| Snuggling with Aunt Jen |
 |
| Little Todd, Glenn and EB |
 |
| Curry, John and Big Todd |
 |
| Evyn, Margaret, Caroline and Ellie |
 |
| Liza and Margaret teaching Drew about his new truck |
 |
| David and Drew opening his presents |
 |
| Going for a ride |
Christmas Eve at the Raynors has always involved church and a big dinner at our house. We've expanded the traditions a little and they now include a fun little get together at The Bell Tree before church. We hung out there for a bit, then walked to church. Drew would not have lasted quietly in the service so we went straight to the nursery. He had fun playing and exploring and lasted almost all the way through the service. He slipped and bonked his head on a table and that was that. We went on home and got PJ's on. He stayed up long enough to say night night to Sassy and Papa but was in bed before anyone else got there. Amazingly enough, he stayed asleep through the dinner, dirty santa, and annual toast to family with Old Mill Stream. Lots of fun and lots of laughter.
 |
| Playing with Grey and Cam before church |
 |
| The Bell Tree Tavern |
 |
| Hanging out in the Church Nursery |
 |
| Playing....Drew Style (one sock is all you need) |
 |
| This kid has the most fun with my hair....usually at the expense of it being attached to my head |
 |
| One of my favorite places |
 |
| Cousins....Karina, Cullen, Jen and Kelsey |
 |
| Herb and Cam discussing his cars |
 |
| One happy Sassy with her Cam and Grey |
 |
| Macey and Kileigh rocking their new vests |
 |
My grandma (Lama) and her baby sister Jackie (GJ...Herb and Alex's mom) frequently drank Old Mill Stream Whiskey....after finding this out, we started taking a shot in their honor every Christmas.
A toast to them and their crazy ways! |
Christmas morning, we got up and opened presents after our traditional Christmas morning breakfast of cinnamon rolls and bacon. Now we add lots of coffee to get us through and I'm sure as Drew gets older, it will require even MORE coffee. We stuck around after Mom and Dad left to go to Chapel Hill to see the boys. We knew the day would be long for Drew and wanted him to be rested up for the 3.5 hours of driving that were ahead of us. Mainly, we wanted him to be happy when we eventually got to Clinton. So after his first nap, we went to the Klug's which has become a tradition over the years.....in fact, except for the every other Christmas that we are with David's family, I bet I've gone over there every Christmas since I was 16. Crazy! Sure do love that family! Drew napped one more time and we got him up and drove to Clinton to see the Raynor side of the family. We ate good and visited with everyone that could be there (hate we missed Ann and Beverly) but had to leave to get back home before Dirty Santa even started. I keep reminding myself that we are in his phase and we will do what we have to do to make Drew's life comfortable....even if that means leaving a party early.
 |
| Drew and his new elephant and big blocks. |
 |
| Someone is pooped from all the festivities! |
 |
| Drew and Moss at the Klug's house (Moss is Stephanie's little boy....Stephanie is Lauren's 1st cousin) |
 |
| Klug getting some Drew snuggles |
 |
| Beautiful family |
 |
| Barbara (GG) with Drew and Burns |
 |
| Lots of years of friendship sitting right there |
 |
| Drew and Wally (Steve and Lorsey's dog) |
 |
| The four Raynor brothers sitting chronologically (Jimmy, Shelton, Andy, Gary) |
The day after Christmas, we woke up and Drew got a couple more things that didn't make the whirlwind trip. We had a lazy day (literally in my pajamas all day) until it was time to head to Steve and Julia's house for their Christmas. We had amazing food and opened presents and played our hearts out! Our little Santa was so good!
 |
| Rocking out on Colt the Rocking Horse |
 |
| Checking people out at Bop and July's |
 |
| Eli and Ean Tripp |
 |
| Giddy Up! |
All in all, a very fun and successful "first" Christmas for Drew. He got toys, clothes (whoopty freakin doo), a Little Tykes Truck, a 4-wheeler, a rocking horse, ornaments, cars, a stacking toy, a drum set (Thanks Louie!) and $60 whole dollars!! That is a lot of money for a little boy! Oh, and he got a wagon for our beach days this summer. :)
Here's to a healthy and happy New Year with lots of a little adventures!
