Christmas Weekend Part 2: Nicholl Edition

Yesterday we had Christmas with my siblings and my dad and their significant others.  Today we went to Mom and Ron's house to have Christmas with Mom's side and Ron's side.  Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle Brent drove in from their respective homes, and Matt and Abby and David were there, and again the same crew from yesterday minus Dad and Deb.  Ron works with a guy who is a photographer, Nick, and hired him to stop by and take some pictures, so we got some great pictures of the various family groups in attendance.

Later some of us played Oxford Dilemma, a board game that mixes Scrabble with Monopoly with a spelling bee.  It's one of my favorite games even though I'd only played it twice and not in the past five or six years.  We learned the spelling of everything from obscure French philosophers to Chinese rivers. 

There was the normal extensive supply of shrimp cocktail, which we made short work of, and a double batch of Grandma's Christmas cookies, thanks to Guest Chef Brent Hall, which allowed me to indulge early and often.  I don't think I ate more than a dozen, but it's possible I did.

It was a fun day, as it always is, and we're thankful we have some great photographs from it.  (By the way, the picture above of everyone around the tree was one I took, so please don't blame Nick for my mediocre photography.)

The Big 0-2

Today was a very big day. First, Jim stopped by briefly on his way back home from Texas to meet Hannah. He couldn't stay for Joshua's birthday party since he had another eight hours to drive, but we were glad he could meet her and see the kids. Christine also got to meet Hannah today.

Then, we moved on to the main event, which was Joshua's party. We didn't have a big party this year, but we wanted to do something special with family for him. We did a construction theme since he loves cars, vehicles, and most especially power tools. He apparently isn't as thrilled with construction hats, but we did get him to pose for a few photos before he donated the hat to Clara, who loved it.
Jason did a great job decorating Joshua's cake in a construction theme and Joshua really enjoyed both the cake and the entire party. We were glad everyone could make it and that Joshua had a fun day with all the people he loves most.

A Little Firefighter

Mom and Ron recently asked us if they could take the Joshua to the Olathe Fire Department Open House.  They now have car seats in their car, so they are able to take the kids places by themselves.  This is exciting for us, because we value the close relationship that they are building with our children (and also because it really helps if they have the flexibility to pick up or drop off the kids from our house when needed).  They figured it would be something Joshua would love, and they were right.  Afterward they reported to us that he got to do lots of things that two-year-old boys love to do.  His favorite activity was using a real fire hose to put out a fake fire.  He also got to see Sparky the robotic talking fire dog, or at least that's how he was advertised, but he turned out to be mute.  Poor Sparky.  Joshua also got to wear some cool firefighter gear, which was actually the second time he's dressed up as a firefighter, but I'm guessing this time it was just slightly a bit more authentic.  He also got to see a real firetruck and sit in a real police car, which Ron correctly pointed out that unless it's at another open house, it better be the last time he sits in a police car.  He had a super fun day, and we are looking forward to more of these types of grandparents/grandchildren activities in the future.      

Home From the Hospital

While we were in the hospital, Mom and Ron played the age-old role of Grandparents Who Watch the Grandkids While the Parents Are At the Hospital Giving Birth to a New Kid, for which we were very appreciative.  One of the perks of that job is getting the first look at the baby upon the return from the hospital.  We were cleared today to leave the hospital, and when we got home Mom and Ron were there to welcome us, and they got their first chance to hang out with their new grandbaby.  Later Joshua woke up from his nap and came downstairs and noticed Hannah across the room.  This was the look on his face as he saw her, trying to figure out who she was (and maybe what she was) and what was going on.

Farewell! Happy Birthday! Nice House!

Grandma Nicholl is getting ready to go visit one of her other sons in Las Vegas, and we wanted her to have a chance to see the kids before she left.  This coincided with the opportunity to have a small celebration for Joanna's birthday.  So the two events were combined, as Mom and Ron hosted a small get-together at their new house today.  It was our first chance to see the inside of their house (which is quite nice), and it was fun to get to hang out and enjoy the space it provides for large family events, which is one of the main reasons they decided to move.  Here many of us gather around the table, Clara helps her Aunt Josie blow out a candle, Mom cuddles with her sleepy granddaughter, and Ron and Joshua have a great time laughing with each other.

Clara's Finalization Party

Clara's adoption was recently finalized, so we wanted to have a little party for her, similar to how we had one for Joshua.  We made this one a much smaller affair, as it was just family.  Fortunately it worked out that my grandparents were in town, so they were able to be there, which was great.  The weather even cooperated, allowing people to hang out on the deck.  Clara was her normal quiet and sweet self and enjoyed being held be everyone.  Joshua was his usual star-of-the-show self, even though he wasn't the star of this particular show, but that didn't stop him from trying to steal the attention from Clara with his adorableness.  We had a really fun time celebrating the addition of our little baby Clara into our family.

Celebrating Finalization

Clara's adoption finalization is tomorrow.  Mom and Ron wanted to be there for it, and since it's in Wichita, we decided it would be a good idea to go there the night before so we'd be ready for the morning court hearing.  We all arrived here earlier this evening in time to go out to dinner together.  There is an Abuelo's in Kansas City, but it's not very close to us.  We've been there a couple times and really like it.  But there was one right next to our hotel tonight, so we had a nice family dinner there in celebration of Clara's finalization.