Surprise Christmas

I know, I know. Christmas was last weekend and I'm posting now. Its been a "nap when you can" kind of week. ;-)

Charlie opening his presents before we left

Anyway, this past weekend wasn't just Christmas, it was Charlie's first Christmas! Yay! Our original plans were to cozy up at home, make a big breakfast, open presents, Skype with the family, and watch the parade. Sounds pretty good, huh? Yeah, we wouldn't get to see family, but there just wasn't time with Jeff's busy work schedule. Ya know, with the holidays and all. Well, thanks to a scheduling change at the BN, we were able to mix things up a bit.

This year, Christmas was being held at Jeff's Aunt and Uncle's house so on Tuesday, Jeff called them to set up our big surprise. We figured, since we weren't supposed to be coming for Christmas, surprising Paula would be a wonderful Christmas present. We left Blacksburg on Christmas Eve around 4pm and arrived at our destination around 10:30pm. As usual, Charlie was wonderful on the ride there! Thank goodness that kid likes the car.

Keith explaining our master plan to Paula when we arrived

When we got there, the surprise and joy were overwhelming! When we walked through the door, Paula looked at us in disbelief. After a few seconds it sunk in that we were really there and there were hugs and kisses galore.

The weekend was wonderful. Charlie got to meet the rest of the family and we all got to spend a cozy few days just hanging out, watching various Christmas specials, and getting our butts kicked in Skip-Bo by Althea. :-) I'm so glad we got the chance to visit.

Charlie with Great Uncle Keith and Great Aunt Deb

As predicted, Charlie looked simply adorable in his Christmas get up and to my surprise, he lasted in it all day without incident (read explosion of some bodily fluid). I bought the pattern for it months ago, but hadn't had a chance to make it. At first, that wasn't a big deal since we weren't going anywhere. By the time plans were in place to head to PA, I had two days to throw it together. By some Christmas miracle, Charlie napped wonderfully those two days and I was able to bang it out in time.

The ride home was equally pleasant and Charlie slept most of the way. It sure was a lot of driving, but it was completely worth it. Though surprising family for Christmas was pretty epic, hopefully, when next year rolls around we'll be much closer. :-)