We had a good Christmas vacation. We went to Ohio for about 10 days. Before we left, we were able to see some very good friends from our time in Naples. They were driving through Texas, so they took a slight detour to come have lunch with us. Getting together with them was awesome! I really appreciate their friendship, and I hope it's not another 3 years before we see them again!

We flew out Dec 23 to Ohio and landed at a very icy airport! We had to sit on the tarmac for a while, waiting for planes to move so we could get to our gate. It was slow moving once we finally inched forward. Once we got to John's parents' house, we experienced the ice some more! We weren't even able to get all the way up the driveway into the garage! My father-in-law got out first and stood in the grass so I could hand Grace to him. I got out and tried walking up. I just slid right back down! I had to hold onto the car to stay in one place! I finally got up to the garage, and my FIL tried to come, carrying Grace. He started slipping too, and Grace was really scared! We finally decided that she needed to skate. He put her down and I reached out and grabbed her and just slid her to me. Poor thing! She didn't know what to think! We finally got everyone inside. Crazy!

John and I started a new tradition on Christmas Eve this year. We will give each other pajamas on Christmas Eve to wear that night, so the next morning, we have new pjs for pictures. My family always did that, and John wanted to do that too. Grace loved her new pjs! And John and I loved what we picked out for each other. 

Christmas Day was fun. After everyone woke up, we ate breakfast and then opened presents. We waited too long, I guess, and Grace had a meltdown in the middle of it and had to go take a nap. (She's pretty strict on her nap schedule and lets us know it!) When she woke up, we opened some more, and this time she started pushing presents away after she opened a few! She only wanted to play with her toys and didn't understand why she had to keep opening. It was pretty funny. I ended up opening the rest of her gifts. Her grandparents, aunt, and uncle definitely spoiled her!! She got a lot of good stuff that she loves. 

John and I got spoiled a few days later. John's sister is a sous chef at a 5-star restaurant and invited us to eat there. We loved our date! They gave us the best table in the restaurant and we ate like we were celebrities! The meal was awesome, and it just kept getting better! Even though we were full, we still ate dessert. We both felt sick walking out of there, but it was so good!! And free! We just had to cover the tip. It was an incredible blessing to eat food that looked like it was prepared on the Food Network. (John's sister can out-do anyone on that channel!!)

Unfortunately, the trip ended with some not-so-fun stuff. Grace had what looked like a bite on her leg before we left Texas, and I forgot to keep checking it. About a week into the trip, I noticed that it was really red and about the size of a dime. I decided to take her to the Urgent Care Center. The doctor gave her some medicine that would help with the inflammation, and said we should watch it and come back if it got worse. Well, it did, so on the morning of our last day, Grace and I spent 2 and a half hours back at Urgent Care. The doctor diagnosed it as Tinea, commonly known as ringworm. He prescribed a cream to put on it and said it should clear up in about a week. Luckily, it doesn't seem to bother her, and it's no longer contagious, so that's good.

Overall, it was a good trip to Ohio. Grace enjoyed playing with her family, and she especially loves her aunt!! She would run to her with her arms up when Aunt would walk in the door! It was so cute! Grace is developing so much now. Her vocabulary exploded while we were there!  She has been learning really quickly. It's so fun to watch her grow!