steppin' out to an early christmas

This weekend was just what the MooHoos needed after a long, cranky week in which Mikey and I just could not seem to be in sync. Normally we feel effortless, but for some reason this week (maybe it's the holidays? maybe the all-at-once slam of bills? maybe we're just exhausted from Natalie's sudden return to every-two-hour-wakefulness?) we were always a beat off. One of us would be joking around and the other would end up with hurt feelings. One would need the other to be a listening ear, while the other would have a blistering headache. Laundry piled up. Packing for the weekend did not get done. Food went to waste in the fridge.

Whatever the reason, this week sucked.

Until the weekend (yay, weekend!) arrived. We had plans to head south to Massachussetts for an overnight with Natalie's Gma and Gpa, and were on the road early Saturday morning. It was a gorgeous, clear day for a drive, and Natalie slept soundly in the back seat while I drank coffee in the passenger seat and Mike and I were finally able to have some quiet (read: rap-music-filled) time just to talk and reflect and reconnect and feel more like ourselves. We made a pit stop in Portland to meet up with Emma and together stop in to see my grandmother, who is making steps toward recovery after heart surgery last week.

We went on to meet up with the McCormack grandparents in the mid-afternoon, and, after getting completely lost in the wrong tower of the hotel (so lost, in fact, that we went into someone else's room and had to be escorted out by a confused member of the housekeeping staff), settled in for some quality visiting time and an early Christmas gift exchange. As usual, Mike's mom and stepdad were beyond generous, and all three of us left the overnight with great loot and lots of gratitude.

After present-opening and dinner, Natalie conked out (for the time being) and the grandparents baby-sat so Mikey and I could have a Saturday night out. We stepped it right on over to the hotel bar in our swimsuits where we grabbed to-go cups of 7&7 and headed on to some hot-tubbing.

In place of a steppin' out photo of us at the hotel pool, here are a few of Natalie instead:

She's in head-to-ankle Children's Place, and Teensy Toes Mary-Janes. This outfit absolutely slayed me this morning with its cuteness.

Here are some more pictures from our weekend:





Getting reacquainted with Gpa














Snuggling in jammies with Gma

Visiting before bed

We found Natalie asleep in this ridiculous position when we made our way back to our room

Morning snuggles before breakfast & goodbyes











We had a quiet ride back home and were back in our driveway shortly after lunchtime. We had the afternoon to get Natalie settled back into her usual routine and unpacked all her new toys, which we will start rotating into her playtime gradually along with her other Christmas gifts. She already loves her new ladybug pull-toy and has been banging away at her musical table all afternoon.

We're now snuggled up next to the Christmas tree watching Alice in Wonderland, hoping that Natalie is really asleep for the night. I'm sincerely hoping that this wonderful weekend is ushering in the start of a much better week than the last. After all, we're in the home stretch to Christmas!