Baby Bouldin: Christmas in Paragould

Brielle's very first Christmas was fun, exciting, a little stressful, disappointing for two reason but awesome all at the same time. The stress of Christmas was the driving part. Have you ever drove almost eight hours with a small baby? Wow, it is a chore in it's self. Brielle isn't a huge fan of the car to begin with. She like most babies who immediately fall asleep when they get into the car, she is more of the "I hate to be pinned down, hot or bored" type of baby. She needs a lot of stimulation and a lot of attention therefore me sitting in back with her (which is usually Chris for short drives) entertaining her the duration of the long drive. She did like watching videos from Netflix on my phone for a little bit but when all the colors and movement got boring it was on to the next idea, then the next and then the next. I think you get the idea. She was pretty good but I was exhausted at the end of the drive, each way. Before we left Tulsa there was a lot of talk about how Tulsa might get snow on Christmas day. Chris and I were pretty sad by this due to the fact we weren't going to be in Tulsa and really wanted to see it coming down. We obviously got over it and left to go to good ole Paragould, Arkansas. If you have never been to Paragould you might ought to know ~~there is so much to do there~~ there is nothing to do there.
The night we came to town Chris' mom and sister were going to a Christmas party and wanted to take Brielle with them so we took advantage of the opportunity and went on a date since it isn't very often we get to do anything without a baby. Went to a few places to have a few drinks and then to an awesome meal. Needless to say I enjoyed myself a little too much and didn't feel too great the next day. Before heading home Chris took me to my first first experience at Roy's to meet up with some friends. Lets just say I ended up drinking water the whole time so I could be a good mother when I got home.
The next day we got the house ready for TONS of people to come over because SANTA WAS COMING! This by far was the biggest "Santa" party I have encountered while being with Chris thus far. We had at least forty people if not more there and each and every person received a gift from Santa and HAD to sit on his lap. It was a great time. Kids running all around, tables and tables full of fabulous food, laughing, family, friends and of course SANTA. Perfect first Santa party for miss Brielle even though she slept through part of it.

(Santa really wears a girl out)

Christmas Eve was a nice day to spend with Family. Coffee, homemade scones by aunt Ashley which were my very first ever and I'm pretty sure I could eat them EVERYDAY, a walk, spending time with Brielle, watching Christmas movies, taking naps and of course Midnight Mass! Brielle's first one! OK, OK I must confess it wasn't technically midnight (they didn't even offer a midnight Mass) so we went at 6:00 instead.

(She sure looked cute on Christmas Eve)

So back to the weather, all this hype that was in Tulsa was slowly making it's way to Paragould and Chris and I began to get a little nervous. We were leaving the day after Christmas which was the day after this huge storm was projected to hit. We started talking about how we might have to leave early so we did not get stuck at his mom's house. Normally it would not matter and would happily like to get stuck there but my dad and grandma were driving up from Dallas to visit and see Brielle for the first time so I really wanted to get home in order to spend time with them as well. Christmas day came around and as we listened to the weather and watched what our friends were posting on the oh so helpful facebook for times like these we decided we needed to leave on Christmas day. When we awoke there was a blizzard warning for Paragould so we knew we needed to leave soon after Christmas presents were opened and Christmas dinner was consumed. We were disappointed to leave early but scared about driving with an infant and getting stuck on the side of the road.

(Handmade stockings by Grandma Jenny)

(Brielle's stocking was trimmed with lace that I wrapped a "Mother's Poems" book in for Chris' mom for Mother's Day. The lace was on a gift for me when we announced our pregnancy so it already has a nice little history.)

(What a great Christmas morning outfit, Chris)

(Somebody was in a very good mood)

(excited about her bike trailer!)

(Grandma Jenny and Brielle Christmas morning)

(Aunt Debbie and Brielle)

(Aunt Debbie, Seth and Brielle)

(Now a lonely Christmas Tree)

We packed the car with all our awesome gifts, extra water, extra food, extra coats (because we didn't bring any due to the weather said it would be in the 60s before we left Tulsa) and headed back home. While we were driving Chris and I thought driving to Tulsa through Little Rock instead of going 412 would be best in case we did get stuck because we would be on the highway and easier to find if something bad happened. As I talked to my dad he thought maybe going up through Missouri would be best which we never ever thought of. We ended up going 412 the entire way and only saw snow for about 30 minutes and it didn't even stick on the road.

This is where the other disappointing part came to be because I would have loved for Brielle's first Christmas to be white. Oh well. So Paragould ended up getting slammed and had a beautiful day after Christmas. Lucky them....

On the way home we got hungry and Brielle really needed to get out of her car seat so the only thing that was open was a Chinese restaurant. Go figure. Every year "The Christmas Story" is watched so eating at a Chinese place just added to our Christmas Day experience with Brielle.