New Year's Eve - iFly Skidiving

 Craig, Julia, Grayson, Marcelo went indoor skydiving at iFly Chicago.  I was worried how Grayson would do with skydiving, but he did great.  They had to be there an hour early to practice with the instructor.  The first jump was low key and Grayson loved it, but the second jump was definitely more intense.  I thought Grayson was going to pass out and felt so bad for him.  Liam and I were watching and taking pictures/videos.  I wanted to run in there and get him out, but I knew he was in good hands.  Luckily the jumps were only a minute long.  The instructor did a lot of spins and it must have made him feel sick.  He was crying when he was done with the second jump and very happy it was over.  The rest of the jumpers had a great time and loved it.  Daddy even bought another package of jumps. 

Holly's Birthday

Holly, David, Kelly, Damian, Craig, Julia I went to Butterfly Sushi to celebrate Holly's birthday.  Afterwards we went to Sugar Factory for dessert and drinks.  We always love going to Butterfly, but had never been to Sugar Factory.  That place is so much fun and they have the best desserts.  Holly got a mai tai drink and the guys had chocolate martinis.  We all shared the chocolate sundae that came with birthday sparkles.  The best part was the whole tab was paid for because David knows the owners.

Christmas

We celebrated Christmas at our house with Mommy, Daddy, Julia, Ethan, Grayson, Liam and Oma.  The boys slept in until almost 9am.  Santa made one of our wishes come true. :)   It was fun to watch Grayson's reaction when he came down the stairs and saw all of the presents.  He was so excited!  He loved checking out what Santa left in his Santa bag.  Santa left big red bags full of presents for the family and then Mommy and Daddy's presents to the family were wrapped under the tree.  JuJu, E-T and Grayson made cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  Afterwards we opened presents and had fun watching the kids reactions to all the stuff they got.  Julia got a Tiffany bracelet, clothes, purse, makeup, Iowa gear, shoes, boots, perfume, jewelry (earrings and chokers).  Ethan got Amazon Alexa, Blackhawks jersey, clothes, shoes, sunglasses, hat and money.  Grayson got a remote controlled car that goes on the wall and ceiling, Peppa Pig figurines and a train, Ben and Holly dolls that talk and figurines, cars, magnatiles (Oma), magformer, play dough with lots of accessories, Spiderman sleeping bag that's also a bag, clothes, skiing jacket, pants and other skiing accessories, mailbox with letters and stamps (from Oma to both boys), construction tools (from Oma to both boys), medicine kit (from Oma to both boys), dino jumping house (from Aunt JoAnn and Uncle Dominic to both boys), art easel with supplies (from Aunt Josephine and Uncle Sam).  Liam got a Bright Starts hide 'n spin monkey, Bright Starts spin 'n slide ball popper toy, Fisher Price dance and move dog, car carrier, Star Wars sleeping bag, Elmo, remote control car, Melissa and Doug cleaning toys (both boys got their own), Bright Starts giggling gourmet put and shake eggs, bath toys (for both boys).  Grayson and Liam both got Pottery Barn gray chairs that are the cutest and the boys are obsessed with them.  Daddy got Ed Hardy cuff links, clothes, gift cards and money from Oma.  Mommy got perfume, David Yurman ring, clothes, earrings, gift cards and money from Oma.  We also consider our trip to Mexico as a Christmas present.  Oma got a David Yurman bracelet and earrings.  After we opened presents we had brunch with scrambled eggs, toast, bacon and hash browns.  We had fun watching the boys play with their new toys.  Julia and Ethan went to their mom's house at 1pm.  For dinner we had Dutch style pork tenderloin, new potatoes, gravy, crispy brussels sprouts with bacon and french silk pie for dessert.