Mellie and the Peters Family Reunion

Last Saturday (7-6-13) was the Peters Family Reunion.  This is a reunion on Ronnie's paternal grandfather's side that they put on every other year.  Lately they've been having it at Brackenridge State Park on Lake Texana.  They cater dinner, people bring desserts and items for the silent auction and white elephant game.

 

We met Paw Paw (Grandpa Simicek) and Grandma (Great Grandma Simicek) there.  We were late and they had already started serving dinner.  While in line, Mellie noticed a carton of donuts and kept asking me for one.  I said no.  Ronnie has created a little donut monster.  I made us both plates and went and sat down.

 

Mellie began cutting her bread with the plastic knife and LJ was screaming, so I made him a bottle while Ronnie ate.  We switched off about halfway through so I could eat.  Mellie was eating her pickles and buttered potatoes and playing with her steak.  Next thing I know, SPLASH!  Mellie had knocked over my iced tea.  My first thought was relief that it wasn't me that knocked over, which is usually the case.  We cleaned up the mess and finished eating.  I was surprised Mellie wasn't interested in dessert, just the watermelon.

 

After dinner, everyone is catching up, bidding on items, taking pictures, etc.  Mellie discovers an auction item that is a bunch of toys - kid sized chair, ball, bubble gun, slip n slide, etc.  Mellie immediately starts referring to it as "my toys."  That was the beginning of the end.  Entirely too soon, the bidding is up to $45, with $40 being my top bid.  I really didn't want to spend anymore, and Mellie was still calling them "My toys!"  Grandma Simicek leans over and whispers to me that she will pitch in another $10, so I bid up to $50 and start stalking the auction. 

 

While I am stalking the silent auction (and I have a LOT of experience doing that -- just ask Ronnie!) they start doing the prizes for youngest/oldest, longest married, farthest traveled, etc.  I had JUST managed to get Paw Paw to take LJ (let's face it, being able to pass the baby between more family members than just me and Ronnie is the most exciting part about being around family) when he wins "youngest boy."  Paw Paw immediately gives LJ back to me and I take him up to the front, introduce him, and accept the gift - a Thomas the Train folding chair which I KNOW will immediately become Mellie's.  We are all familiar with the toddler rules of possession. 

 

Finally, it was time for the white elephant game.  For those of you who are not familiar, this is when everyone brings a gift, usually it is wrapped or otherwise disguised, and everyone draws numbers for the order that they get to select a gift.  If you see something you like, you can "steal" it and there is usually a max amount of steals.  In this case, it was only two.  We brought three gifts, so me, Ronnie, and Mellie all drew numbers.  They had more numbers than people who wanted to play, so LJ almost played as well.  Mellie takes a seat next to Ronnie and LJ in her new folding chair.

 

Of course, Mellie drew the lowest number of the three of us -- 12.  Around 8 or 10, someone picked the birdhouse I had put in a bag with tissue paper earlier that morning - while Mellie watched.  She saw the lady pick the gift and open it, and kept telling me "Mommy, my present!"  So, when it was her turn, I thought she would pick it back (much to my dismay - I was trying to get rid of it).  Fortunately, I was able to convince her to select a giant tootsie pop that an older lady had selected and was very glad to give up.  Unfortunately, I had a lot of trouble keeping Mellie from opening it up in case someone wanted to steal from her (even though I doubted this would happen).  I also didn't want to deal with her and a giant lollipop  (later I learned that it actually contains 10 regular tootsie pops, but I didn't know that at the time).  No one actually steals it from her, but I didn't want to take the chance.

 

The next thing I notice, Mellie is running to me at full speed from the other side of the circle, gift bag with the birdhouse in tow.  Everyone there starts laughing.  I quickly chastise her and we walk back to the woman and give her the gift bag.  Mellie gets very upset, so I ask the woman if we can just have the bag and tissue paper.  She agrees, and Mellie happily brings her bag back to our seats. 

 

Mellie disappears for a while, I know she is over by Paw Paw and Grandma Simicek who are not playing.  I don't really think anything about it.  After a while, she comes back with a prize - a fresh pull up from the diaper bag, one with Sulley from Monsters Inc on it (the most coveted of the pull ups).  Ronnie whispers to me that I better go change her.  I blow him off, but sure enough, moments later she pulls her dress up and goes to pull her diaper off.  I leapt out of my chair, grab her, and RUN to the restroom.  Everyone is laughing good naturedly, but I was MORTIFIED. 

 

So, in the bathroom, I have her stand on the sink and go to change her diaper.  ONLY TO DISCOVER THAT THE DAMN THING IS COMPLETELY DRY!!!  She just wanted to change her Ariel diaper (the LEAST coveted diaper) for a Sulley one she found in the diaper bag!  Rather than risk another incident, I change her, but let her know that I am very upset and that stripping in front of a large group is not appropriate. 

 

We return to the game, and the game continues without any more issues.  I wind up with a twirly outdoor thingie I plan to put in her bedroom and Ronnie gets a hand painted wine glass that says "60 is sexy" and Mellie gets to keep her tootsie pop. 

 

A couple of minutes later, I am fussing over the silent auction (which I am still the high bidder on) and suddenly I notice Mellie carrying around a topsy turvy box.  I think back to who won it, and I realize it was the same woman from which Mellie attempted to steal the birdhouse.  What the frick, my child stole something ELSE from the same woman?  I take it from her and frantically look around to identify the woman, and I don't see her.  I try to remember what she looked like, and NOTHING is coming to mind.  I walk around and finally find her and attempt to return the item, only to be told that she gave it to Mellie.   So, much to my relief, Mellie is NOT a thief.  Whew.

 

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.  We won the items and Mellie helped me carry them to the car.  A little later, I couldn't find her and was about to freak out when I send Paw Paw into the men's bathroom to see if she had followed Ronnie in there -- she had. 

 

She slept like a champ the whole way home.

Update

So, it has been a while since I have posted here.  Life happens, things get put to the back burner, most days I just try to make it through the day.

Most significantly, Mellie is now a proud big sister.  Luke Joseph "LJ" Simicek was born 01/23/2013.  Mellie LOVES her little brother, although she is often jealous of the attention he receives and can often be heard telling him "LJ down" like he's a naughty dog that got up on the furniture without permission.

In less than a month, my Mellie will be three years old.  Attempts to potty train have gone very poorly and all parties have pretty much decided to let her decide when she is ready.  She is talking up a storm, but is difficult to understand.  When the twins at her day care had their second birthday party last April, I realized that her language development was about par with theirs, and she is about eight months older.  So, I had her assessed by a Speech Therapist and she has been diagnosed with Expressive Language Disorder with Articulation Deficits.  I will write more about this in a blog all it's own.

Mellie is currently obsessed with "Sulley" from Monsters Inc.  I took her last week to see Monsters University with our friend Kathryn.  This was her first movie that she actually watched at the movie theatre, and although she loves Monsters Inc, Monsters University was probably mostly over her head.  Not really designed for preschoolers.  But she enjoyed herself, anyhow.  Popcorn IS among her favorite foods.

Along with Sulley, she loves Mickey Mouse, Stitch from Lilo and Stitch, and Puss in Boots.  She also likes Merida from Brave.  I try to keep her away from the traditional Disney movies -- I don't feel like they are very empowering nor do they have good messages.  My Mellie doesn't need to wait for a man to rescue her.  She can rescue herself.  Which is why I really like that she has taken to Merida.

She is a little monster and gets into EVERYTHING.  This weekend she got into trouble for getting the dish soap and pouring it on the floor, pouring sugar into clean dishes, and using chalk to decorate the guest bathroom mirror.  Last night she got in trouble for scratching me in the face.  On purpose.  Three times.

Despite the times she makes me want to pull out my hair or hide under the bed in the fetal position, she is a very smart and affectionate little girl.  She is already ready for a hug and a kiss, and will spontaneously give kisses to LJ.  Last night, he was crying in his swing so she brought him a bunch of toys to cheer him up.  I find myself thinking wistfully of getting home to hug her tight and cover her with kisses and hear her sweet little laugh.

My worst fear, however, has been realized.  She is a very girly girl.  She loves outfits, especially dresses, shoes, purses, jewelry, hair bows, painting her nails, etc.  I recently bought her a magnetic princess that she can put dresses and shoes and other accessories on.  She loves it.  She loves to Go Go Go, and play with water.

I am working hard to instill my love of all animals in her, and she is taking to it like a champ.  We talk about the cat, the dogs, the squirrels, or any other animals that we see with glee.

I have many ideas in my head for more blog posts.  Mellie has such a big personality, it's not hard to think of topics.  Where I struggle is finding the time to write them.  Wish me luck, send me reminders, give us lots of love and support.  My wish is for Mellie to someday read these posts and see herself through my eyes.

Mommy and Mellie

For those of you that don't know, Ronnie has started taking classes at UH Sugar Land (through UH Victoria) for a computer degree in order to make a career change.  Classes started on January 17th.  He is taking four classes, three in class ones and one online one.  What this means is that on Mondays through Wednesdays, he leaves for class by 6:30 and I am home along with Hurricane Mellie those nights. 

So, last Monday night was the start of our first full week.  Mellie was in a good mood, and as we didn't make it to the grocery store over the weekend, I packed her up to go pick up a sandwich at Subway.  Usually, Ronnie cooks dinner for us.  This is probably going to be the biggest adjustment for me.  Being responsible for providing the two of us with dinner. 

When we got to Subway, I carried Mellie in and as I was considering my order, the Sandwich Artist (as they used to be called) asked if Mellie was mine.  I guess this is a question I should get used to.  I'm already used to being told that she looks EXACTLY like her father.  But now, I need to get used to people being suspicious of whether she's even mine?  I know the lady didn't mean anything by it, so I told her that she was and added "She looks just like her Daddy."

After I got my sandwich, I took Mellie back to the car and loaded her up into her car seat.  "Are you ready to go go go?"  I asked her several times.  Then, I climbed in myself and started the car, only to hear Mellie in the back say "ga ga ga," which I realized was her way of saying "go go go."  So, I repeated "go go go" and heard "ga ga ga" from the back.  Liking how this was going, I said "Dee Dee" (our cat's name -- Mellie thinks Dee Dee hung the moon).  I heard a little voice eagerly say "Dee Dee" from the back.  "Da da?" I asked.  "Da da!" was the response.  By now, we were driving through the Randall's parking lot, so I pointed out the people in the parking lot and encouraged Mellie to say "hi" to them.  Silence.  So, I moved on.  "Ma ma?"  Crickets.  "Dee Dee?"  "Dee Dee!" was the eager response.  "Ma ma?"  Pause.  "Da da!"  "No, Mellie, say Ma Ma!"  Crickets again.  Then, in a tiny little whisper so soft I almost missed it, I heard "Ma ma."  It filled my heart up.

So, we got back to the house, and I shared my sandwich with Mellie by tearing off pieces of the bread and the chicken.  Just as I chewed and swallowed the last bite, Mellie turns to me and makes the sign for "more" and said "ma."  I felt so horrible!  She wanted some more, used the appropriate sign and everything, and there wasn't any more to be had!  Fortunately for me, Mellie quickly forgave me.

Mellie Wreaks Havoc at HEB

So, this past Saturday we had a really nice family day.  We got up, leisurely got ready, and then went and had breakfast at Larry's (what has become a Saturday morning tradition, at least when we have money).  Afterward, we went shopping for some needed stuff.  We wanted to go grocery shopping afterward, but it was well past Mellie's nap time, and she had an appointment to get her hair cut at 2:00 pm, so we went home and put her down for her nap. 

As usual, we were running late to get her haircut (I despise waking Mellie up, and she was still napping), but it wasn't a big deal when we arrived at Cool Cuts 4 Kids about ten minutes late.  Once I figured out we were supposed to sign in, we sat down and waited.  I was pretty sure that the hair cut was not going to go over very well with her highness, so I took Mellie over to the area where they were cutting hair so she could see all the kids getting their hair cut. 

We didn't have to wait very long before it was our turn.  The hairdresser asked if we could put her in a chair by herself - it was all decked out like a fire engine, very child- friendly.  I didn't think Mellie was going to go for it, but we tried anyhow.  Here come the waterworks!  The hairdresser suggested she sit in my lap, and I heartily agreed.  She put a protector on me and another on Mellie.  She was not thrilled with this and immediately yanked it off.  I told the hair dresser that it was fine.  She was great, I didn't even have to ask her to not spray the water directly on Mellie.  She sprayed her comb a couple of times and went to work.  She asked me what I wanted, and I told her I just wanted her to even it out and make it look less like a mullet.  We discussed how much to cut off, and she went to work.

As I suspected, Mellie was not happy with this turn of events.  She screamed bloody murder even before the cutting started.  The other kids turned to see what was upsetting her so much.  Fortunately, the hairdresser was able to do a really nice job really quickly.  She put a little bow in Mellie's hair and offered to take a picture of us, which I took her up on.  She gave us a little certificate, and put a lock of her hair in a little baggie for us to take with us.  I went and paid, and gave her a really nice tip. 

Afterwards, we went a couple of doors down to the gelato place and everyone got some ice cream.  Mellie really enjoyed this, plus she enjoyed the little kids size table and chairs that they had. 

Once we were finished, we went a couple of more doors down to Half Price Books were we picked out three books for Mellie.  Ronnie looked for one of his textbooks, which he couldn't find.  By now, Mellie was getting fussy.  I convinced her to calm down so Ronnie would agree to go to the grocery store.  We stopped at the new HEB at Highway 6 and Highway 90.

Mellie agreed to sit in the cart like a normal child from the parking lot into the store.  Once we were in the store, she decided she'd prefer to be in the actual cart, which was fine.  I stopped at several sample locations and got some coupons and information about some products which I placed in the cart.  Mellie kept reaching for them to wreak havoc, so I moved them to my pocket.  We got to the yogurt area, and I picked up some low fat greek yogurt for me to have as breakfast.  Mellie immediately tried to pitch one out of the cart, so I moved them to the seat she refused to sit in.  She then decided it would be a good idea to try to slam the seat down while the yogurt was there.  I decided Mellie needed to be carried.

Mellie, however, was not interested in being carried.  She wanted to get down and wreak havoc.  Finally, I put her down and Ronnie was watching while I picked out some chocoloate chips.  While reviewing the prices, I heard a screaming child a couple of aisles down.  I thought with relief, I'm so glad that is not my child this time.  I finally made my selection and turned around to tell Ronnie something.  No sign of him, or my child.  Now, I hear the screaming child, and she sounds remarkably like Mellie, and I am praying that is my child.  Trying to keep from freaking out, I pull my phone out to call Ronnie.  I was way too shooken up to dial, however, and I started nearly sprinted down the aisle towards where I last heard the screams.  I envisioned Mellie screaming because a stranger was trying to carry her off.  Suddenly, Ronnie, carrying the pterodactyl, walks into the aisle I am sprinting down.  I grab her and hug her tight, and then give Ronnie a word or two.  He told me she ran off so he ran after her.  I put her back in the cart and hid the yogurts and the eggs beneath the bread in the little shelf at the end. 

In the cart, out of the cart.  This continued for the entire trip.  Other sample ladies told me I had a beautiful child.  I told them how horribly behaved she is, and they told her to be good.  We realized we forgot butter for the cookies and had to go back to the far end of the store.  Mellie said hello to another child, younger than her, and I pointed out how the little one was sitting so nicely in the seat.  Her parents told me not to jinx it.

A couple of minutes later, Mellie had convinced me to put her down.  I was looking at something, and when I turned around Ronnie told me she was by the display of powdered donuts.  Sure enough, she was putting a second bag of donuts into a perfect stranger's cart.  I ran over, apologized profusely, and put the donuts back.  I remember thinking "what great fodder for my blog - my child putting powdered donuts into the cart of an unsuspecting bystander." 

She's lucky I love her soo very much.

Mellie's Mouse Adventure or Mellie's Christmas Holiday part two

Today I will be describing the events of the day after Christmas, which turned into a very hectic and panic filled day for the Simicek household.

The day started off nice enough.  Me and Mellie got up early to do some Christmas shopping.  It was Pippin's birthday, so I needed to get cake mix and frosting to make his birthday cupcakes, and I was meeting up with some old friends for a late lunch.  This came up late on Saturday, so I needed to get them all gifts as I hadn't planned on seeing them (although I was delighted about the lunch). 

As I was putting Mellie in her car seat, I noticed some of the fluff coming out.  I thought that she had been picking at it on the long drive home from Lolita on Saturday, she hadn't slept too much during it.  However, when I hopped into the driver's seat, I saw tangerine peel debris all over the place, where I had left a WHOLE tangerine Saturday.  Sighing, I realized our mouse had found it's way into the car for a little treat.  I didn't think too much of it, I just called Ronnie and told him about it and we were on our way.

First stop was Kroger for the cake mix.  I also wanted to get her a Jingles Hallmark dog with the book where when you read certain phrases the dog responds.  I had seen it Friday and Ronnie wouldn't let me get it.  He said I could get it after Christmas when it was discounted.  So, Monday morning, I ran to Kroger hoping they still had one.  They did not.  I was terribly disappointed.  So, I got two boxes of cake mix and frosting (Maggie's birthday was the following Saturday) and we drove on to Target in Rosenberg.

We got there early enough that there wasn't much of a crowd.  As usual, Mellie refused to sit in the cart seat, and I put her in the cart with the usual stipulation that she sit.  We went around the store picking out gifts for my friends and for Mellie, and some items that we needed.  About halfway through the trip, Mellie decided to cause chaos and started throwing items out of the cart and screaming bloody murder.  I was terribly embarrassed.  Of course, I still had people come and tell me how cute my baby was.  I was like, are you serious?  Can you not hear her screams?  Do you not see her throwing items OUT OF THE CART???  Instead, I thanked them and smiled.  On our way out, I called Ronnie and asked if he wanted Starbucks.  He wanted an eggnog latte.  I tried to order one, but of course they were out of eggnog.  So, I got him a gingerbread one instead, which he wasn't terribly thrilled about when we got home.  Oh, and I spilled one of the drinks on the way out as I didn't have enough hands to hold a screaming Mellie, push a cart, and hold BOTH drinks....

So, we safely got home and gave Ronnie his coffee.  I put Mellie down for a nap while I gift wrapped the gifts.  Meanwhile, Ronnie went out to take a look at the car seat.  He noticed that the mouse had chewed on the strap with the seat buckle.  He took the car seat completely out to examine it closer, only to discover that the mouse had also chewed the same strap further down in the seat and it was barely attached.  Thank God we weren't in a wreck while running errands.  Mellie could have been seriously hurt.

So, we added up our Christmas gift money and decided to use it to buy a new seat.  Now comes the discussion about which one to buy.  I didn't really like the one we had and didn't want to get the same one.  We discussed whether to get a cheap one or a nice one, and whether we should get a convertible one or just put her in a forward facing one.  Mellie was still napping, and obviously we couldn't take her anywhere, so I sent Ronnie to buy the seat, while I waited at home.  And waited.  And waited some more.  Tick tock, tick tock.  I started stressing out that I was going to be late for lunch with my friends.  Tick tock, tick tock.  I worried some more when I realized one of my friends was coming on her lunch break and wouldn't have too much time.  Tick tock, tick tock.  Finally, Ronnie was home. 

He had bought a forward facing seat that we had admired when we bought her convertible one.  We got it out of the box and attempted to get it prepared to put in the car.  Of course, it took two adults with masters degrees an enormous amount of time to get it installed, but we finally got it set up, and Mellie buckled in. 

This is when I discovered that Ronnie didn't know he was "invited."  As if he has ever NOT been invited.  He "wasn't ready" to go, so I decided to take Mellie and leave and he could meet us at Dimasi's when he was ready.

By now, I was very stressed out.  It was the time we were supposed to meet, and I was barely leaving my house, which was 20-30 minutes away.  Needless to say, that nice newly paved stretch of Harlem, I was speeding.  Only to get caught in a speed trap DPS had put up.  And, I didn't know where the insurance was.  I thought it was probably in Ronnie's wallet.  Turns out it was in the sunglasses place.  Fortunately, he only gave me one ticket and sent me on my way.  To make matters worse, when I texted Ronnie to tell him, he said he "meant to tell me about that." 

Anyhow, I eventually got to lunch.  We had a very nice time visiting with Alexine and Christine, and Ronnie eventually made it.  Mellie was reasonably behaved, and got several nice gifts.  Christine got her a baby doll, which has become Mellie's favorite (last night she was standing on it's arm).  Both Christine and Alexine seemed to think it was "creepy" because when you put the bottle to its lips to acts like it is drinking.  I didn't think it was terribly creepy, and Mellie just loves it. 

Where's Mellie?

Mellie has always enjoyed playing a game we call "Where's Mellie?"  It's basically peek-a-boo.  When she was real little, I would throw a blanket over her head and say "Where's Mellie?" and she would pull the blanket off her head, and we would cheer her.  When she got a little older, we would take turns.  The blanket on her head, the blanket on mommy or daddy's head and Mellie would pull it off.  One day, we were playing it and she put the blanket on her own head to play!  It was quite an accomplishment.  To this day, I can't think of a time she's ever put the blanket on my head or Ronnie's head.  Sometimes, we will put the blanket on Pippin or Dee Dee and say "Where's Pippin?" or "Where's Dee Dee?" and she will pull the blanket off.  Lately, she's developed it even further.  She will put her hands on her eyes, and me or Ronnie will say "Where's Mellie?" and act like we are looking for her and say things like "Oh, Daddy is going to be very upset that I lost Mellie!" and then she will remove her hands and we say "There's Mellie!  I'm so glad to have found you!"  She laughs and starts all over.

Well, the other night we were playing this version, where she puts her hands over her eyes.  After a couple of rounds, she reaches up and puts her tiny little hands on MY eyes to play.  It is so amazing to see her make these tiny little jumps in cognition and understanding of the world around her.

Even if her little hands aren't nearly large enough to completely block my vision.  One day they will be, though, and I will look back on these days with fondness and think about how little she "used" to be.  I see it happening already.  Just yesterday, I got a $20 credit for shutterfly, and thought it would be nice to make another little desk calendar like the one I had for last year.  So, I started pulling out pictures from albums (electronically) to put this calendar together, and it made me realize just how much she has accomplished in the past year.  Not only did she learn to walk (although it feels like she's walked forever), she learned to crawl, she learned to climb up on furniture.  I came across a picture of her crying because I had put shoes on her feet for the first time!  Now, she loves wearing shoes! 

It's so easy to get sucked into the day to day routine and things that "need to get done" that you miss the here and now.  I try to spend time every day with her, sitting on the floor with her, focusing on her.  It's the little things like that that we will both remember and cherish. 

Mellie's Christmas Holiday

Unfortunately, Mellie was under the weather for the majority of my five day Christmas holiday.  She had a low fever off an on (sometimes getting "high" although it didn't get high over the Christmas weekend). 

Friday:  In the morning we stayed home and did stuff around the house.  Meaning we mostly vegetated as I was also under the weather.  In the afternoon, I called Ms. Betty to see if we could bring her Christmas gift over as Mellie had not been to day care since she was picked up Tuesday with a fever.  We got Ms. Betty a bottle of Malbec wine (her son advised us it was her favorite) along with a cheese torta, crackers, and a nice bar of dark chocolate.  I figured she has to deal with Mellie all day, she deserves wine.  Ms. Betty was very happy about the gift.  She had several of her family members over, and showed me how Mellie likes to dance with her.  Ms. Betty had her kitchen counters redone with a beautiful back splash, and I complimented her on them and chastised Ronnie for not telling me about them.  The adults were preparing a traditional Venezuelan Christmas dish similar to tamales (but much better) and the two adolescents were playing a dance game on the Wii, but they took the time to enthusiastically greet Mellie.  When we were leaving, I showed Ms. Betty how Mellie will say tree.  Right before we left, she told me a fabulous (depending on your point of view) of Mellie's day care antics.  Apparently, one day another child, Juliet, got ahold of Mellie's shoes.  Juliet is about six months older than Mellie and significantly larger.  Mellie took offense at Juliet having her shoes and proceeded to tackle Juliet, sit on her back, and pull her hair like horses' reins.  Juliet, understandably, started screaming bloody murder.  Mellie then let go of Juliet's hair and put her fingers in her EARS!!!!  So funny.  I mean, obviously, it's not ok to tackle someone and sit on their back while pulling their hair, but it IS rather funny.  So, after we left Ms. Betty's we went to our local Kroger's for some groceries and stuff to bring to Christmas Eve at Ronnie's sisters house.  Mellie did pretty well there.  I found one of those Jingles Hallmark books where the little stuffed dog responds when you read certain passages.  Ronnie wouldn't let me buy it, and told me it would be cheaper after Christmas.  I made a note to go back first thing on Monday and get one. 

Saturday: We left around 9:15 to go to Sarah's house.  Sarah, her husband Wes, and their two kids live in a house on some land in Lolita, which is in Jackson County, between Edna/Ganado and Port Lavaca.  We got there right at 11.  Initially, me and Mellie went into the house.  My brother and his wife (Ju Ju and Ju Ma) were there, along with a couple of Wes's family members, and Sarah.  Mellie ran around in circles in the house for a while before I realized everything was going on in the garage, so I took Mellie out there.  The guys fried shrimp and fish, and there was grilled fish and mulled wine.  Uncle Harley made a delicious tossed salad, and there was ambrosia, fruit salad, rolls, potato casserole, corn relish, and an array of desserts.  Mellie had a good time running around, and when Uncle Jerry got there with her new arm chair, she was very pleased.  Grandma Simicek was there, she recently had some heart problems, and it was good to see her.  Mellie ate a good amount of food, cried when their yellow lab licked her face, and tried to play darts with Ju Ju and cousin Tanner.  They, smartly, decided she should not be trusted with sharp objects.  Uncle Dave was there, and so were Ronnie's cousins Greg (and his girlfriend), Kelly, and John John (and his wife).  After eating, presents were exchanged.  We all made out with quite a bit of money, and Mellie got a new toy and a new outfit (a shirt that says "My Aunt Rocks" from Sarah and Wes).  We had planned to go to Mass with the family, Tanner was going to be in the Christmas Pageant, I had even brought nice outfits for both me and Mellie to change into.  Unfortunately, I talked to Ronnie, and we weren't really feeling very well, and Mellie hadn't really napped, so we knew she would be a nightmare, and decided to skip mass.  We started packing up the car with our goodies, only to discover that Mellie's new armchair did not fit in the trunk.  We decided we would have to put it in the backseat, which meant moving her car seat from the middle to the passenger side.  About this time, Mellie refused to let me hold her and had been on the porch of the house.  Now, of course, she wondered down and was trying to climb on the swing, despite the blistering north wind.  I had been trying to move the seat, and when I gave up and asked Ronnie to do it, I realized she was exposed.  I went and grabbed her and her UT blanket I had made her when I was still pregnant, and started moving stuff to the trunk to make more room.  Fortunately, Uncle Wes took her from me and we found her a hat to help keep her warm while I was moving stuff.  Finally, the car seat was re-installed and the armchair was fit in and we were ready to go.  Mellie slept most of the way home.  When we got home, we opened presents.  Ronnie got the clothing I had got him, and we got our stocking presents.  Mellie opened her gifts from Nana (she is becoming a pro at unwrapping gifts) and was thrilled with the baby doll she got.  Even more than that, she loved the play pots and pans we had bought her, and took everything out of the box and spread across the coffee table, pretending to cook by stirring some of the skillets.  Finally, she went to bed.  After she went to bed, my neighbor called; she had a gift for Mellie.  I went over to get it and it was a rocking horse!  She gave me some wrapping paper and asked that I wrap it.  I brought it home and attempted to wrap it, but the roll was about empty and there wasn't enough paper so I put a bow on it for her. 

Sunday:  Merry Christmas Mellie!  She slept until 9 or 9:30, bless her little heart.  She usually wakes up between 7 and 7:30.  She pulled all of her gifts out of her stocking and eyed the rocking horse warily.  We didn't feel well so we skipped Mass (it didn't help Mellie slept so late).  Basically, we just stayed home all day and enjoyed each other's company. 

Monday and Tuesday to come in a future post.