Money Can't Buy Me Love

Ethan's first Christmas...where do I begin? My brother and his family arrived from Massachusetts on Thursday and settled in with my parents, who live right down the street from us. On Friday evening, Joe and I put Ethan in his pajamas and then went to a state park a few towns over to look at the HUGE displays of lights they had set up. Of course, Ethan slept through the whole thing, but at least we were all together as a family.

We spent Christmas Eve with Joe's parents and his sister and family. They live about an hour away from us, but none of them had seen Ethan since Labor Day weekend. Joe has never really gotten along well with his family nor been all that close to them, but we are civil and usually manage to make the best of the times we do get together. When we began opening gifts, and I realized just how overboard they had gone, I felt a little sad. I know that seems strange to some people, but that is exactly how I felt. Money can't buy their grandson's love. Presents can't make up for the time that they are not spending with him, the smiles they haven't received, the milestones they've missed. I feel like the gifts are all "for show", to make them look like they are the world's greatest grandparents. Don't get me wrong, I know they love Ethan, but I wish they'd show it in other ways rather than in material things. Here is what they gave him:

• A little rack to hang things on for his room, with his name on it
• Shout Elmo
• Happy Ears Eeyore
• Tumble Time Tigger
• Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Puppy
• Chicco Bi-Lingual Talking Farm
• Talking Sponge Bob Square Pants
• So Much To Say Talking Blues Clues
• Pretend CD player with 3 "discs"
• A ball that plays music and says words
• $100 to Target for clothes
• A Tigger playmat (which he is way too big for!)

A few of these toys or just the gift card would have been PLENTY for them to give Ethan for Christmas. I wish I could trade in some of these toys and exchange them for more hands-on grandparents. I know that I need to accept that they are very different from my parents, but it's so hard. My Mom could tell you some of Ethan's quirks or what his different cries mean. My in-laws couldn't even tell me what daycare he goes to or what his favorite food is. I know that I can't change who they are, but it does bother me a bit. Now Joe and I are on the hunt for a nice toy box for all of the above-mentioned items!!!

Before the holiday weekend, I weighed 172. I gained back about 2.5-3 pounds, but I am back on track today. Hopefully it won't take too awfully long to lose those holiday pounds. I'd still like to make my goal of reaching 150 or 155 by the beginning of May.

All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas, and I found myself staring at Ethan countless times, thinking back to last year when we didn't even know if we were having a boy or a girl. Now I can't even begin to imagine life without him. He makes our family complete. He makes me a better person, and he makes me laugh like I've never laughed before. He truly made this Christmas the most magical one yet.