I had to take Quinn to Vanderbilt yesterday for some blood work. He receives Occupational Therapy on Fridays at preschool, and since he missed the last 2 Fridays because of our trip to Arizona, I didn't want him to miss another OT session. So after preschool we ate lunch and then set out on our journey.
When we arrived, we headed to the lab in the Doctor's Office Tower. The DOT has at least 9 floors (I've never paid attention to how many floors there actually are, but we've had an appointment on the 9th floor before). So here we are, in this huge place, 3 hours away from home, and in the waiting area of the lab we run into a girl from Quinn's swim class that ended a month ago. She came right over, threw her arms around Quinn and said, "Oh Quinn, I've missed you!" So sweet.
When you have to cross a time zone just for your kid to pee in a cup, you make the most of it. So after the deed was done, we headed over to the Gaylord Opryland Resort for some Christmas cheer. Quinn spotted the snow tubers outside the hotel and wanted to try it, but I didn't think that he would really go through with it once he was standing at the top of the hill, and I didn't want to spend $40 to find out. Plus I didn't want to ride home with wet jeans.
We went into the hotel and it was like fairyland. A river, lights, fountains, and...Santa! The jolly old guy was the first thing we spotted. I had been wondering if I should make a special trip to have Quinn visit Santa. He has never been especially fond of him before. So I was glad that the opportunity presented itself. But I must have been under Santa's spell to not only have Quinn's picture taken in that outfit with that mess of hair, but then to also pay a ridiculous sum to get a copy of the pictures!
At least Santa looks good. But Quinn is still cute wearing his killer smile...I just would have planned to coordinate a little better if I had known we were getting pictures done.
After the photo, Santa got up out of his seat, and approached me with a concerned look on his face. "Did he tell me that he wants braces for Christmas?" Santa asked. No, Santa, he said "presents." Guess we'll keep up the speech therapy. Or maybe Santa needs a hearing aid. You can see his quizzical look in this photo:
After the visit with Santa, Quinn wanted to go on the boat ride, so we did. The river inside the hotel is 1/4 mile long, and from the boat we had great views of the sights.
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| A silly selfie before going under the bridge |
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| Wish this one wasn't blurry. |
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| Topiary bears |
After the boat ride, we walked around to another part of the hotel, where they had a large indoor garden, part of which felt like we were walking through a jungle.
We also took in a fountain show, set to Christmas music, which was my favorite part (Quinn's favorite part was the boat ride).
We didn't get to the lights outside, though after driving by them on our way home, I wished we had. The lights looked amazing. We did get this cute photo outside on the other end of the hotel:
We arrived home late, and I carried Quinn, already asleep, up to bed. We had a great time and a day full of the wonder and magic of Christmas. Since Shutterfly is still "busy making my order look great" and my Christmas cards will not be ready until after Christmas, let me take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. May you all enjoy that wonder and magic that comes as we celebrate the birth of a tiny, perfect miracle.
