Midland and a Visit with Santa at Bronner's

John had to do an overnight trip for work to Midland, so Hannah and I decided to tag along.  The hotel he was staying at had an indoor pool, so we figured we could take advantage of swimming while John was working - why not?!  We headed to Midland after my Dr appt Thursday morning and went straight to the hotel.  It was a brand new hotel, it couldn't have been open for more than a month or so, it was beautiful.  They allowed us to check into our room 3 hours early, which was super nice so Hannah (and I) could take naps at her usual time around 2.  Hannah and I dropped John off for his work meetings and headed to the Midland mall that was next to our hotel.  We had one more Christmas gift to get so I was happy to cross the very last thing off of our list. There was a small play yard inside so Hannah played for 30 mins or so after lunch to let off some steam.
 
I was hoping the activity would help with nap time, but no such luck.  This was our first time sleeping in a hotel and Hannah not being in a pack and play, but rather in the big bed.  She must have been to excited to sleep, but at least laid/played quietly in bed during nap time.  I took full advantage of the dark room and snoozed on and off myself!

We met John around 5pm to head with his work group to Midland's Santa House.  Apparently when this place is open for the Christmas holiday, the lines are unbelievably long and wrap around the building.  We had a private tour arranged (No Santa, but that was fine) to check out the place.  It is an actual Santa and Mrs. Clause school.  This past year they had over 100 Santa's learning the craft.  Such a unique and unbelievable place!  There were so many displays, decorations, scenes setup all over the room.  They change out the displays every year to create a new experience.
 
 
  
These pictures hardly do the place justice, it was a very neat place.

We split off with John for dinner, they were headed to a bar and out to eat, so Hannah and I decided to go do our own thing- Olive Garden.  Ha!  Yes, an odd choice to take a 2 year old, but pasta is always a hit for Hannah and I know John wouldn't appease me and go to an Olive Garden with his Italian heritage.  Hannah was on her very best behavior which was very nice for her 37-week Mama to handle.  We had quite a few compliments from other guests on how well behaved Hannah was, thank goodness!  I thought the no nap could back fire and then we'd be in trouble.  After dinner Hannah and I headed back to the hotel.  We decided to save swimming until the morning when we could have more time in the pool.  We relaxed and watched a Mickey and Minnie Christmas show, then got ready for bed.

That's when the cramping and contractions started... I don't remember how intense or how frequently braxton hicks were when I was pregnant with Hannah and of course each pregnancy is different, but I was definitely a little bit nervous.  The whole rest of the night was full of very uncomfortable sleep and John continuing to ask if I was okay.  Thankfully we did not deliver in Midland that night, but it was not a pleasant evening.  I was not feeling the greatest come morning time, so we decided to skip the pool, big time disappointment, and take it easy in the room while John worked.  We picked him up shortly after lunch and headed to Frankenmuth for our Santa visit.

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Last year was my first time to Frankenmuth and Bronner's.  That place is truly a Christmas wonderland.  I swear the store is an acre large, full of Christmas decorations, ornaments, trees, etc.  And of course, a trip there would not be complete without a visit to Santa!  We waited for about an hour and a half to see the big man.  (We ended up getting there when he was off for a break)

We have been prepping Hannah for this Santa visit for some time now.  Last year's visit with Santa was full of screams and tears, so we were hoping to not have a repeat experience.  Hannah watched closely as the kids in front of her sat on Santa's lap. There were only 4 or 5 families in front of us in line, and thankfully none of those kids cried.  We took advantage of standing in line to grab a few family pictures.  When it was Hannah's turn, she walked right up the steps and right onto Santa's lap!  I could have cried with excitement!  She was a little skeptical of Santa as you can see in the pictures, but she did great!  He asked her what she wanted for Christmas and Hannah said "A lollipop".  Santa looked at John and I and said that's an easy request!  Santa spent a few more minutes talking with Hannah and off we went!  I'm so proud of how well she did, I still can't believe she didn't cry or freak out!  All our prep work paid off :)
  
 
  
Hannah enjoying the penguin display.  It was hard to keep her focused to take a single picture.  There truly is so much going on in this place.
 
 

All in all, it was a fun trip (minus the cramping and not fun-feeling of being a large preggo person).  I really love going to Bronner's (even though the place can get crazy) and visiting Santa.  Their set-up and Santa display is so very neat.  I didn't get as many pictures from the line since we were closer to the front, but that is okay with me.  I also like how Santa really takes his time with each family, he is so patient with the kids.  We definitely look forward to continuing this fun family tradition with our kiddos and our visit with Santa each Christmas for many years to come!