And What a Merry Christmas it Was

This year it was not about the gifts under the tree  but about family, snow on the ground and more love in the air than you can imagine.

I have never had such a more special Christmas than we did this year. I don't know if it is becasue we are all getting older and can appreciate each other more, if it was the snow on the ground, a new baby in the family or the fact that we had all the family together but whatever it was it will be a Christmas I will always remember..

The holiday started with a great Christmas with the Johnstons where Luke was gifted with all his warm Iowa Christmas gear

Next came an eariler than expected plane ride back to Iowa for a Holt Family Christmas.

We got back a few days earlier than expected due to the "pineapple express" system moving through that promised and delivered a very white Christmas.

 

Luke and Charger got their first of many plane rides VIP style. They were better than expected no tears were shed and the only one who was nervous was me- but nothing a little xanax couldn't cure.

We landed safely in Mason City with a beautiful blanket of snow already on the ground.

Over the next few days we trimmed the tree, wrapped presents and got the house ready for the holidays. The snow started to fall and it was difficult to keep Greg and Charger out of the snow- I don't know who had more fun. Greg even offered to shovel and run the snow blower as this was a new experience for him.

At first he wasnt quite outfited appropiatley but soon enough he found all the warm clothes and had no problem running around in the woods with the dogs.

Christmas eve day was spent at Grandma and Grandpa's where Luke was passed around from realitive to realitve getting so much love and kisses his cheeks became rosey and chapped.

Christmas eve night was spent at the Quarry - Jon and Ray's resturant. Yummm is all I have to say. I can't believe my little brother is such an amazing cook. What I remember from his childhood are his turkey, cheetoo and ranch dressing sandwiches. Now he is serving up filet's and salmon that would make any food critics mouth water.

And best of all he loves it- so the house was constantly stocked with yummy food the whole week long. My tastebuds love it.. my wasitline on the other hand could have done without!

Christmas day brought more food and family followed by a wonderful night of gift giving and a musical performance by the Holt family band.

We couldn't have had more fun-

The rest of the week was spent doing a whole lot of nothing- relaxing to the full extent.

And through it all Luke did amazing he even started rolling over and I think is getting a tooth.

We head back to California on Friday and it is bittersweet

With it comes a New Year- I hope it brings us as much joy as did 2010.

So until next year.....

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!

This year it may be a White Christmas.

As Greg and I are getting ready to go back to Iowa for Christmas I am feeling a bit overwhlemed with all the things we have to do before we go. So instead of checking off my list I decided to sit down and reflect on the past few weeks with our Family and blog about it. Typical procrastination.

Luke is growing into such a cute little boy I can't believe how much he has changed just since Thanksgiving. He even rolled over..  But what I love more than watching him try and roll and play with his toys is to watch him laugh at what seems to be everything. I swear he laughs and smiles more than any other baby I have ever seen. And I'm sorry but I also think he is one of the cutest babies I have ever seen too.

 My Mom has been watching Luke for us while I have been at work and I can not tell you how lucky I feel to have someone who loves him so much to look after him while I am away. Going back to work has not been easy but having her makes it so much better than it could be.
Last week while all our family was freezing their asses off in Iowa we decided to have a beach day with Luke and the dogs.
It may not have been sunny but it was better than freezing and we were on the beach in December!

 2 Tired puppies after a long day at dog beach in Del Mar

Christmas With The Johnston Family...

I have never felt so blessed and having Luke makes this Christmas so much more special than ever before.
We spent last night with Jim and Candi.. (and Winston and Alex too) to celebrate our Christmas. I think their favorite gift was Luke. If I could have I would have wrapped him up and put a big bow on him. 
I think they liked their coffee maker too.
On Thursday we leave for Iowa to celebrate with the Holt clan. Lots of aunts, uncles grandparents, and cousins dying to meet him.
I have stocked up on warm clothes, mittens and gloves and now the tricky thing will be fitting it into the tiny suitcase I am allowed by Captain Holt aviation.  I'm still not sure how this is going to work, I have considered layering on all the clothes I will need for the week and sneaking them on the flight this way.  We even get to take Charger back to Iowa with us this year. It will be his first time in the snow...ever!

Since our last blog Luke can...

1. roll over
2. laugh and coo
3. sit up in his bumpo chair
4. reach for his toys and puts everything in his mouth!
5. and can recognize the sound of our voices.
oh and he weighs a whopping 15.8 lbs.. 

This was Lukes first Christmas gift.. a handmade knit hat from Grandma Candi

Chargers favorite part of Christmas is destroying his new toys.. I guess it does snow in San Diego.


In the meantime- 2 more days left of work- 3 suitcases to pack- 2 presents to wrap still and a partridge in a pear tree.

So much to be Thankful for...

What a year it has been for us.
We are so thankful to be in our new home with our family this year.
Not only do we have little Luke but we are also blessed to have my Mom and Dad out here this year for the winter.
One of the many advantages of having them here is the numerous offers to babysit so we can have a date night. Well we finally took my Mom up on that last weekend. Greg and I had our first of, hopefully, many date nights. We went to Bice downtown for dinner. We both had so much fun- but felt a bit rusty. After 2 drinks and a yummy dinner we were both ready for bed and decided to call it a night at 10pm. It was PERFECT!!!

Next-I decided to take on the challenge of cooking a full Thanksgiving meal for the whole family this year.
I was armed and ready Thanksgiving morning. I tied the apron, treated myself to a venti coffee and hit the ground running at 6am.
We had pretty traditional fare- Turkey (brined from the night before), green been casserole, scalloped corn, potatoes (sweet and mashed), salad..etc. So much food, in fact, we didn't have enough room on the table for it all.
 I think the highlight of the day though was not the turkey, not the football games or macy's day parade but it was the special moments the grandparents got to share with Luke. I don't think I could have paid them enough to take him out of their arms all day long. He was just on a rotation between the grandma's arms all day long. He is a very loved little boy.

And Luke is doing great. He has grown out of his colicky phase and is now on quite the routine. He has even slept through the night a handful of times. Life is good!

So with this Thanksgiving.. I can not think of anything more to be thankful for than FAMILY and our handsome little boys!

And now the fun begins. With the chill in the air, black friday shoppers out in full effect and holiday decorations scattered over every shopping center in sight the Christmas season has officially begun.....

Cant stop Smiling

Well I have done my best to edit Lukes videos of him smiling - The blogger video is not really my friend!!
I hope you enjoy watching him laugh and smile as much as I do.
He makes me laugh every day just watching him. He is so easily entertained by his mobile. It never fails once I lie him down and turn it on he just laughs and smiles.

The last few days have been sooo HOT! And of course murphy's law our air is not working. So to escape the heat the whole Johnston clan spent the day at dog beach in Del Mar. Charger was so happy to get to the beach. We really had not taken him much since we moved up here.