Christmas!

Christmas morning, Luke woke up to pancakes and a new train set! We had a relaxing morning playing with the new toys, watching "A Christmas Story," and preparing for our 4 day trip to Phoenix and Prescott.




We spent Christmas Day with the Strayers. Aunt Vicki is a great hostess and her house in Ahwatukee is perfect for large family get-togethers. I was amazed how quickly Luke settled in- he didn't have hardly any of the "new surroundings anxiousness"- he's really getting to know his extended family, and it was fun to see him take a liking to Greg this time around! Maybe its because he's studying to be an EMT- Luke is OBSESSED with fire and rescue trucks/personnel right now.

The dinner (which was also potluck, but Vicki prepared the main dishes) was delicious! Ham AND turkey! Growing up, holidays were just the four of us because my extended family lives in Detroit. My mom, feeding only four people, only made ham OR turkey, never both! I still can't get over holidays where there are BOTH. So exciting.... As usual, we had wayyyy too much food and ate ourselves into food comas, leaving little room for dessert.

It was cold and rainy all afternoon, which made it seem more "Christmas-y," and it was nice to chat with everyone and see what everyone is up to. Linda was visiting from Vegas on break from PA school, Brittany just graduated with her LPN and is beginning her hunt for a nursing job, Rhiannon is on Winter Break from ASU, where she is studying Elementary Education, Greg is going to school to become an EMT... everyone is up to such exciting things! Maybe I'm just getting older, but there isn't really any new or exciting news for me to report! Aside from growing a little person in my belly, that is. :) That is okay, though, I had many years of school/work/assorted crap to report when I was in my early 20's also.

After spending Christmas Day with the Strayers, we drove up to Glendale to visit my parents. The next morning, Angie, Shawn, and Shelby came over and we celebrated a belated Christmas. I really wish Luke knew how to open presents- Shelby ended up opening his gifts for him, which was quite silly. Shelby and Luke were little pro wrestlers- I worry that one of these days, she is going to throttle him, and we won't be able to say anything but, "You shoulda been nicer to her when you were still bigger than her!"



Mom made ham and Angie made her famous sweet potatoes, and again, we all ate ourselves fat and happy. This time, I saved room for dessert and ate the hugest piece of pumpkin pie. I'm glad I cut myself a big slice, because I had the cutest little pigeons (Luke and Shelby) begging for bites while I was eating. This way, I was okay with sharing. :) Overall, it was a fun THREE days of Christmas Fun, and Phil likes to joke that if we just add five more, we can compete with Hannukah.

Luke's Christmas Carol

Luke's remix version of "Santa Claus is coming to Town!" He learned his part in just a few minutes- he's a quick study. This song is tied for his Favorite Christmas Song next to "Frosty the Snowman." Enjoy!

Let the Christmas Fun Begin!

Christmas Eve began with a great impromptu playdate with friends. Earlier this week, my girlfriends and I were lamenting the fact that there really wasn't anything to do on Christmas Eve (assuming your shopping was done!) until the evening. And, considering the past two days have been cold and rainy- we were all suffering from a bit of cabin fever as it was! So I decided to invite some friends over to eat yummy breakfast casserole and watch the kiddos play. Luke and I had fun sharing our toys with Isabelle, Naomi, Keira, and Alisha and chatting with their mommies.

Christmas Eve-ning, Phils parents and sister/nephew came over for dinner and presents. It was a relaxing evening- Cindy baked a yummy red velvet cake in the shape of a Christmas tree and I made my "special" pot roast. We drank cider (preggo, remember) and were merry.

Time is sure flying. The boys played so well together and had actual conversations. Gabe is potty trained now, which seems crazy, but he is going to be 3, so it makes sense. Phil's family was very generous and we are excited about our new photo printer and panini press (among other things...) But the most fun part was watching Luke open his presents and to see how excited he got. Auntie Laura and Uncle Michael got Luke a HUGE fire truck with extension ladder and Grandma and Grandpa got Luke a large working garbage truck. Do they know him or WHAT?! He played with them for the rest of the evening and insisted on taking them to bed with him, which was probably not the best idea since they took up half the crib... but hey... its Christmas.

Laura liked the DVD slide show I made of Gabe's first 3 years, which is good- since I spent forrrrrrever on it. Its funny to think that the software that I used (Microsoft Movie Maker and Microsoft DVD maker) were on my computer this whole time! In fact, they are on most peoples computers... they just don't know it! I hope to make a nice movie of Luke's first two years before his birthday. It will be easy, now that I'm a pro. ;) I'll be sure to take lots of good pics of CHristmas so I can include them. :)

My "New" Guest Bathroom

I finished redecorating my guest bathroom this weekend. I had been sick of the blue/white bathroom for years, it had never turned out they way I had originally hoped. I had painted it before I knew about caulking, so there will little paint dribbles that had gotten underneath where I had taped. It looked so sloppy. I picked out the "classic taupe" color from Hope Depot (Behr paint is the BEST!) and bought new polished bronze fixtures (everything except the faucet- i don't know how to change faucets!) and a stained glass window cling. I kept the white shower curtain, but changed out the rod and curtain rings. It looks so nice! I really took my time on the painting, because I didn't want it to look even worse than the blue did. I like that I picked a neutral color this time, so if I ever get sick of the green towels or stained glass, I can change it out without having to paint again. Merry Christmas to me!

Gumbo Night

Bev and Ruben hosted their 2nd Annual December Gumbo night tonight. This is a "tradition" that was started last year- and it was such a huge hit we couldn't wait to do it again. The cold and rainy weather was perfect for the hot seafood soup, but because it was so cold, we had to stay inside- meaning it was quite a full house! Bev & Ruben invitied us, Steve & Susan, Dena & Diego, Christine and her three kids (Tyler, Audrey, and baby Brooke), Ross & Cindy, and Laura, Michael & Gabe. The food was so absolutely delicious that we ate every bit of it. Dessert was no disappointment either. Susan made a terrific homemade cherry pie, Bev made bread pudding, and I tried out a new truffle recipe. Aside from eating the delicious gumbo, the best part was watching the kids run around and play inside the Tee-Pee! Luke was in awe of Tyler's piano playing skills, and climbed up on the piano bench to watch him play. They invented all sorts of crazy toddler games, and I still can't believe we sort of got them to sit still long enough to take a picture of them all together!

Women's Breakfast & Cookie Decorating Party

Last night, Luke and I drove up to Phx to hang out with my family. This morning, my mom, sister, and I went to the Women's Christmas Brunch at my mom's church, while my dad entertained Luke. My mom sponsored a table at the brunch, and decorated it beautifully with green/gold and holiday plates. Meanwhile, my dad took Luke to Cabela's, this huge sporting goods slash taxidermy extravaganza. Dad said that Luke was in awe of all of the stuffed creatures and had a great time!



After the brunch, Luke and I headed back down to Tucson, stopping in on Aunt Vicki's annual Christmas Cookie decorating party. Even though Luke was super exhausted, he had a great time in the backyard playing with cousin Gabe, Dominic, and all of Dominic's toys. Especially the Jeep. He lovvvvved the Jeep. He wasn't really interested in decorating or eating the cookies, which is probably a good thing. I decorated and ate two, but that was plenty. I saw people decorating lots of them and putting them on trays to take home and eat later, but I wasn't really feeling it. I kept thinking about my already seemingly exponential weight gain (3rd trimester anyone?) and figured I didn't need any extra help. I was more there to see everyone- and we did! Auntie Laura, Grandma V, GG Strayer, cousin Gabe, and Vicki's family were all there. Vicki throws great parties- there was at least 30 people there and everyone was really enjoying themselves. We can't wait to go back for Christmas... Luke is already missing his new buddy the Jeep. :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Tree

Luke has been very interested in the Christmas sections at the stores lately, mainly because they replaced his beloved "Halloween." He would always ask to "go see Halloween?" and now he asks to "go see Christmas Tree?" That is because one of the first things I described to him as we perused the aisles were the Christmas Trees. Now everything is related to "Christmas Tree," not "Christmas." Its really cute!

Last night, we decided to put up our Christmas Tree. It was easy to do, since we keep it in a box in our garage! We got out the tree and ornaments and tried to do it with as little toddler damage as possible. We even put on "High School Musical 3," which is nothing if not entrancing to one year olds. Luke was very interested in the ornaments, though, and you can hardly blame him! They are the size of little toys, and many are shaped like toys.

This year, like last year, we only hung the un-breakable ones, and only out of Luke's reach. (However, since he is much taller and observant than last year, they've been squished to the upper third of the tree, which looks odd.) We saved his "Baby's 1st Christmas" stuffed snowman ornament Grandma Cindy gave him last year as the one ornament that is hung low. Luke is free to take it off and rehang it as he likes, which, so far, is about every hour.

Also, this is the tenth year of the foil star. We copied a tradition my parents have- when they were first married, they fashioned a tree-topper star out of wire hanger covered in foil. Each year, they added another layer of foil to make it shiny again. They are on their thirty-something layer now! The year I was in my first apartment (which was also my first Christmas dating Phil!) my dad made me a wire frame for a star topper. We put the tenth layer on it last night and Luke "helped" us put it on the top of the tree!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, we went up to Phoenix to spend Thanksgiving with the Sniders. It was overcast, rainy, and a little cold, which was a nice change of pace. Its been in the 80's in Az these past few weeks! Angie and Shawn hosted and Shawn deep-fried they turkey, which is the absolute best way to eat a turkey, if you are going to eat a turkey and aren't worried about saturated fat or calories (and who is on Thanksgiving day anyways?!) We had the turkey, Angie's special sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, moms famous stuffing, green bean casserole, a can of cranberry sauce (which Luke loved), corn, and pumpkin pie. I brought the rolls, whipped cream, pumpkin bread and some chocolate treats. We basically ate ourselves into a food coma and then watched "Transformers." Shelby and Luke played really well together and didn't fight or really throw any tantrums. Shawn took the kids on a bike ride using this really cool kid-trailer thing. It was drizzly outside, but they didn't mind- they loved it! We spent the night at my parents, and the next morning it was cool and sunny. Dad took Luke for a paddle boat ride, which Luke said was "exciting!" and then we went over to the neighborhood park to take our annual family Christmas picture (check your mailboxes in the next few weeks!) and to play on the equipment. We headed home around lunchtime and got back in time to see Auntie Linda, who was in town for a few days. We hadn't seen her since Laura's wedding in April, so it was nice to catch up.