Best Christmas Ever!

WARNING: This post is long and sappy!

Christmas with Colin was so much fun! I know everyone thinks their kid is the best, but we feel really, really blessed. It was so awesome to celebrate with him this year! Below are two pictures from Christmas morning 2009 when we found out we were expecting a baby boy! Everyday since, we've fallen more in love with him.

Now onto 2010...Rewinding a few weeks, we went out to AZ to celebrate Christmas with Nana & Papa Whalen, Aunt Colleen, Uncle Tim, Liam and Molly. I have said this before, but I am blessed with the most wonderful in-laws! I couldn't have married into a better family! (Ok, I digress again, but just looking at these pictures made me feel so thankful and filled with love!)

"Yummy, a bow!"

Because of the way Christmas break fell, we had a whole week off prior to Christmas this year. It was a really rainy week, so it was awesome to stay home, relax, and also bake some Christmas cut out cookies. Like last year, Carter came over to help. Kevin was the lead baker, Ash, Carter, and I were the lead decorators. We all shared the eating responsibilities.

We had time to do last minute shopping and wrapping. The house felt festive and homey.

On Christmas eve, we went to church and then came home and had a wonderful Irish meal of corn beef, potatoes, salad, and of course yummy wine. Kev set the table and even put out the fancy wine glasses. On my plate is a card from my awesome husband. He is so sentimental...I love it! Colin ate his green beans and apple slices.

On Christmas morning, we woke up early to open presents. Apparently, we were all very good this year! Santa gave Colin a tricycle, Kevin a kindle, and me a kindle. (Kevin and I had never talked about wanting a kindle and we were both VERY happily surprised by our Santa gifts! We found it hilarious that Santa had the same idea for both of us!)

After the morning festivities, we headed over to Nana & Papa Gaebel's house where Alyssa, Ashleigh, Grant, Carter and Avery were waiting anxiously. There were more presents to open including these cute matching backpacks for Avery & Colin.

Christmas day was capped off by a yummy meal with most of the extended Gaebel family. (We missed you Mike, Kristina, Jeff, Meghan, & Kaden!) The highlight was watching my grandma juggle Avery & Colin! It was really sweet!

"More green beans please!"

We are so thankful for all the gifts we received this year, but the greatest gift is family! We love our baby boy, we love each other, and we love our family so much! Thank you for a wonderful Christmas!

So Big!

My "little" man and his "big" cousin...

Colin (left), almost 7 months, and Carter (right), 3 years.

Carter has about two pounds on Colin, but Col is now eating solids, so watch out!

Seriously! Look how big he looks!!! Ahhhh.... :(

Oh Goodness...My Guinness!

Our early Christmas present...

Meet Guinness

Kev and I had been talking about getting a new "puppy" for a bit, but we wanted to wait until we were on vacation, so we had some time to devote to getting to know our new family member. Luckily for us Guinness became available and was ready for his new home on Dec. 17, our last day of work. We got him through a lab rescue organization (www.labrescuers.org), and they helped us find a dog that was the right fit for our family. So meet Guinness....He's a very handsome 2-4 years old, 80 lb. guy that LOVES attention! He doesn't care if you pull his ears, tail, or poke him in the eye...just as long as he's being loved on. He was a stray in San Bernardino, spotted by the rescue group at the shelter, and then spent some time in foster care before we got him. We're still learning about him and his training list is becoming longer and longer! Every command is "sit!" He's a mellow guy, but he loves to take Kevin on walks. So far he's been a lot of fun and a huge pain! (He didn't understand why he wasn't allowed to jump up on the bed at 2am.) He's not perfect, but we think with a little (or maybe a lot!) training, he'll be perfect for our family!

Ho Ho Ho!

For the past few weeks Kevin has asked Colin, "What does Santa say?" He'll then say, "Ho, Ho, Ho!" Colin then proceeds to laugh hysterically. Kevin mentioned this to Santa and Santa obliged by saying "Ho, Ho, Ho!" over and over again. Colin lit up and found Santa hilarious. They were both laughing so hard! It was so sweet!!!

Santa Rocks

Six Months

At six months, Colin wants to put everything in his mouth....My cell phone, car keys, t.v. remote, fingers, hair...you get the idea. If it's not within his grasp, he now lunges for what he wants. He will often miss grabbing his intended object and sit there wondering what to do next. He's not crawling (and probably not even close), but he does roll, pivot, and somehow maneuver himself all over the place. Last week, we left him to play on his quilt in the family room and came back two minutes later to find him six feet away laying smack in the middle of the wood floor. Oops! He's started eating a bit of solid food. We're taking things slowly. We first started cereal, but that didn't end so well. Five days of no poop and then BAM! Yuck! So we put an end to the cereal and started up with green vegis...so far that's worked out a bit better! He's moved from the infant car seat to the toddler car seat and infant bath tub to a big boy bath seat. Our little man is growing up. It's so cliche, but wow does it happen fast!

Let it Snow

We're loving our family time in Lake Arrowhead. Kevin and Colin experienced a first for both of them this morning...falling snow. Grant and Kevin are off now to find some snow saucers. Hopefully, we'll get home sometime today. However, we're on vacation this week, so what do we care? Let it snow!

After some more fun family photos, we made it out of there and home safely. It was wonderful to enjoy the day in the snow, but it's great to be home as well. The weekend was a great way to kick off our Thanksgiving vacation!

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!