Christmas with Aunt Deb and Uncle Bob

Our last stop along our Christmas celebrations is one of my favorites . . . a visit with my aunt and uncle on Samish Island. Jonathan loves his Bebo as he calls her, so he was especially excited to spend the day at their house (and even endured their sweet dog, Dexter, being there)!

We made a stop at a local bakery, Breadfarm, on the way in that my aunt has told me about numerous times. If you are ever making your way through Bow, WA, by all means stop in. They have some of the most amazing breads I've seen. I think I'd be there every single day if I lived nearby!

Deb's house is always decorated beautifully no matter what the season, and this Christmas was no exception. Their home is situated right on a bank overlooking the Puget Sound and the south end of the San Juan Islands, and the water provides a perfect backdrop to a well-lit home. Their house was like a winter wonderland this year. Since she has a serious love of snowmen, they were everywhere! In every nook and cranny, a snow friend could be found. And over the mantle . . . a perfect picture of St. Nick to set the mood. Her tree was decorated with wintry whites, and she paid so much attention to detail, just like her sis.

We had a ton of fun visiting, taking silly pictures (love the one of Gamma's head glowing thanks to a beautifully-lit wreath behind her!), eating yummy food, and just plain relaxing together.

Present time! Jonathan loved helping everyone unwrap . . . everyone, that is, except for Dexter, who was quite happy unwrapping his own. I think Dexter was probably just as excited, if not more, than Jonathan with his new toy! He carried it all over the house for the rest of the evening and had to show it to all of us individually. His tail could have done some serious damage he was so happy! :)

Jonathan loved having some silly time with his Bebo. They have so much fun together!

Such a fun visit wouldn't be complete without a photo of the sisters. Aren't they beautiful?! :)

Our visit was a great cap to our holiday celebrations and well worth the long drive north. Jonathan can't wait to go back!

Christmas with Karen

Each Christmas we have a special time of celebrating with our dear friend, Karen. This year we all went to her house for an afternoon of fun together. Jonathan always loves playing her piano. I hope that one day he'll actually be able to play something on it! He's quite serious about playing when he is there, and loves to hear the sound of the keys. Gampa helped him out this time.

We had so much fun exchanging gifts, and caught some fun photos of dear friends together.

Since Karen came with us on the Washington Christmas Tree hunt back in November, I had to share a picture of her decorated tree. It was beautiful all decked in white and sparkly crystal. The ribbon is the same ribbon (well, not the same spool!) that we used at our wedding and I still love it. It was so elegant, just like Karen!

What a joy it is to celebrate Christmas through the years with such a dear friend. She has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember, and Jonathan absolutely loves her. What a great afternoon together!

2011 Santa Picture!

I forgot to include one very important Christmas event! On Christmas Eve morning, we headed to The Commons in Federal Way (WA) for Jonathan to have his picture taken with Santa and put in any last requests. He was thrilled for the chance to see Santa again.

He looked quite handsome in his Christmas sweater (thanks Gamma and Gampa!), and was ready to tell Santa one last time that he reallllllly wanted a bell from his sleigh. Santa said that he wasn't sure if he would be able to leave one for him, but that he'd try. :)

That put one super cute smile on this little boy's face!

Pierce County (WA) Fantasy Lights

A night or two after Christmas, we hopped in the car and headed to Parkland (on the east side of Tacoma) to see the Pierce County Fantasy Light Show. It is the largest drive-through light display in the Northwest, with over 300 different displays along the two-mile drive on the shores of Spanaway Lake. It was a fun, quick outing, and Jonathan loved seeing all of the light displays. It may become part of our holiday traditions!

Our favorite display of the evening happened to be in someone's yard that faced the drive . . . 

Such a good reminder of the true reason we celebrate Christmas. It's one big Birthday party!

Christmas Fun with Gampa

Jonathan had lots of fun during our stay in Washington over Christmas. Mommy and Gamma found this fun foam gingerbread house kit, just like the one he put together with Maddie a wek earlier. He loved building his own, and he loved showing it off!

He also had lots of fun being silly with Gampa. We had fun with a mini Jonathan/Gampa photo shoot.

I love how these pictures show their silly and sweet relationship. Jonathan loves his Gampa!

Christmas Day 2011

Happy February! Just in time for a little more Christmas. ;) Truth be told, I'm just now getting the final bits of Christmas put away, including the music, so this post seems fitting!

Christmas Day 2011 was full of fun and joy. This is the first year that Jonathan actually understood the idea of it all. He left a note for Santa on Christmas Eve, along with cookies for him, carrots for the reindeer, and chocolate chips for the Prep and Landing elves. He tracked Santa on the NORAD site on Gamma's phone, and he made sure that he was asleep by midnight so that Santa wouldn't pass him by! (Of course, according to NORAD's tracking system, Santa had already been through Tacoma by the time he was in bed. Oops!)

He awoke early, but decided on snuggle time rather than present time for a little while. Finally, mommy, Gamma, and Jonathan sneaked downstairs to see what Santa brought (and to see if Santa ate his cookies). Jonathan was a little sad the next morning when he found that the elves couldn't handle how much chocolate he left them! He left A LOT of chocolate! :) He was super excited to get one last gift from his elf, who brought him a present every night during Advent.

After a yummy breakfast of cinnamon rolls and quiche, we all got dressed and then got to opening out stockings . . .

Daddy helped Jonathan with his stocking for the first bit of it. He was thrilled to get some chocolate, an orange, and some fun little goodies to start the day. But he was ready to move on to the big stuff in no time! He had to wait just a little longer while Gamma got some photos, Gampa got some snuggle and tickle time, and we waited for us all to be there.

Time for the real fun to begin! Jonathan had so much fun opening all of his gifts! He was definitely spoiled. From pirate ships to books to clothes to Dinosaur Train friends to binoculars to a gazillion Hot Wheels, he was in toy heaven! We all had a bit of fun, too!

One highlight of the day: Jonathan hitching a ride in Gamma's new L.L. Bean tote from Uncle Gary. It is HUGE! He was able to fit comfortably and have it zipped! Gamma decided that maybe Jonathan could be her carry-on the next time she goes on a trip. :)

He also loved receiving a few games to play, including his first driving video game . . .

. . . and his first board games — Candy Land and Chutes and Latters, of course. He's now obsessed with Candy Land! Daddy helped him break in Chutes and Ladders right away. (Can you see Jonathan's huge line-up of his new cars in the photo below? His collection is quite extensive now and he loves to line them all up by make and color. Do we have a car nut on our hands or what?!)

What topped all other gifts? None other than Jonathan's favorite, Buzz Lightyear! Buzz can do some amazing things and Jonathan LOVES him! He talks, moves in every direction, dances, and so much more.

Gifts were followed by a really simple, delicious Christmas dinner — grass-fed beef pot roast and some simple bread. Nothing too fancy, but it made for a much easier day and was perfect comfort food. Jonathan even enjoyed it! Can you tell we were all tired by dinnertime?

Gamma had the house decorated so beautifully. No detail was overlooked. The tree was sparkling, the hearth was covered with gorgeous fresh greens, and even the chandelier was decked out for Christmas! Truly, every little detail made the day just that much more special.

Before the day was done, Jonathan found one last gift hiding behind the tree. Apparently Santa had remembered what he asked for when he saw him. He left Jonathan one of the bells from his sleigh, with a note asking him to take good care of it. Jonathan was so surprised when Daddy couldn't hear the bell. His face was so full of amazement that he could hear it and Daddy couldn't . . . a sure sign that he had a real Santa bell! The look on his face was just precious and one I will remember every Christmas.

After watching Polar Express one more time, and reading the book before bedtime, Jonathan ended the day by curling up in bed and telling us, "Just remember . . . the magic of Christmas lies in your heart."

Yes it does, sweet boy, yes it does.

Flashback: Thanksgiving in Washington

It feels strange to be talking about Thanksgiving in January, but as part of my catching up I can't skip over one of my favorite holidays. We had a fantastic time with our families over Thanksgiving weekend. Beware . . . lots and lots of pictures again! :)

We made the drive on Thanksgiving day and arrived in Tacoma just in time to spend a couple hours playing out in the snow before it melted. Jonathan had a blast in his new snow outfit.

He even helped roll the snowball that would become the base of his first snowman (gotta love autumn snow . . . look at all the leaves!). The base was so huge and heavy, but he put his all into it and had so much fun. (Truth be told, the base didn't budge when he tried to move it. Don't tell him that. ;))

We made a daring move and took the base and mid-section of the snowman down to the lower backyard. What a task! It partially fell apart on the way down the stairs (lots of laughter when that happened), so the boys worked to put it back together once it was closer to the house.

Of course Jonathan had to help so he "held up" the snowman while Gampa and Daddy put all the pieces together.

What would playing in the snow be without an impromptu snowball fight? (Don't worry . . . Jonathan started it, so it's okay that he's getting pelted in this shot.)

And what's a snowball fight if it doesn't end in Jonathan pushing Daddy down in the snow? They proceeded to make snow angels in the very little snow that was left on the ground. Again, note the leaves and remember we're still in November! :) (If you haven't noticed in the last couple of posts, Daddy has had an addition to his face. More on that later.)

Ta Da! Jonathan's first snowman finally came to life. He was pretty funny looking (interesting eyebrows and cheeks, Daddy), but Jonathan sure did love him. He was so excited about him! JD kept asking about how Mr. Snowman was days after we were home again (and after Mr. Snowman was long gone).

What a great way to spend Thanksgiving afternoon! We were definitely ready for yummy food when we went inside. Since fall 2009, our holiday menus (and our every day ones) have changed dramatically. We have cut out butter, refined sugar, animal fats, and enriched flour as much as possible.  We've been introduced to some amazing produce and delicious recipes thanks to the work of Rebecca Katz and her cookbook, The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen. She introduced us to the health benefits of purple peruvian potatoes over regular baking potatoes. They sure make amazing-looking (and tasting) mashed potatoes! The rest of the meal was pretty tasty, too.

After a very yummy and healthy meal, Gamma treated us to her delicious pumpkin pie. Little Mister's favorite thing about it? Isn't it obvious? :)

On Friday, we headed over to the Olympic Peninsula for a Thanksgiving-weekend tradition — picking out Gamma and Gampa's Christmas tree. It was a rainy day, but the hunt was on for the perfect tree.

Jonathan followed Daddy around most of the time, and even spent quite a while riding on his shoulders.

Eventually we found the perfect tree and headed home. Jonathan was worn out by running around in the fresh air, so he hitched a ride back to the car with daddy. What a perfect opportunity to capture the sweet sweet face of my sweet boy. This is one of my favorite pictures of the season.

Next stop of the weekend: Grandma's. Jonathan had so much fun with his Grandma Renee! He was thrilled when she let him "drive" her 1972 TR-6.

This boy loves to drive, so for him to get behind the wheel of such a cool car was the best thing! He loved every minute of it and put up a bit of a fight when driving time was over.

Next was playtime with Grandma. She surprised Jonathan with a frog puppet she had made Daddy when he was little. The froggy kept trying to take Jonathan's pretzels, but Jonathan was determined to hold onto each and every one. Froggy even tried to get the pretzels that were already on the way to Jonathan's mouth! Persistent little froggy. :)

Jonathan loved his time with Grandma. There was lots of laughter, smiles, and fun.

The next day it was time to say good bye to Gamma and Gampa and head home. It's never easy to leave them. Before we left, we took the opportunity to snap some photos for Christmas cards. Didn't this one turn out great? Look how happy our sweet boy is (to say nothing of how happy Gamma and Gampa look).

On our way home, we stopped to see our friends Lisa, Keith, Maddie, and James. Jonathan and Maddie had fun together during our short visit . . . jumping immediately into Maddie's newest favorite toy — a box that her new car seat came in. They both fit perfectly and laughed up a storm as they played with Maddie's Polly Pocket dolls and Jonathan's new Buzz Lightyear doll that he got from Maddie for his birthday.

And what's a visit without a quick foam sword fight? Looks like Maddie won.

Before heading home, Jonathan made sure he gave Maddie a big hug. He was sad to go and couldn't wait to go see her again.

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend filled with good food, lots of fun, and the love of our families. Who can ask for more to be thankful for? We are definitely blessed.

One last note about that addition to Daddy's face that I mentioned earlier.  In partnership with the men he works with at UO's Men's Center (his clinical rotation for the year), Michael agreed to be part of "Movember," an annual event intended to raise awareness of men's health issues. I salute him for committing to the cause. (Of course, I was quietly counting down the days until December 1 so I could see his clean face again. It will be back in the next post. :))