Christmas Day

Even though we had planned on opening our gifts to Bennett on Christmas morning it didn't happen but we did get to sleep a little longer than normal so really there were no complaints! :)

First thing we did on Christmas was go to church. I love that our church has a service on Christmas day! It just seems right to me. Christmas is after all a church holiday and I feel like I hear people all the time talking about ways to make sure we keep focused on "the reason for the season" - well a good way to do that is to actually treat the day like the "holy-day" it is, and to postpone presents until after church. (But that's just what I think... don't be offended if you do things differently, it's just what Adam and I have decided to do.)

So, we went to church first, heard really good message about different kind of gifts...

...and Bennett had a great nap on his Grandma while Adam and I ran sound and media.
After talking with some friends and waiting in line at the Canyon Lake main gate we made it to Adam's parents house. Our increasingly mobile son was after everything in their house including the cat toys!

We opened presents and Bennett again really enjoyed himself and the fact that he was allowed to rip paper!

Another fun part of opening presents is seeing what Aunt Kathy has sent because you never know what could be in the "box of joy" as she calls it! Here's Roger modeling on of the fabulous treasures!

Bennett thought he hit the jackpot when Grandmas pulled out the big bag of rice puffs to give him a few!
After presents we made a yummy spinach artichoke dip, put the lamb in the oven and sat down to watch Julie and Julia. Bennett was asleep with in minutes and went to take a nap in the other room. Mary Beth and I only fell asleep for like 3 or 4 min at one point and the boys were kind enough to rewind it for us. I really loved that movie! It was so good!
Katy and Jeff stopped by for a few minutes (it makes my heart happy to see them) and then we ate a really yummy lunch/dinner of butternut squash soup, Greek salad, garlic mashed potatoes and lamb... we were eating good!

After dinner we all just kind of watched Bennett play with Grandma while watching the extras on the Julie and Julia DVD.

Bennett was very happy that he could get to the tree and play with the ornaments!
We packed up and headed home around 6 and headed to our second invitation for Christmas day, our next door neighbors house! We made it in time for dessert and games and had a great time with the Priors and the Fowlers!
The second game we played was called "What's yours like?" (pictured below) it was really kind of hard! For example, the word could be "ipod" and then every one goes around and describes their ipod. I was asked twice so my two words were "stolen" and "pink" but other people said things like "under used" or "white" and "undesired" - so basically it's a fun game if you know the people you are playing with really well or just have a good sense of humor to be able to laugh at yourself for not figuring out the answer!
Here's Adam and I discussing something during the game ... I'm sure we weren't cheating! :)
So, after all our fun with our family and friends Bennett was passed out asleep (good thing we just live next door) so we took him home and he went back to sleep and there was no "Mommy and Daddy presents" for him again... but that's okay, right? It's not about the gifts anyway!!!

(Boxing Day celebration blog to follow shortly)

Christmas Eve

My dad is a firefighter and had to work on Christmas this year so we did Christmas early with my side of the family.

On Christmas Eve morning we woke up at our house and Bennett's presents were sitting out in our living room (I wrapped them with the families the night before). He was very excited to see them! He went right over to them and and started banging on them like a drum but we told him he would have to wait until the next day to open them with Mommy and Daddy.
There were a few chores to do before we left ....
...and then we all showered and got back into nice clean PJ's and headed to my parents for "Christmas". It was weird driving through Murrieta in our PJ's and also realizing that it wasn't Christmas even though it totally felt like it was.
After a hearty breakfast of biscuits and gravy we all gathered round the tree in the living room and started opening presents.
Bennett really enjoyed the gift tags on all the boxes even if the gifts weren't for him!

Bennett got to try on his Grammy's fancy hat and scarf from Tio Pepe (Uncle Aaron)
Bennett and Grandpa disappeared for a few minutes towards the end of present time and then suddenly reappeared in the cutest little red wagon! Thanks Grammy and Grandpa!
Last week at Target there were foam battle axes and swords in the $1 bin - we bought them for everyone in the family and passed them out once the real presents were done - here's Tony displaying the awesomeness that was the foam battle axe!
In the afternoon there was a lively 6 player game of Catan and then an amazing meal of Beef Stroganoff with rice or pasta depending on if you eat it the right way or the wrong way! :) (Who knew people could be so passionate about the carb that goes with their sauce!)
Right before Brittany had to leave we remembered to take a family picture

Back Row: My Dad, Mike, Casey, My Mom Barb, Crystal-Lee, Brian

Front Row: Adam, Bennett, Me, Brittany, Aaron

(Unfortunately due to the fact that it really was Christmas Eve, Brittany's fiance, Javier, wasn't able to make it for the celebration - but we sent his battle axe home with Brittany to make sure he got it!)
We of course had to go out and give the wagon a test drive - Bennett pretty much loved it!
As I was pulling him up the lawn he wanted to stand and hold on to the front. We sang the Chariots of Fire music to him!
After turning his wagon into a chariot, he discovered that he could sit in the middle of the two seats and play with the folding seat - he really enjoyed that!
He also really enjoyed the giant snow globe in my parents front yard!
A little off roading with Tio Pepe
And then there was the wagon ride with Dad, where Adam almost broke his neck walking backwards down the lawn not noticing that there was a fire hydrant behind him (Luckily the crisis was avoided !)
We all had to try out the new Wii fit too! Adam's character dressed up as a penguin was definitely a favorite!
We ended the evening with a Christmas Eve service at my Mom and Dad's church and then a little Christmas light looking on the way home but we were not able to go out on the Christmas light rounds in our new PJ's because Bennett was pretty much done by the time church started so doing one more activity after the service was just not going to happen!

Christmas Day and Boxing Day celebrations will be covered in blogs to come ... stay tuned!

Hanukkah 2009!

We started a new tradition this year and I really hope we continue with it for may years to come! Instead of giving little gifts to each other for 8 days, Adam and I decided to have people over for 8 days! So for eight nights in a row we had different people over to share a meal and play a game (or just sit around and talk... it differed due to personalities and age of children). We didn't take many pictures but I think that is just proof of how great our evenings were - we just plain forgot to pull the camera out due to all the fun!

Here's Bennett and Caleb playing together on the second night of Hanukkah.

On the third night of Hanukkah we were brought the "gift of oil" .... I love it so much!

Michael and Becky came on the 6th night and they are always up for music so Bennett was more than happy to play with them after he had had a very messy dinner and lost his shirt!

On the last night Bennett and Adam played and played and played! If you would like to see Baby Mozart at work make sure to watch the videos!
Piano:

Banjo:

D'jimbe:

9 Month Update

Bennett is just about 9 1/2 months old now, but I finally scanned his pictures, so now I can update! :) His basic 9 month stats are:

22 lbs, 12 oz and 29 1/2 inches tall

...but let me tell you more about this sweet little man!

He loves to walk! He he hasn't ventured out on his own yet but he turns anything he can into a walker. He uses things such as kitchen chairs, his high chair, laundry baskets and even the tubs we had our Christmas decorations in... basically if he can push it, he uses it as a walker!

Bennett has also become very, very vocal in the last month. He talks and talks and talks. Sometimes to his books, sometimes to his toy and sometimes my mom and dad's dog Tony but more often then not to Adam or I. So far his "words" include: "Dada" Mama" and "Hi" (Hi is almost always accompanied by waving, it's adorable!)
Bennett loves to eat! His favorite thing to eat is puffed brown rice, the boy would eat it all day long if I let him. But he's also really enjoying tofu and he has just started on eggs. He loves yams and green beans and does not seem to be a big fan of spinach (but we still try to get it down him every other day or so). As of yesterday Bennett has 6 teeth!
Bennett's favorite toys right now are (as always) his air-tivity thing we got from the Curry's but he is also really into the Nativity scene his Grammy got him for Thanksgiving and his walker Deanna got him as well as his books! This boy loves books! His favorite seems to be Good Night Moon (as he has almost totally destroyed it) but a very close second is the Jungle book Maggie Underwood gave him at my baby shower.
Bennett loves music. He dances (aka rocks back and forth) when ever there is any music. If Adam or I sing to him he makes the cutest sounds that are so light and faint we can only assume he is trying to sing too because his normal voice is much louder and fuller than his "singing voice". Bennett's latest musical trick is standing at the edge of the piano and pushing the keys with one hand and then with the other hand banging on the d'jimbe. He also LOVES Adam's banjo! He will strum that thing for 10 minutes straight - no joke! I think the music lessons will need to start soon!
Oh and FYI, the bear in these pictures is the bear I received when I was 6 months old on my first Christmas, her name is Sarah Bear-ah.
Bennett is growing like crazy! As you might have gathered from his stats at the beginning we have a big boy! He's wearing 12 - 18 month clothes (depending on the brand/store) and is wearing a size 3 shoe, but we expect him to move to a 4 rather soon.
Bennett is such a sweet boy and we love his so much! He's a smart cookie and we know he is going to keep us on our toes, but I wouldn't have it any other way, we need to be on our toes! :)

( I love this picture! )

Ladies Dessert Night!

It officially feels like Christmas! Every year it seems like Dessert Night is the thing that does it to convince me, "Okay, I guess it really is Christmas time!"

This year was great and as usual the church was transformed into a Christmas wonderland!

This year I hosted a table and did a Hanukkah table. Although I did a Hanukkah table two years ago, this year there were some new and fabulous Martha Stewart touches that I am rather proud of! (Click here to find out what they were and to see them in more detail)
Although the title of the night is LADIES Dessert Night, my littlest man decided to join us for the evening after the child care brought him out to us and said "He won't stop crying" ... Oh, okay, well then he will sit in his stroller at our table and eat green beans from his Grammy! (He did pretty good, but the poor boy is working on more teeth so he's not super happy about anything right now... except peek-a-boo... but that's a different blog)

Here are the lovely ladies who sat at my table! Back row: Emily, Maddison, Angela, DeAnna. Front Row: Juanita, Barb aka: my mom, Bennett, Me, Crystal-Lee

(Also, please notice our son might have received the Holy Spirit this night as noted by his "tongues of fire" in this picture!)

The evenings entertainment included an unusual but very funny and entertaining entrance by the waiters for the evening:

As well as the Bethlehem Bed and Breakfast skit and an outstanding handle bell choir (but I didn't get a picture of them)

Dessert night also had a wonderful sound man (and sound assistant) !
And as is the tradition for the past four years, here's Adam and I after dessert night with the stage decorations.
As always, Dessert night was a huge hit, but there were two people who were greatly missed! Good thing they were able to stop by for a second :)

Thanksgiving (and there abouts)

So, the day before Thanksgiving is when we went to the Getty, so you all already know about that but we did do other things the week of Thanksgiving as well.

My Uncle Tim (Bennett's great Uncle) came down and we got to see him for a little bit. Bennett was very glad to share a large amount of his old clothes with his new cousin (or second cousin... or whatever) Jake that is due to be born in March and I was glad to get them out of Bennett's room! :)

So, you know at JoAnn's how you have to stand in that forever long line just to check out and they have all that dumb stuff in line that you totally don't need... yeah - well I actually got sucked in! I bought something (or two somethings I should say) while in line at JoAnn's! The turkey head band and turkey mask were a dollar each and well... we just needed them! Aren't they awesome?!
Anyways... here's a better picture of the fam on Bennett's first Thanksgiving once we got to my mom's house and got tired of wearing out turkeys. (Bennett is waving at Uncle Brian and Crystal-Lee)
All in all it was a great day and a very peaceful meal as Bennett went down for a long nap just before we sat down to eat! Here he is with his Grammy looking out the window.
In keeping with tradition, Tom and Jennifer won du-wrags as a pilgrim prize and were required to put them on immediately! They were really good sports and we were glad that they made it out from Indianapolis to share this holiday with us!
Bennett received the cutest Thanksgiving toy - the little people's nativity scene! He started playing with it right away and loves it!
He also really enjoys chewing on baby Jesus ... chewing on "the Word" at an early age - we're so proud! :)
Bennett loves his Tio Pepe (Uncle Aaron)! But sad to say, Tio moved to Wyoming this last week to take a job make "green" homes. We won't get to see him again until Christmas! :(

Another little treat on Thanksgiving day was seeing the Ward's for a few minutes in the evening! Here's Katie and I and baby girl Ward at 24 weeks! Baby girl can't wait to come meet me! :)
And then we wanted the kids to take a picture together! It's their first one... I'm sure this will be in their wedding slide show someday! :)
In other news, I started working the day after Thanksgiving at La Master's in Temecula and I love it! It's fun and easy and I get to gift wrap! (I LOVE wrapping presents! Seriously, I'm for hire if you want me to wrap your presents!) Anyways, I'm loving it, very busy, but loving it! So not much else is happening with Adam and I both working this month but we did just get a tree and Hanukkah is coming... I'm sure their will be more blogging on that to come!