I can not believe the holidays have come and gone already (and I am so far behind on my blogging...gahhh!!). What an amazing season it was in our home: family, friends, and so much love! Even though Vaan is too little to know exactly what is going on, it was magical to watch Vaan's eyes light up when he saw the Christmas tree, to see him rip the wrapping paper off his presents, and watch him flash smiles and "check me out" eyes at everyone at family gatherings.
While Vaan did not know it was Christmas and while we did not completely empty our pocket books on the latest and greatest of toys, Vaan receieved so much, material and non-material, it will be a Christmas that will last a life time. The simplicity of Vaan's happiness: Mom singing, Dad reading to him, Auntie Erica jumping around, Uncle Sean playing roll the football, jumping like a wild man, and sitting like a big boy reminds me, and everyone, the true meaning of the holiday and for this I will be forever thankful. When times seem rough or the days get hard, I will remember this Christmas season and that happiness is simple. It is not the amount of gifts we give or receive, the amount of money we spend, or what we are compared to others; happiness is being with family and feeling surrounded by love. I am so thankful and appreciative of how much Vaan is loved and how much joy he brings others.
Christmas time always reminds me of all that is good in the world: lots of love, family, giving, and good cheer. This year, this feeling of sentiment has been brought to a whole new level. My home is filled with my amazing family and my heart is filled with love. As the Christmas season comes to a close and we begin a new year, I could not feel more blessed. Having a child gives living a whole new purpose and I thank God each and every day for the amazing life that has been given to me. This first Christmas and New Year as a family could not have been any better; it leaves me feeling incredibly happy and extremely excited for what 2013 has to bring!
CHEERS!
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Florida & Five Months
A mini golden birthday, as Grandpa Dean calls it - 5 months on the 5th! December has already brought an amazing amount of joy and it's not even Christmas! Between vacations, birthdays, and log rolling, we have been very busy!
Justin, Erica, and I took Vaan on his first plane ride, 12/1/12, down to see Aunt Roselle and Uncle Mel! Roselle, Erica, and I have created an annual tradition of an early December Florida vacation to celebrate all of our birthdays. This year was extra special as it was our first family vacation as well! Growing up, my family always went to Florida to see my Grandpa, so it is only fitting that going to Florida to see family was Vaan's first! Vaan flew very well and won over the others on the flight with his cuteness! While we were in Florida, Vaan had his first "swim lesson"! He is an excellent back floater and has the skill of kicking mastered! He loved the water and I can't wait to get him into swim lessons in January. We exposed Vaan (and Justin) to our annual shopping extravaganza that goes along with this trip. Even though we didn't do near as much as we normally do, we still didn't disappoint - our bags were packed FULL by the end! We also continued with our annual tradition of decorating Roselle's tree with several hundred ornaments (I am not exaggerating) and putting our 3 matching ornaments on for the year. Vaan got his own special ornament this year for her tree as well. We had a great time seeing Roselle and Mel, celebrating Roselle and Erica's birthday, shopping, swimming, and relaxing in the warm Florida air!
At five months, Vaan's favorite past time is log rolling EVERYWHERE! You put him down as far away from the Christmas tree as possible, a few minutes later he has rolled his way under! He can get (almost) anywhere he would like and get at anything on the floor! I guess this is his way of saying, "mom and dad, you better think about child proofing our house because I am ready to MOVE!" He continues to be an incredibly happy baby and bring us joy each and every day. We could not be more blessed!
Cheers to Florida, Festivities, and Five Months!
Florida
Five Months
Justin, Erica, and I took Vaan on his first plane ride, 12/1/12, down to see Aunt Roselle and Uncle Mel! Roselle, Erica, and I have created an annual tradition of an early December Florida vacation to celebrate all of our birthdays. This year was extra special as it was our first family vacation as well! Growing up, my family always went to Florida to see my Grandpa, so it is only fitting that going to Florida to see family was Vaan's first! Vaan flew very well and won over the others on the flight with his cuteness! While we were in Florida, Vaan had his first "swim lesson"! He is an excellent back floater and has the skill of kicking mastered! He loved the water and I can't wait to get him into swim lessons in January. We exposed Vaan (and Justin) to our annual shopping extravaganza that goes along with this trip. Even though we didn't do near as much as we normally do, we still didn't disappoint - our bags were packed FULL by the end! We also continued with our annual tradition of decorating Roselle's tree with several hundred ornaments (I am not exaggerating) and putting our 3 matching ornaments on for the year. Vaan got his own special ornament this year for her tree as well. We had a great time seeing Roselle and Mel, celebrating Roselle and Erica's birthday, shopping, swimming, and relaxing in the warm Florida air!
At five months, Vaan's favorite past time is log rolling EVERYWHERE! You put him down as far away from the Christmas tree as possible, a few minutes later he has rolled his way under! He can get (almost) anywhere he would like and get at anything on the floor! I guess this is his way of saying, "mom and dad, you better think about child proofing our house because I am ready to MOVE!" He continues to be an incredibly happy baby and bring us joy each and every day. We could not be more blessed!
Cheers to Florida, Festivities, and Five Months!
Florida
Thursday, November 29, 2012
A Very Thankful Thanksgiving
I have always taken time at Thanksgiving to reflect on how blessed I am and everything I am thankful for. This year, there is no need to take time to reflect, my blessings are right in front of my each and every day. The birth of Vaan has taught me that there are things in our every day life to be thankful for and I do not take these precious moments for granted. I am thankful for each minute of family time, every smile on Vaan's face, auntie Ericas and Uncle Seans, grandmas and grandpas, big coffees, supportive friends, and so so much more. AND, to be honest, I have never been so thankful for QUIET, hot showers!
As usual, Justin had to work on Thanksgiving day. Vaan and I spend this day as I have for the last 28 Thanksgivings, at my great-aunt and uncle, Sheila & Trig's, house. We were able to spend our Thanksgiving as a family the next day at home. On Sunday we had another Thanksgiving with the Reese Family. Lots of celebration and LOTS to be thankful for!
As usual, Justin had to work on Thanksgiving day. Vaan and I spend this day as I have for the last 28 Thanksgivings, at my great-aunt and uncle, Sheila & Trig's, house. We were able to spend our Thanksgiving as a family the next day at home. On Sunday we had another Thanksgiving with the Reese Family. Lots of celebration and LOTS to be thankful for!
Friday, November 9, 2012
Four Months
November 5, 2012 is four months from the day we were blessed with our little miracle! The last four months have brought sleepless nights and frustrations with fussiness, but more importantly, they have brought more happiness and love than we could have ever imagined.
At four months, Vaan is a master at rolling over, sitting in his bumbo and highchair, and talking (babbling) and giggling like crazy. He loves to play peek-a-boo and laughs like crazy at any wild movement you can make (especially at his aunt jumping and flailing around)! He seems to have outgrown his play gym because laying on his back looking at lights and toys is simply too boring these days. The jumper with four different play stations is much more fun! Vaan also enjoys his "workout" each day. We can barely keep up with his CONSTANT business. His legs are forever moving in the motion of running, jumping, or biking. He also does "crunches", with his legs going up and down - toes in his mouth, toes out, repeat! We can barely keep up - I can not even imagine what he will be like when he can crawl, ahhh!!
I know I say this every month, but it is amazing the growth and fun each month brings. This little man has completely stolen our hearts and we love him to the moon at back. Cheers to feisty, fitness, and four months!!
At four months, Vaan is a master at rolling over, sitting in his bumbo and highchair, and talking (babbling) and giggling like crazy. He loves to play peek-a-boo and laughs like crazy at any wild movement you can make (especially at his aunt jumping and flailing around)! He seems to have outgrown his play gym because laying on his back looking at lights and toys is simply too boring these days. The jumper with four different play stations is much more fun! Vaan also enjoys his "workout" each day. We can barely keep up with his CONSTANT business. His legs are forever moving in the motion of running, jumping, or biking. He also does "crunches", with his legs going up and down - toes in his mouth, toes out, repeat! We can barely keep up - I can not even imagine what he will be like when he can crawl, ahhh!!
I know I say this every month, but it is amazing the growth and fun each month brings. This little man has completely stolen our hearts and we love him to the moon at back. Cheers to feisty, fitness, and four months!!
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Fall Fun
Pumpkins, patches, and police officers can summarize our fall fun thus far! We went to the pumpkin patch 10/26/12 to get Vaan his first pumpkin. Justin and I have both enjoyed fall for many reasons in the past, but this by far takes the cake! Granted, all Vaan could do was sit and look at the pumpkins, but it was so fun!! It might seem lame, but this family adventure was amazing. We picked out a big pumpkin for Vaan that we carved a 'V' in and also picked out a few Vaan sized pumpkins for him to "play" with. It was a typical fall day: gloomy, chilly, and spitting rain, but it was the start of a tradition we can't wait to continue.
The third 'p', or police officer, is Vaan's Halloween costume. Vaan is a little mini me of Justin, so we decided we might as well have him finish playing the part with this costume! Vaan was equipped with the hat, uniform, cargo pants, and whistle (pacifier!), just like Dad! He obviously can not trick or treat, but we had fun dressing him up for a few different occasions. We went to a play date with the Fuhrmann's where the little boys, Vaan and Jack, put on their police uniforms to match the big boys/dads, Justin and Ben. Vaan also put on this uniform to visit both grandmas at work, eat dinner with Owen, and hand out candy to the big kids on Halloween.
Every day and month brings so many firsts. It continues to be so exciting to watch Vaan grow and spend time bonding as a family. Enjoy the pictures of our fall fun so far!
The third 'p', or police officer, is Vaan's Halloween costume. Vaan is a little mini me of Justin, so we decided we might as well have him finish playing the part with this costume! Vaan was equipped with the hat, uniform, cargo pants, and whistle (pacifier!), just like Dad! He obviously can not trick or treat, but we had fun dressing him up for a few different occasions. We went to a play date with the Fuhrmann's where the little boys, Vaan and Jack, put on their police uniforms to match the big boys/dads, Justin and Ben. Vaan also put on this uniform to visit both grandmas at work, eat dinner with Owen, and hand out candy to the big kids on Halloween.
Every day and month brings so many firsts. It continues to be so exciting to watch Vaan grow and spend time bonding as a family. Enjoy the pictures of our fall fun so far!
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