Christmas in Newport (Part 1)

Derek had a 6 week long break between semesters (it's still going on right now). We decided to drive on down to Southern CA and enjoy some R&R as a family.

The first week we spent in Newport with my family. It has been nice to have my family come out to CA the past couple of years so that we get to see both families over the holidays. My entire family gathered together....I was in heaven, and definitely all the grandkids were in heaven! The only bummer was that it rained almost the entire week straight! So we did a lot of hanging out at the condo, hot tubbing in the rain, and finally just ignoring the rain and got wet anyway! From the Newport boat parade to Fashion Island excursions to trips to Main Beach Laguna we had fun and still enjoyed the outdoors.

Building Forts and Building Blocks

*Oh to be a fly on that wall....

Playing Games

Snuggles from Grandma and our Christmas hotel decorations

Outings in the drizzling rain at Main Beach in Laguna

Sophia and Jack share a birthday, so we decided to celebrate Sophia's early this year and let her have the spotlight. We had delicious cupcakes (seriously the best ever by Hannah), had a dance party, and played Ghost in the Graveyard. I love how kids are so easily entertained! Jack was talking about Ghost in the Graveyard for days!

Went to Fashion Island to see Santa. The photo of Jack on Derek's shoulders is when he catches a glimpse of Santa. Jack was SO excited to tell him that he wanted a Big Boy Bike. It was fun to have his little cousins with him :)....even though poor Zooey girl didn't think much of Santa...

To make Christmas work for all families and in-laws, we bumped it a few days ahead to enjoy the festivities together. Christmas Eve was filled with talent show, great photo montage videos by Mom, and of course the Live Nativity.

Christmas morning we woke up to Santa's footprints, presents and stockings. Jack really understands and 'gets Christmas' now. Kids make the holidays so much fun!

*giving Gma and Gpa their handmade ornament from Jack

Thanks for making such a memorable Christmas everyone~....even with the rainy weather.

*disclaimer.....we had just woken up Jack from a nap and Teddy needed one...

Tubby Time

Teddy had a few blowouts over the break....and this is how he got bathed. His bottom two teeth broke through just before Christmas, and we are all hoping this teething process will be done soon! He is starting to figure out how to scoot around a bit and can even balance sitting up (with me well within catching distance!). He is in love with his brother Jack, and it is so cute to see the mutual affection...Jack regularly mentions that he can't wait til Teddy gets bigger to play toys with him. It just melts my heart....let's hope it stays that way!

(and yes, I did just notice the bubble coming out of Teddy's bum....how embarassing!)

Oakland Temple

Just before we left for the Holiday break, we went to the Oakland Temple to check out the lights and meet up with some friends. Jack loves temples! His favorite song is I Love To See The Temple and he loves to see and talk about Temples.

He obviously had fun running around with his partner in crime, Eve.

The Nielsons

Our Fam

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We are off to Southern California to hang out with both of our families for the Christmas/School break. So without my desktop, I'll be taking a blogging hiatus. Have a safe and happy holiday with family and friends!

Thanksgiving

This year we went back East for Thanksgiving! It is always a special treat to go to MD because we don't make it out there too often. We had a lot of fun hanging out with family, having a house and a yard to play in, and bundling up in the cold weather. Derek flew out with us, but came back at the end of the weekend for classes. I stayed with the kids for an extra week and flew home separately...I was incredibly nervous flying by myself with 2 active and sometimes needy boys, but they impressed me and and were so good for the long journey back.

Thanksgiving day consisted of a victorious Turkey Bowl game for the boys (thanks to Derek's winning T.D. catch), a hike in the woods, passing of the corn jar, and of course lots of yummy food!

The weather turned freezing cold while we were there, so we got creative at times with our time. Jack was in heaven having Oliver to play with 24/7 and Sophia when she wasn't at school. They were both SO good to him...even when we was being a bit difficult. We just love our cousins and love having such a fun and close family!

We had lots of jucuzzi sessions.....

lots of trampoline time....

lots of cousin snuggles...

and Teddy got lots of love and attention all around!

We built gingerbread houses...

had some dance parties...

rode big boy bikes (it was way too cold outside!)...

celebrated Hannah's birthday...

used Uncle Derek as a jungle gym...

met Zooey girl for the first time...

and posed for photo shoots.

One night, mom and dad stayed home with the kids while us grown ups went out on the town. I think it was the first time we've been out without Teddy along! We decided to go to this amazing icerink downtown. It is nestled in the sculpture garden on the DC mall, with the National Archives building lite up behind it- truly picturesque. It was a lot of fun skating around...Derek was by far the best of us! The higlight had to be when my brother 'proposed to his wife". Long story short, we cleared the ice to all Hannah to the center, while Shane skated in on one knee and proposed. The crowd cheered and oohed and awed and congratulated them all night. It was really funny and spontaneous and will perhaps keep this as a tradition to propose somewhere new each year! We then stopped by the ______ Hotel to take a look around- it's an amazing hotel where Presidents have stayed and MLK finished his "I Have A Dream" speech there.

My Mom and I took the kids to the Botanical Gardens....a tradition of ours at Christmastime. It is a really neat place- with lots of space to run for Jack in the rainforest- and they always have neat exhibits during the Holiday season. This year they had this magnificent train system going throughout all the wonders of the world, which were all made out of natural materials (bark, pine cones, sticks). It was amazing! Jack sat in there for a good 30 minutes just staring at the trains going. My favorites were the Eiffel Tower and also a mini White House they had out in the foyer (swing set and all).

Thanks everyone for a great time and a memorable Thanksgiving!!!!

Teddy's (almost) 6 months!

I can't believe that Teddy is almost 6 months old! The time has absolutely flown by. I want him to stay this tiny little thing who snuggles in bed with us forever. But time goes on and he is just getting cuter and cuter and his little personality is shining through. He just loves his older brother and loves to be around people. He has a contagious smile and such a sweet little face. He loves to nuzzle into things when he's falling asleep- whether it be his blanket, a stuffed animal, or your arm; he's definitely a snuggler. He is most chatty late at night and early in the morning...and he is quite the talker!....(or squealer!). He likes his excersaucer better than anything else and is getting better and better with his hands.

He weighs in at a sprightly 13 pounds and is 25 inches tall. We love every tiny inch of him!