Aloha

Let me explain: My grandparents own a condo in Maui & when we had the business, we bought everything on an air-mileage credit card, so we had a lot of points that needed to be used. So we headed off on December 31st for a nearly free trip to Maui. Tyler & I have been there once before for our 1st anniversary & we celebrated our 3rd there this year. The best part of the whole trip was Vander, of course. To babies, the world is such an incredible place filled with the most amazing stuff that adults constantly take for granted. Like sand and water- Van spent hours every day plowing through the sand, sifting it though his fingers, tasting it, throwing it, filling things up with it & finding things in it. The only thing better than sand was water. He would splash and laugh, kick and smile the whole time- no matter how cold it was. (Only the pool & waterfalls were actually chilly.) We got to see tons of whales & their babies jumping and splashing. We spent almost every day at a different beach, we went scuba diving for the first time, boogie boarded, hiked through bamboo forests to hidden waterfalls, snorkled and had a blast! By the end of the trip we were excited to get home & get back into the "real world", but it was a wonderful trip.

Tha Magic of Christmas

There is nothing like an awestruck baby to bring back that incredible feeling of magic in the air at Christmastime. I have to admit that over the years Christmas has fallen on my list of favorite holidays to almost the bottom. In my defense, I feel like it has been too commercialized & my family has been so blessed that finding something we need or even want is often a huge challenge. There was even a guy in our ward who spent all winter looking for a Nativity to put in his yard. He finally found one in Utah, but he was really disappointing that nobody sells them. This year was different because Van was captivated by every sound and sight of the season. It reminded of why I used to love it so much & I nearly forgot all the reasons why I have less than wonderful feelings about Christmas. He didn't understand anything that was happening, but he didn't care either. He knew there was something magic about Christmas and I had the most wonderful holiday this year because of him!

The big cheese

Yeah, my kid's a major cheese ball... but it's pretty cute! Here are some of his newest personality quirks. He can do "SO BIG" and he throws his hands up every time he is proud of a new accomplishment. His other way of showing how awesome he thinks he is, is to hold his chin as high up in the air as he can while flashing he absolute cheesiest grin! He does this when we are chasing him and playing on the floor together. It's too funny. And he has figured out how to make it perfectly clear when he wants some things... like me! Cooking dinner, going to the bathroom, whatever- there is no good excuse in his mind for to to not hold him when he's ready & he shows me by wrapping me up at the knees so I can't take a single step without picking him up first!

Put a crab in water

I've been a bit nervous to give Van a bath in a real tub. I felt like I had more control with him in the infant tub at chest height, but I knew it couldn't last forever, so I finally stuck him in the tub. It's safe to say that he LOVES it to pieces! When I was still pregnant, someone told me "when you have a crab, put him in water" and I promise it works. It hasn't taken me long to learn that there is no problem in this life that is too big for a warm bath and a nap to fix. (That goes for mom & baby!)

Thanksgiving Trip

Happy Thanksgiving! This is my favorite holiday of the year by far. I love how the focus is almost completely on family and our blessings, and I love the food too! This year we drove out to Nevada to visit my dad's parents who we haven't seen in almost 4 years, and obviously they have never seen Van. I was worried how Bambino would do on the lllllooooooooooonnnggg drive, but I was pleasantly surprised. (That doesn't mean we didn't break every carseat law in all 3 states we drove though, but when you have a baby, you just do what you have to do.) We had a great time with Grandma & Grandpa, and we had a decent "diabetic" Thanksgiving feast. One of my favorite parts was taking Van on a hike in Tahoe that my parents used to take me on when I was his age. And it's a hike I've done many time throughout high school and college . I just love sharing pieces of my past like that with my family!

Can you see how well he travels? I don't think he could be much happier!