Fun in Tahoe!

We went up after Christmas to the cabin to celebrate Christmas with Erik's family! Erik and I both talked about how we weren't sure if Ford would like the snow or not! Well the answer is a big YES! He loved being in the snow. I have to say I am a little surprised I thought all the clothes would lead to some crying, but he didn't care he just wanted to play in the snow! I caught so many cute pictures of him having so much fun, and I am actually in a few pictures for a change!

I just love seeing little ones all bundled up in ski clothes! Ford was able to get around pretty good even with his boots and puffy clothes! He looks like such a big boy!

 Ford has very fun Grandparents who took him sledding down the driveway!

Dada took him all the way to the top of the driveway and he loved it! He's a brave little boy!

The next day we took him to the sledding park, and he was ALL smiles!! Erik can hardly wait until he's old enough to get him on the mountain!

He loves his Aunt Anna, and loves to flirt with her! He knows a pretty girl when he sees one!

Love this one! He's such a happy boy!

Christmas 2012

We had such a great Christmas this year, and being able to see it through Ford's eyes made it even more special! We went to the candle light service on Christmas Eve, put Ford to bed and started getting everything ready for Santa! This was our first Christmas at home with Ford and we loved every minute! I made my Mom's famous cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, Ford wouldn't eat them of course, but Erik and I enjoyed them! We had two special guests over later that afternoon for Christmas dinner Eugene and Shane. Eugene is someone we met a few years ago while we were remodeling our house. He is here from Mexico and without his family so we invited him to join us for dinner! We actually had him over for Christmas dinner two years ago, and at dinner he asked how come we didn't invite him last year! He's a funny guy, and always has a smile on his face despite living a very tough and lonely life. We also had Shane, an old Young Life kid we know from Salinas, over for Christmas dinner. Shane has a heartbreaking story that could seriously be made into a movie, and yet he is one of the sweetest kids you will ever meet. We want Ford to know that our home is always open, and we are called to love and serve others. Erik and I pray that we can be examples to Ford, and he will come to know the real and true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas Eve!

Getting Santa's presents all ready!

We videoed Ford coming into the livingroom on Christmas morning, and his little face was priceless when he saw his four-wheeler! He started making truck sounds and jumped right on!

Ford got a Batman four-wheeler from Santa, and a Thomas the Train set from Mama and Dada!

 So fun!

 Oh, how I love this sweet face!

Making truck noises takes a serious face!

His train set came with a firetruck and I think he liked that more than the trains!

We bundled up and took a walk on the beach later that day, but not before riding the four-wheeler some more!

Staying home

Being a stay at home mom definitely has it's good days and bad, but I can honestly say that most of our days are good! We spend a lot of time playing and laughing, and there are many days that I can't imagine my life any other way! I love when I can capture some of our candid moments on video to remind myself on days that I feel like I'm losing my mind, that tomorrow will be a better day! Here's some video of our very silly, animated wild man! This kid keeps me laughing!

I love to make him laugh, and the good part is that it's very easy to get him giggling!

This is a very typical day in our house!

This is his new "hap" move! He was asking me "hap Dada?" while he was eating lunch!

Tour de Texas!

Ford and I went home to Texas for a week to visit my family and have an early Christmas. It was a whirlwind, but it was so much fun! As I say often, I didn't take enough pictures, but we got a few good ones!

Katy got to play hookie from School on Friday, so we took Ford to the park!

He loves his Aunt Val!

We took Ford to The Shed for lunch and he was in heaven! They sell all kinds of tractors, and he just ran around looking at all of them and making tractor noises!

I took pictures of Katy, Jake and Ford while I was home. We found this neat old loading dock in Aledo that made for a great background! This was my sister's Christmas card this year!

I love how much these three love each other! Katy and Jake were like my first babies, and now they I get to share my baby with them!

While we were in Texas it was crazy warm for December! We went to my Aunt and Uncle"s beautiful new house, and Ford took a swim in their pool (it was warm outside, but the pool was heated!).

This makes me smile!

He's shivering a little here!

Christmas Party at the Olson's

Erik and I had a Wine and Cheese Christmas party this year and it was so much fun!!! I didn't take nearly enough pictures (I should have given that job to someone), but we got a few good ones to remember the night! We had a house full of people, and somehow Ford slept through it all!

Love this group of girls!

 Paul and his fiancé Stephanie! We love her!

 The party always ends up in the kitchen!

 Not sure who took this one, but even though it's blurry it captured the fun!

 All the Caters!

 The Bentley's