Our Best Christmas Yet

Make a Smilebox slideshow

This year we had a very enjoyable, low key Christmas.

On Christmas Eve we went to Bryan's parents house for Italian food and a white elephant gift exchange. Afterwards we headed over to our friends the Kastanis's to read Luke 2 and a really cool book that they read every year called Red Ranger Came Calling. This is the second year we've gone over there for Christmas Eve and we're grateful that they include us in their annual tradition.

Christmas morning we slept until around 9:00 when Bryan woke Ryan up and rounded up the rest of us. Ryan absolutely love his kitchen that we had set up the night before, and for about an hour and a half, we couldn't even get his interest enough to open any other gifts! We took our time opening the rest of the gifts, and Bryan made us a fantastic breakfast.

That afternoon we headed back to Bryan's parents for steak and crab legs, and to open the gifts from Grandma and Grandpa. Ryan got a really cool Little Tikes fire truck that we cannot keep him out of. That night we went back to the Kastanis' to exchange gifts and enjoy some more dessert.

All in all, it was a fantastic couple of days. Having Bryan home for 4 days made it even better. And of course our greatest gift this year, our sweet Annie, was the icing on the cake.

Mesa Temple Lights

Ryan is completely fascinated with Christmas lights, so last night we decided to take him to the lights at the Mesa Temple. He absolutely loved it, and was completely unphased by the cold weather (cold by Arizona standards, I should say...). He also really like the nativity and listening to the story of Christ's birth.

Miss Annie was snuggled up in my front carrier and slept through the entire thing...surprise, surprise!

Grammy and Papa Come for a Visit

Earlier this month my parents came out for a visit to meet Miss Annie (and to see the rest of us, too). We had a great visit, and Ryan had a super fun time with his Papa. The timing couldn't have been better--they were here when I had to go to the hospital with my little kidney stone episode. The kids were able to stay at home and I didn't have to worry about them. When we got home at 4:00 a.m. and I could barely stand up because of all the medication they had pumped through me, my mom willingly kept Annie with her through the night so I could get some rest.

Yay for Grammy and Papa!

All I Want for Christmas...

...is good health for my family and me.

In the last week we have had the following:

~A night in the emergency room when I had another bout of kidney stones.
~A random episode of vomiting, compliments of Ryan.
~Results from a CT that show I have a cavity filled with fluid above my jaw joint. I go to an oral surgeon tomorrow to see what that's all about.
~An impending ultrasound, probably tomorrow, for Annie who hasn't had a significant bowel movement since Tuesday.

We are blessed in many other ways, for which I am extremely grateful. But health issues suck. Especially when it involves your kids. I know in the end we'll all be fine, but for now it's a little unnerving.

Hopefully this coming week Annie and I will get our issues resolved and have a healthy, happy Christmas. We wish the same for all of you.

Some New Photos

All bundled up and ready for bed. This little girl's hands and feet get SO cold, so we try to keep her nice and warm.

Sleeping in the "stick 'em up" position, just like Ryan used to do.

Annie's first Thanksgiving.

Not quite Christmas card worthy, but still pretty cute!

So as you can probably guess, I've been keeping pretty busy with Ryan and Annie. There's not too much to report--Annie is a complete gem and I'm far more rested than I ever would have guessed I would be at this point. Ryan has taken well to his sister and she seems to like him as well.

Hope you enjoy the new photos!