Santa!

In Bryan's parent's neighborhood there is a house that does Santa every year. We have been meaning to take Ryan to the mall to get a photo with Santa, but we drove by this house the other night when we were looking at lights, and they had a sign that said they took donations for the pictures, and the donations went to support a local nonprofit. We thought that sounded better than dealing with the crowds and lines at the mall, so tonight we stopped by (Santa only comes by on Sundays).

These people have a really nice courtyard in front of their house where Santa hangs out and while you're waiting for your pictures to print, they have hot cocoa and cookies. Oh, and when you walk up to where Santa is sitting, they make it snow. I think the snow was actually soap suds, but it looked pretty real.

In any case, it was a fun activity and we got a great picture of Ryan with Santa!

Mesa Temple Lights

Ryan is at a stage where he LOVES anything that moves or lights up, so we thought he would enjoy the Christmas lights at the Mesa Temple. The evening wasn't too chilly and we had a great time walking around and looking at all of the lights and feeling the Spirit that is always present on the temple grounds.

Apparently the whole exxperience was exhausting for Ryan, as evidenced by the photo below, taken at dinner following the lights:

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It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

We are enjoying the Christmas season in a whole new way now that we're seeing it through the eyes of our little one. Ryan loves the lights on the Christmas tree, and the cool train that Daddy got to run around the tree. We hope you are all having a great holiday season as well!

Sushi? Sushi!

So that pretty much sums up my change of heart regarding sushi. I have always been a bit leery of the whole concept of eating raw fish. I am a texture person, and most of the foods that I don't like have earned that designation because of their texture, not because of their taste.

Anyway, Bryan's brother and his girlfriend invited us to join them for sushi last night, and we figured it was time that we at least tried it. There were 6 of us, and since Gary was the sushi veteran, we let him order for all of us. Gary is the kind of person who isn't going to do anything part way, so it wasn't wimpy California Rolls for us!

I was surprisingly fond of the shashimi--particularly the yellow tail, and also the salmon. The seared ahi was delicious and we had a variety of amazing rolls as well--most of which included raw rather than cooked fish. The only thing I tried that I didn't like was the sea bass--the texture on that one didn't do it for me. But otherwise, I loved everything and am ready to go back!

Getting Ready for Christmas

As I mentioned before, this past weekend we put up our Christmas tree. The most fun part was helping Ryan put his first ornaments on the tree. My mom bought him two really cute Baby's First Christmas ornaments, so of course I had to capture these fun moments. Christmas is a whole different experience with a baby in the house, and I am loving it!

 
 

So Much to be Thankful For

With cousins Zack and Maddie at the cabin

Cousins Emma and Lucy think I am pretty cute

Me with Uncle Keate

Thanksgiving day with Grandma...finally I know where my blue eyes came from!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. The weekend before we went up to the cabin with all of Bryan's family, including his sisters and their families that live out of state. We had a fun time and Ryan enjoyed meeting all of his aunts and uncles and cousins.

We spent Thanksgiving Day at Bryan's brother Troy's house. Troy and his wife Teri prepared an absolutely phenomenal meal--scallops wrapped in bacon for an appetizer, turkey that had been soaked in a brine solution, served with pomegranate sauce, wild rice and churizo stuffing, a fantastic sweet potato casserole with banana (and I don't even LIKE bananas!) and many other yummy treats. Initially I had been somewhat of a naysayer, because I am all about tradition when it comes to holiday meals. But I have to say, it was the best Turkey Day meal I have ever had!

The rest of the weekend we did the usual preparations for Christmas. Bryan put up the outside Christmas lights and we set up and decorated the Christmas tree.

Oh yeah, and we bought a new car. Yes folks, I have one child and I now drive a Suburban. Go figure. Actually we put a lot of thought into the purchase, and it really does make a lot of sense for us. It was a sad day to trade in the Lexus, but I dig the new ride, and Ryan is enjoying the fact that his Big Boy car seat can fully recline in the Suburban.

46 Days Until Christmas?

Yep, that's right, I received an email this morning reminding me that there's only 46 days left until Christmas. That's a little hard to fathom especially since it still feels like summer here...yesterday it was 92 degrees!

Anyway, with the arrival of Ryan this year, I am much more excited about Christmas than usual. Even though I've never been a last minute shopper, I'm feeling more on top of things than normal. All the gifts for our parents and grandparents have been ordered, our Christmas cards are on their way, ornaments have been purchased and Ryan's stocking is already here just waiting to be filled. We already have a bunch of little things for Ryan and just need to pick up his big thing. I do need to figure out what I'm doing for Bryan, but other than that, I'm feeling pretty ready for the holidays...

Ryan Update

So today was Ryan's 4 month check up. He now weighs 13 pounds, 14 ounces and is 26 inches long. For weight he is in the 40th percentile and for length he is in the 82nd percentile. I can't believe he's grown 6 1/2 inches already. We've actually had to pack up some of his size 6 months clothes already because his body is so long. Hopefully he gets his Daddy's height and somehow Bryan's and my weight cancel each other out and he'll end up a lean, mean machine.

Here he is showing off his Sesame Street Band-Aids from his shots, poor baby.