10 Months Old

It has been an exhausting few days around here. We had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends back home and I wish we could celebrate Christmas all year :) However, my first Christmas with the little monkey did not go as planned. You know how you have visions of your child's first everything? Well, my vision for the little monkey's first Christmas consisted of him being in a good mood, opening lots of gifts, enjoying time with his family, etc. Instead, this is how his first Christmas went...

Poor little guy had RSV on Christmas. Not the way I pictured it all going, but we took him to the doctor and he seems to be doing much better. His temperature finally broke about 1:00 a.m. this morning and I can handle the runny nose and coughing. Just not that high temperature of 103.6!! Yikes!!

I also remembered that I was a few days late posting his 10 month pic. So, here you go :) 

I can't believe how big his is getting and that his birthday is only two months away!! I am super excited to start planning it!! He's gonna be so cute!!

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!!

Santa Came Early!

I am so excited that Santa decided to come visit our family a little early this year. HA!! Look what he brought us. Thanks Santa! You are too kind :)

Our new iMac!! Woo-Hoo!!! We haven't cleared off our desktop that we currently have right now. I can't wait to have this thing all ready to go! For right now, it sits on my son's crayon table, but I am stoked about coming back home after Christmas and hooking everything up.

Santa also brought this! I am so ready to start editing pics!!

We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!

Oh My!!

So, I already received my Christmas present back in October from the hubby, but I got quite a surprise in the mail yesterday and today.



Check out my new camera....



and my new Canon Pixma Pro 9000 Mark II Inkjet Photo Printer!! In the box, this thing is almost as big as our sofa!


Thank you Hubby!! You definitely surprised me yesterday with these gifts. I love how you believe in me and encourage me to do what I love the most. I love you baby!!

Wade Family Christmas

We went back home this weekend to celebrate our first (of many) Christmas parties with our families. We had such a fun playing Dirty Santa and hanging out with everyone. Plus, I am super excited that we found out what Matt and Stephene are having ( not my secret to share yet). Just know that I am so excited and can't wait to start buying stuff for my little niece/nephew. HeHeHe :) Here are pics from our day.

 

Love & Friendship

Most people tend to value certain characteristics in those around them above all else. In some cases, if those handful of certain characteristics are not there to be found, then the subject is discarded as having little value. I know only a few people who seem to be able to find the value in almost everyone around them. That is an ability I would very much like to further develop. Everyone has something they are good at, something to be valued for. If I can see the value in everyone around me, how much easier will it be to love those around me? I believe God loves us not only because we are his creation, but also because he placed value in each of us.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls for he has no one to help him up.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

This verse reminded me that I can never have enough friends (especially Godly friends). Friends may come in all shapes, sizes, personalities, colors, and characteristics. In valuing everyone around me, I am also creating an opportunity to develop new friendships. Perhaps I will find a new friend that enhances my life in ways I never imagined. Perhaps I will find a new friend to labor with in God's work. Perhaps I will find a new friend to lift me up when no one else could.

It's Starting to Feel Like Christmas...

Last night, our Sunday School class met at P.F. Changs for our Christmas Social. It was so great to see everyone and fellowship with our friends. Here are pics from our night.

Me, Kristina and Adell

The little monkey got tired of sitting in his high chair and wanted to go around the table and visit. He is such a flirt!

The guys (probably not wanting their pics taken). Thanks guys for humoring me :)

The rest of our class

After dinner, we came home and celebrated Christmas with our sweet angel. He enjoyed unwrapping his gift and LOVES his new toys!

Daddy helping unwrap the gift

He was starting to catch on

Me and my baby opening his first Christmas gift

I think I enjoyed unwrapping the gift more than he did

This was his present. The Bee Bop Band Set. We think he is musically talented and he loves to bang on stuff so we thought this gift was appropriate :)

We are leaving this weekend, going back home to celebrate Christmas with the hubby's side of the family. So be sure and check back for some cute pics of the little monkey at his first family Christmas event!

Still Learning.....

If you have been following my blog, you know by now that I am trying to get into this photography thing. I love taking pictures! I have a true passion for it. I also like to edit them, so I am super stoked about my Christmas present this year ( more on that later). Anyway, I decided to try out my new found white backdrop today.

I just love to edit! I'm also a big fan of black and white pics.

This one didn't turn out quite like I'd hoped. Too bright! Hopefully, the Hubby's Christmas present will help me with that problem :)

By the way, for those family members that are wondering if Santa has visited yet. No, he will be here either tonight or tomorrow :)

Prayer Request

I truly hate to type this. Please pray for The Evans and Dixon families tonight. Heather Evans lost her father and her one year old son this morning in a horrible car accident and her mother is at ECM in critical condition. I can't imagine losing a loved one so close to Christmas, especially two! When I heard the news this morning, my heart just broke. This is something no mother should ever have to go through and I want to cry just thinking about what Heather and her husband are going through today. Heather's mom was my adjunct teacher at NWSCC and the hubby's English teacher in high school. I remember her as being such a sweet lady and very caring for others. Please pray for this family, that God will comfort them and give them some kind of peace and understanding. God Bless them....

Mommy's Making Memories......

This year, I did something totally different.........I designed our Christmas Card from scratch! Usually, I wait to the last minute and just pick a card from shutterfly.com and print it, but this year I wanted something different since it's the little monkey's first Christmas. So, I got crafty and designed this card all by myself using Photoshop. I think it turned out pretty good :)

For obvious reasons, I have blurred out our names.

I also want to note that I can't believe Christmas is next Friday and that I am not prepared for it at all. We did purchase the little monkey's gift tonight so at least we have one gift down. We have decided to celebrate Christmas at our house this week. So, make sure you check back for pics of the little guy unwrapping his Christmas gift ( it's gonna be adorable).

Tis the Season....

Merry Christmas!

From Our Family to Yours!

Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas....

I love this time of year!! Family gatherings, good food, office parties, decorations, Santa and Christmas music. If I could celebrate Christmas all year round I would. I have been guilty of listening to Christmas music in July :) I just can't get enough of it! Tonight, the Hubby had his annual Christmas office party and we left the little monkey with Grams and Papa for the evening. It was POURING down rain the entire time we were gone, which made the drive to and from very difficult, but we got there safe and sound. Before we left for the party we decided to attempt our Christmas card pic. Here are pics from our evening.

I think we should go with this one :)

The Hubby won two awards tonight. The Spot Bonus Award and The Traveler's Award. I am so proud of him. He's such a hard worker.

Accepting one of his awards

This morning, I left the little guy with my in-laws so I could do some Christmas shopping. This is what I discovered on my camera tonight while I was loading pics.

This is so cute

Honolulu Day 16

Well, we finally made it home last night. We got in around 3:30 and I didn't stop until about 11:00 last night (groceries had to be bought/laundry sorted, etc). Of course, we are all exhausted. The plane rides went pretty good. Although, I was pretty sure we were going to die on the plane ride from Honolulu to LAX. The turbulence was so strong, it felt like the plane was going to ripped apart. I'm not going to lie, I was very concerned. But, God was with us and we are back home and it is COLD! It's hard to go from 85 degree weather to 28, but we are just happy to be back close to family and friends. Our vacation was so much fun and it is definitely one I won't forget anytime soon :) Here are pics from our last day in beautiful Hawaii.

Daddy and the little monkey getting some last minute pool time in before we had to check out

After his bath. He just loves for us to wrap him tight in a towel and walk him around. He just smiles :)

Dusty got us back on Hickam Air Force Base to play and watch the planes take off (something I love to do). We also had dinner at JR Rockers which was really good.

Being too adorable

Right before dinner our last night on the island. Sweet pic.

Honolulu Day 15

I had so much fun today! The hubby got off work early and we hung out with him for the rest of the day. Unfotuntately, he came home right when the little monkey was getting ready for a nap. So, we didn't get any beach time together due to the long nap. Hopefully, we will get some in before we leave tomorrow. We are flying out tomorrow night and won't get back home till sometime Saturday afternoon. I am excited to get back and start decorating for Christmas! Putting the tree up this year is going to be such a special occasion. Last year, I was so stoked thinking about the new family traditions we were gonna start this year with our sweet little boy! Christmas is my favorite holiday and I hope it's his too!!

Leaving for dinner

Getting free cookies at The Honolulu Cookie Company. If you are ever in Honolulu, I would strongly suggest you visit this cookie shop. It's DELICIOUS!

Save some for me!!

He was starting to get sleepy.....

but when we got back, he livened up for bath time

He loves to splash around in the water

The hubby bought these new boardshorts from The Honolulu Surfing Co. I though they were so cool and unique!