Mele Kalikimaka

My vacation with Winston to Hawaii was pretty relaxed considering all of the things we squeezed in while there. Our main reasons for going were to help seal my dad to his parents in the temple, and to attend the my brother's wedding. A big bonus was W getting to meet his Grandpa, Uncle Ben, Aunt Sarah & Uncle Justin, and his cousin Tillie. I'm so happy that my entire family knows W now!

On top of the big family events we also squeezed in a little bit of beach time (there would have been more if it hadn't rained 90% of our stay), some awesome Hawaiian eats, a bridal shower, some shopping, a mini Christmas with the fam, and lots of chillin at home talking story. Oh, and one trip to the hospital for W's fever- luckily, it was nothing more than a small stomach virus that he projectile vomited across the temple bathroom floor and said goodbye to :) 

Photo proof:

 

 On the flight to Hawaii W had his very own seat! He just sat there played almost the whole trip without making a peep, and when he was tired he just laid down, pulled his swaddle up over his face, and crashed. He is so perfect :)

 W trying avocado for the first time

W and Tillie- W would get so excited every time he saw Tillie and just wanted to grab her face. Tillie didn't always love it, but she's pretty solid so I think she'll be able to hold her own just fine :)

W opening his very first Christmas present the best way he knows how.

So happy! Thanks for all the great gifts everyone!

W's first steps into the ocean. He didn't seem to mind the water even though it was a little chilly, but the rushing of the waves he wasn't too sure about.

Mama and her little beach babe

Hawaii is so gorgeous even when it's cold

I love the color of the water behind us- I just wish W had kept his eyes open for this one :)

Sarah & Justin brought Tillie to the beach for her first time too. Tillie didn't keep her eyes open for the photo either, but unlike W, I think she was asleep- she crashed the second Sarah brought her out of the water.

All bundled up after our swim

Little grom in the making 

W just sat here all wrapped up watching the waves for the longest time. I finally took him inside when he started nodding off and almost fell over. I guess he finds the ocean calming like his mama.

 

Ang and his lovely new wife, Mary*

 

Happy to be married... and we're happy to have him married :)

 

Pa, Granna and the newlyweds**

Jay and Ben at the wedding
 

W smiled and giggled for most of our trip so I think it's safe to say he loves his family and all the attention they give him. He also loved not having to wear clothes... he reminds me a lot of Ben :)

*All wedding photos courtesy of SBrown Photography

**I am the worst Mama/daughter in the world and didn't manage to take a single photo of W with his Pa & Granna. I've been kicking myself ever since, but just know that W LOVED them!!

Merry Merry Christmas

W's first Christmas was absolutely perfect! Tyler and I have both been feeling especially grateful for how blessed we are lately, and Christmas proved just that once again. Although Tyler had to work Christmas Eve, we still managed to read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and the Christmas story from the bible together.

Christmas morning Tyler let me sleep in a little bit while he and W made personal German pancakes for breakfast. Then we let W see what Santa brought him- a sock monkey! W LOVES sucking/chewing on his swaddles and socks, and now his sock monkey is one more wonderful thing to stick in his mouth! We opened the rest of our gifts and W got some wooden blocks, a truck puzzle and some clothes. Tyler and I weren't supposed to be doing gifts for each other this year because we recently bought a new sofa set and a large painting of Christ, but Tyler broke the rules- as always. So I gave Tyler a pair of shoes (he bought himself) and W gave him a cardy. Tyler gave me a new house phone and a Dyson vacuum. Awesome!

Yum!

Santa came!

 New best friend

 So excited!

Very puzzling :)

 

Happy boy!!

 

 Thanks for the tape measure Ben-Tyler loves it! 

 

Who doesn't love a good cardy?

Happy Christmas!

After we opened gifts at home we headed down to Tyler's mom's house and opened some more gifts with the whole family. W got some more awesome toys, books, and clothes while Tyler and I got throw pillows, gift cards, board games, gun cleaning equipment, and a basket to keep W's new toys in. I'm sure I'm leaving a few things out, but we loved everything and we think our family is the best!!

For dinner we headed over to Tyler's dad's house for some prime rib which was delish! We opened a few more gifts and then headed home. And, because we are old people, we all went straight to bed. I love Christmas!!!

 

W was just figuring out how to pull the paper off by the end of the day.

 A gift bigger than me is the best kind!

 

Handsome outfit

  

Thanks for the gifts everyone!!

I'll write another post shortly on W and I's trip to the aina and our mini Christmas there!!

Happy Holidays!!

Weekend Update

On Saturday Winston had his first ever solid foods- green beans mixed with rice. He didn't seem to mind the flavor, but was a little unsure of what to do with the food once it was in his mouth. We know he actually swallowed quite a bit judging by the state of his diaper later in the day though :) I've given him more green beans and rice every day since Saturday and he is now downing it like a champ. My pediatrician told me I could exclusively breast feed for six months, but after that W would need something to supplement his diet. It is sooo true, cause I can barley keep up with this boy right now. Hopefully the solid food will help fill him up.

 

 

 Slowly figuring out he can swallow the green beans.

Saturday nite was our ward Christmas party and W got to sit on Santa's lap. He is way too interested in everything around him to be afraid of Santa; instead, he just wanted to eat his beard :)

"All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" ...but seriously.

Sunday evening we headed down to Torrance where they have a neighborhood that goes all out with Christmas lights every year. Last year we tried to drive through it and it was a mess, so this year we just parked a few blocks away and walked through the streets. It was right around W's bedtime, but he was thrilled to be staying up late and giggled and squealed almost the whole time. I didn't get any photos of the lights, but I did get our little man's happy face!!

Hello!

When we got home Sunday nite it was late and W just wanted to shnuggle. He usually gives us a little squeeze around the neck when we get him out of bed, but other than that he is way too curious to shnuggle for long. Tyler was loving his little moment with W, and I'm happy he got some shnuggle time in before we head out to Hawaii tomorrow morning. W is going to miss his daddy for sure!

 My new favorite photo

Like I said, tomorrow W and I are headed to Hawaii to attend my brother Ang's wedding and visit with his Granna and Pa. It'll be W's first time in the aina and we are soooo excited! I'm hoping the flight is smooth and the weather's perfect!! We'll be back just in time for Christmas, so it should be a fun rest of the year- I'll keep you posted :)

Also, did I mention our little gent can sit up all by himself now?! He started doing it last Monday and has gotten really good at it in just one week. He is so amazing! 

 

 

Those cheeks in photo #1 are PRICELESS!!

And just to make your holidays more merry, I've included some bonus photos :)

 W chilling in his chair with my very old, stuffed Tigger

Naked bum!!

Sneak Peek- Family Photos 2012

Cutest. Babe. Ever.

Movember- Take 2

I guess Movember is becoming a tradition for Tyler. He gets one month a year to have some major facial hair and feel really manly because of it, while I get to be married to a creeper for an entire month :) W didn't seem to mind as much as I did- in fact, he rather enjoyed stroking daddy's mustache every chance he got. Yesterday we visited Tyler at work so we could get a photo of him and W together with their mustaches, and since we now have photographic proof of the manly facial hair, it was shaved last nite! Hooray!! Just in time for family photos :)

Our friends the Smiths gave us this cute mustache pacifier for W, but do you notice Tyler holding W's hands down? Yeah, he won't take a pacifier to save his life and I'm not complaining :)

A couple of firsts

Winston experienced two important 'firsts' on Saturday:

1. He rode in a shopping cart for the first time. He wasn't too sure about it and kept his arms out to the side the entire time :)

and 2. He picked out his first Christmas tree!! Although he probably won't remember anything about his first Christmas, I'm soooo excited for him! And we're going to go look at Christmas lights, snuggle up by the tree listening to Christmas music, read Christmas books, sing Christmas songs, and the whole shebang!

First Thanksgiving

I get so caught up in the moment sometimes that I completely forget to capture it- but I guess I'd rather really be in the moment than watching it happen through a camera lens!

Winston celebrated his first Thanksgiving yesterday and I think he loved it. Mostly I think he loved that daddy was with us all day. But he also had fun singing songs with his aunts and watching all the hustle & bustle around him. I haven't given W any real food yet, but yesterday I let him lick some mashed potatoes off my finger and suck on a piece of apple for a minute and he definitely loved the apple :) We're so excited for the Christmas season now (W and I have secretly been listening to Christmas music all week!), and I promise to get some real Christmas photos. As far as Thanksgiving goes, W barely ate anything last nite before he crashed:

  

Sooo cute!! 

As always, I am so grateful for so many things this year that I can't possibly mention them all, so I'm going to keep it simple. It was a big year and I am most grateful for this squishy, healthy babe, motherhood, and, of course, my love, Tyler!! Happy Thanksgiving!!

5 mos

 "Made in California" - 18.5 lbs. 27 inches

Winston is a hard-core roller and has recently figured out that he can roll to get places. Because of said rolling and all that accompanies the teething process (i.e. frequent diarrhea) he only gained half a pound in the last month. No worries though, he still has those famous chubby cheeks and he grew another inch! W is also a little drooling machine and is talking a lot more- playing with the fluctuations and volume in his voice.

Some of his favorite things right now are: standing (still), blowing raspberries, bouncing, popping noises, tickles, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star & Patty-cake, reading books &turning the pages, hanging out with daddy, going for walks & watching cars, singing songs, his hands, his blankets/swaddles (especially pulled up over his face while he sleeps), chewing on anything & everything, and breathing. Breathing? Yes, W enjoys breathing deeply, breathing loudly with his mouth wide open, and holding his breath. All for fun!

 Whenever W is sitting on my lap, every so often he looks up at me just like this. It is soo cute and I think he is just checking to see if I'm still there.

 

 We just bought W a bouncer since he likes to stand and bounce so much. 

P.S. He is wearing a diaper.

 

  Happy boy!

 

W prefers to be sitting up to poop (unfortunately for his carseat). He is concentrating on just that in this photo :)