A Very White Christmas

This year had to be one of my very favorite Christmases.  We rented a beautiful cabin up in Tahoe and had my whole family there, mom, step-dad, dad, step-mom, brother, sisters and my new brother in law.  We drove up in a huge snow storm and the conditions were a bit scary, but once we arrived, everything was covered in 5 fresh feet of snow and looked pristine and white.  It was a perfect backdrop for a perfect week.

We ate so many delicious meals prepared by pre-arranged meal teams like we did for my sisters bachelorette, sang Christmas carols around the piano, went swimming in the indoor heated pool, played lots of games, watched movies in the ginormous home movie theater and played in the snow.  I didn't get to hit the slopes this time around with the rest of the group, but I had such great time just catching up with my family, working on puzzles and getting lots of quality time in with my little boy.

Reading Christmas Stories

Playing Games

Christmas Eve Dinner - one of my Favorites, Salmon with Strawberry and Basil Salsa

Luke and Uncle Adam

Looking for trucks with Grandma Debbie

Snuggling with Auntie Kate

Getting a ride from Auntie Becky

High Fives with Grandpa George

Dancing with Grandma Susan

Reading the paper with Grandpa Jeff

Opening Christmas Presents

Playing with his New Cars

Working on Puzzles

Luke loved the snow and and we took him out on the decks and shoveled paths for him to run around and took him sledding down the street.

We hope you had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Rain Boots

Luke is definitely starting to become a very independent and opinionated little boy.  This morning as we were getting dressed for daycare he decided rain boots and a diaper were completely adequate for the rain and would not allow me to put any other form of clothing on him.  It took 5 minutes of negotiations, a Graham cracker and applesauce to get my kid into a pair of pants and a sweater, but if it weren't so cold and wet outside, I may just have rolled with it.

 Hand on hip and giving me attitude . 

It's a good thing you're so cute little man.

Thankful

These last few months, I have been feeling really really thankful.  Thankful that I have the most wonderful family in the world, thankful for my boys, our health, the dogs, a comfy bed, our cozy home and the list goes on and on.  

I have been feeling all of this deep gratitude for my life despite feeling sick to my stomach every day for the last 8 weeks - but I am thankful, because I know next year come June, I will have this little bean to cuddle and smell, and love with all of my heart.  

Hey Love

Miner is back, and this time with their first music video for 'Hey Love' off their debut EP.  I couldn't be more in love with the video and I hope you like it too!  So proud of my sister and brother in law.  They knocked it out of the park!!

Enjoy and happy Monday!

18 Months, A Visit from the Stomach Flu (again) and Random Updates from the CD Household

 I found the above card on Pinterest the other day and it literally had me laughing out loud.  B is notorious for never remembering where he put things and is constantly asking where I "moved" his things.

 Luke is 18 months old and as cute and clever as ever.  He loves to play with his cars, listen to music and play in his pop up firetruck.  He is very vocal and demands that you "sit down" as he pats the spot on the floor next to him.  He loves all things Sesame Street and nothing can put him in a trance quite like Elmo's World, a gift for those moments when I just need 10 minutes to myself.  He's eating with a spoon and fork and his favorite foods are pasta, applesauce, Cat Cookies from TJs and my broccoli and cauliflower soup.

He loves to grab sunglasses off our faces and put them on himself.  I got the below pink heart shades from a girlfriends bachelorette party and Luke rocks them around the house.

 Luke loves to go outside and constantly stands by the sliding door with his hand on the glass looking up at B and I with the most adorable puppy dog eyes as he repeats over and over "owside mama, owside dada."  He then runs back and forth, sometimes stopping to pick a tomato or two, and then he's off again exploring and getting into the dirt, bark or rocks - he's such a boy.

 My mom and Jeff came out a few weekends back to watch my sister race in the Nike Women's Half Marathon (GO BECKY) and Luke was eating up all the attention and cuddles.

 This past weekend we got a surprise from the stomach flu and Luke spent all of Friday night until early Saturday morning, throwing up.  It was heartbreaking to see his little face as he was so pale and tired.  We had our last wedding of the year on Saturday but I stayed home with Luke and was so glad I did.  He had a rough weekend but thankfully by Sunday night he seemed to be feeling better.

Our house addition plans are still sitting with the city for approval so we've been working on some smaller projects we've had on our to-do list while we wait, like getting a better storage system for the living room.  I have been talking about built in bookshelves for about the last 5 years.  When we first moved in to our home we bought the brown and black shelves below from Pier 1 to use as a temporary solution, but it took us 5 YEARS to finally put in what we wanted.  The bookshelves didn't bother me as much until Luke started getting into everything and we had to put the baby fence along the whole wall to keep him out of our stuff.

While my mom was here, we had custom cabinets built with doors for the bottom and on top, adjustable shelves going all the way up to the ceiling.  They then painted the whole thing white and we had to wait 8 days before setting anything on the shelves so they could fully dry.  I am almost done putting the room back together and will post pics of the completed shelves soon.  It looks 100 times better, and the baby gate is gone! WooHoo!

 Lastly, here's a sneak peak at Luke's Halloween costume (please disregard the cabinet hinge he's chewing on)...

Santa Barbara

We've had quite the busy wedding season this year, and this past weekend was spent celebrating our friends Dee and Drew in a beautiful ceremony at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum.   My sister Becky and SIL Stacey offered to watch Luke while we were gone so we could make it into a mini kid free vacation.  It was definitely a treat and B and I had the best time.

Friends with the Bride and Groom

B went to school in Santa Barbara and this was the first time we had been there together.  He showed me around the old bar he used to work at, all his old local hangouts and where most of his college stories took place. 

Butterfly Beach

We had a fun dinner out with friends at Brophy Bros on the harbor on Saturday night and then headed to State street for drinks.  I definitely felt OLD visiting all the bars along State Street as it's dominated mostly by college students and probably a few high school kids as well.

On Sunday Blake took me to the Biltmore for the fanciest, most delicious brunch of my life.  We sat and ate for almost 3 hours at their all you can eat buffet and sipped on Bloddy Mary's and Mimosas.  They had all of my favorite things, gourmet cheese platters, crab legs, sushi, every bread imaginable, caviar, shrimp, all the staple breakfast items and a dessert bar that still has me dreaming.  I made it my mission to eat enough to hold me over the entire day, and succeeded.

My first of 6 plates              Individual Pots of warm chocolate for dipping        "Birdy" Mary and Mimosa

The wedding was Sunday afternoon and they could not have picked a more perfect day or location.  The Santa Barbara Historical Museum was the perfect backdrop for their Mexican-Italian themed wedding and the 15 YEARS they have been together was evident when no one there could really identify whether they should sit on the bride or grooms side as their friendship circles are completely intertwined.

Ceremony in the courtyard shaded by trees

Mr and Mrs Iacopelli

Friends

Prom Photo with the gang

Not only did they have a delicious candy bar, they had a mustache bar, seriously. 

Announcing the bridal party -- all wearing Mexican wrestling masks and mustaches

The beautiful bride

Yummy cake and cute toppers

15

I was 15 years old when my brother was born.  I remember being so excited when my dad and step-mom told us the news they were expecting, and then the first time I held him and feeling so proud to be his big sister.  He was a beautiful baby, happy and easygoing and everything about him amazed me.  Living across the country from him and watching him grow up through pictures and bi-annual trips to Minnesota was hard, but it was also fun because every time I did see him he was in a different phase, bigger, smarter, and with new interests.

Adam has continued to amaze me, with his smarts (he skipped a grade and still manages to stay at the top of his class),  his interest in worldly events, his empathy and kindness towards others and confidence in himself even from a young age.  He's just a really great kid.  

This past year and a half has been so fun watching Adam interact with Luke.  Adam is so good with his nephew, and watching them interact together brings me back to the days when Adam was little.  Luke has been drawn to Adam since the first time they met, pointing and smiling up at his uncle, and I know their relationship will always be special.

So, shopping for a birthday present for my 15 year old brother was tough, but in the end, I modified an idea I found on pinterest and did the following:

1. Cut out numbers/letters/design from card stock to use as an address label

2. Gather an assortment of small water balloons or the long skinny balloons

3. Set aside bills in the amount your comfortable gifting. $1's work great if you have a large box to fill
4. Roll each bill and insert into a balloon before blowing up with air
5. Blow up enough balloons to fill the entire size of your box

6. Tape a note to the top inside of the box with instructions and a safety pin to pop the balloons.

Happy Birthday Adam!  I love you and am still so proud to be your big sister.