Christmastime Part 2 - in Fort Worth

Before we knew it, we were leaving Virginia and on another plane to Fort Worth, TX to visit my family!  My brother Steve and his wife Sheila weren't able to make it to TX this year because they went to India to visit her family. We missed them a lot, but were glad they could make the journey so Steve could see where Sheila was born and meet the rest of her family. 

Since Dan, Emma, and I arrived the Saturday after Christmas, we opened gifts with my family the very next morning. We always try to open presents at the beginning of our visit so we can enjoy our new CDs, DVDs, and games during our remaining days together. And also because my mom and I have the patience of 3-year-olds when it comes to opening our gifts. :)

My mom's side of the family got together at the Ranch House one evening, and it was great to see everyone!  I love that my aunts, uncles, and cousins try to get together once or twice a year.  It keeps our families close, and Emma will have fun playing with all her second cousins each year.  My cousins Brad and Remy had their little girl, Sadie, just before Christmas, which brings the count to 7 second cousins in our growing family. 

My Mom joined Dan, Emma, and I for a visit to my cousin Tricia's house in Abilene to eat lunch with her family.  Dan, Emma, and I also spent an afternoon visiting his Uncle Gary, Aunt Pat, and cousins Amy and Anne and their families.  They all live in McKinney, which is about an hour and a half from my parents in Fort Worth.  We really enjoyed eating lunch and catching up with them, although I forgot to take a single picture while we were there.

The rest of our time was spent with my Dad, Mom, and brother Paul - watching movies, playing games, and eating good meals.  Dan and I went to the movies with my Dad and Paul to see "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" while my Mom babysat Emma. We also went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse (Dan's favorite!) one evening.  It was a very fun visit!   

Emma and Nana scoping out the gifts under the tree!

Emma had a ball with all the gift bags, boxes, and tissue paper! We had to clear out the garbage before she would pay attention to her gifts. :)

A full house at the Ranch House with my mom's family

Cousin Beckett was showing off his walking skills and the bike he got for Christmas

He let Emma take a spin on the bike, too

Uncle Brian and Tucker

Tricia and Aunt Jane

Tim and Leslie

Kyle

Beckett and Kolby

Remy and sweet baby Sadie

Emily, Tricia, and I

Two of my favorite men!

The whole family

Tricia and her husband Jeff got their kids a puppy for Christmas, so we went to their house another day to visit them and meet her.

Back at my parents' house, Emma, Papa, and Uncle Paul kicked back and watched football

Played patty-cake

 Dressed Emma up in the cute new outfit Uncle Paul gave her

Played the piano with gusto!

Got a "Nothing Bundt Cake" to celebrate Paul's and my January birthdays. We used to always share a birthday cake since our birthdays are only four days apart - it was just like old times! :)

And of course, ate dinner at Texas Roadhouse!

We loved every minute of our Christmas vacation!

Christmastime Part 1 - in Williamsburg

Normally, the weeks before Christmas are full of evening parties and engagements, but it wasn't as hectic for us this year since Dan's staff had a lunchtime Christmas party at school. Also, the CCA Christmas Concert was performed only by the school's pre-school and elementary students, so he didn't need to be involved in that, either. We just attended my work Christmas party, and otherwise had our evenings free. We appreciated that, since my department was so busy during December that I worked full-time instead of my typical three days per week. While the extra money was nice during the expensive holiday season, it confirmed that Dan and I definitely don't want me to go back to work full-time permanently. I hardly got to spend time with Emma during those weeks, and it's important to us that she gets lots of quality time with her parents!  We were really looking forward to our vacation time so we could be together every day, even though I was leaving work at one of the busiest times of the year.  We had booked our tickets months ago, and there's no way we were missing Emma's first Christmas with our families!

Dan had a three-week Christmas break from school, so we spent two of those weeks visiting Williamsburg, VA and Fort Worth, TX. I was worried that Emma wouldn't be able to sleep on the plane again (she really struggled on our flight to Denver at Thanksgiving time), which would've made a v-e-r-y long trip to VA. So we entertained her non-stop to keep her awake at the airport, and as a result she was good and tired for the flight. When I'm in an unfamiliar setting, sleeping with earplugs is the best way for me to tune out all the noises and distractions, so as I held her and fed her, I held a soft, thick blanket against her ears to muffle all the sounds. While the sun was shining through the window, I also shaded her eyes with a burp cloth. And she slept incredibly well on both flights! Praise the Lord!

When we arrived in Virginia, it was almost 80 degrees for the first two days! It rained and cooled down after that, which felt much more like Christmastime.  We had a blast playing with our nephews and meeting our niece, Naomi, who was born in October. Since there are so many kids in the family with lots of presents to open, we tried something new this year and let them open their gifts on Christmas Eve.  That way, we could spend the day helping them assemble and read instructions for their toys, and then the adults opened gifts together on Christmas day while the kids were busy playing with all their new toys.

Dan, Emma, and I took a day to drive to the Hampton Roads area to do some sight-seeing and stop in at my company's office in Portsmouth. I work with several people in that office, but don't see them in person unless they come to San Diego for business meetings.  They loved meeting Emma and Dan, too.  Other than that, we stayed at Dan's parents' house and enjoyed time with the Jesters and the extended family and friends who joined us there.  Here are some pictures from our first week of Christmas!

At my company's Christmas party - our first date night since Emma was born!

This is what my boss gave his employees for Christmas this year. He figured everyone needed a little stress relief.

Ha!

Finally on the plane heading to Williamsburg! Emma slept through most of the flight with her head wrapped in a blanket. :)

We got to help Dad and Mom decorate their house for the holidays while we were there.  Emma was fascinated by all the "toys" on the tree!

Santa's helpers distributing gifts to the kids on Christmas Eve

First Christmas gifts!

Benjamin showing off his loot

Nathan loves dressing up, so the hat and knife are perfect.

Aaron got some huge superhero figures

Lots of cars and little people for Josiah

Since Dan's nickname for Emma is "Lady Lovebug," she had quite the ladybug theme this year, including a ladybug blanket and bath towel.

Naomi and Emma in their pretty dresses on Christmas Eve. This was the one picture where they both looked at the camera, although Emma looks ready to steal Naomi's dress. There were lots of funny out-takes, of course.

Including this one, where Emma is picking Naomi's nose. :)

We got a picture of all the kids, even though poor Josiah clearly didn't want to be in it.

Left to right: Josiah, Nathan, Benjamin (in the back), Aaron, Nate holding Emma, and Abi holding Naomi

Our family on Christmas Eve

The Jesters' neighborhood has a beautiful trail behind it that Dan and I went running on a few times that week.  We took a family walk on Christmas day, too.

The boys playing "King of the Hill"

All bundled up - it's cold outside!

Our days were filled with non-stop playtime at the Jesters' house. Emma and Josiah became big buddies. He learned her name the first day, and afterwards would walk around asking for "Emma? Emma?" when he didn't see her.

Aaron is a hard one to catch on camera since he's a whirlwind of activity. But he stopped for a moment to hold hands with Emma.

It looks like Nathan's growling and scaring her in this picture. So funny!

Benjamin gave her this Christmas dress, which fit her perfectly during the holidays!

The Kings joined us for dinner a couple of nights. Emma loved playing with Christina and Kimberly.

Exploring the bucket of toys with Grandpa

Rob, Robin, and their kids, Abi, Nate, and Naomi came over almost every day to hang out with us, too.

Dan's cousins Jon and Carrie visited on Christmas day with their kids. Emma loved their daughter, Chloe!  And we got an entire wardrobe of Chloe's hand-me-downs that will last Emma until she's two! We're really grateful for all the cute clothes!

Nathan kept us entertained with a new costume every day. :)

Josiah looking very dapper on Christmas Eve

Naomi is already very personable at a young age. She'll give you the sweetest smiles when you stop to talk to her.

Benjamin, Nathan, and Aaron used Aaron's new superheroes as targets on the pool table. Very creative!

We got a picture of the whole family before we left Williamsburg. We're thankful for such a wonderful family and the fun time we had with everyone!

Why I Run

I've started running again and am slowly building up my mileage. It's mostly to help me fit back into my pre-pregnancy pants, but the health benefits aren't bad, either. :)  Since many of my family and friends remember my non-athletic days in middle school and my aversion to outdoor exercise (especially running!) in high school and college, it's surprised them that I've run for several years now and even completed half marathons since moving to San Diego. 

So I thought I'd share my reason for running.  I took these pictures the week before Christmas while running 5 miles (2.5 miles out and 2.5 miles back home) in the early morning. This is just a portion of the trail along Mission Bay. It begins at Crown Point Park, which is 1/2 mile from our house and follows the edge of the water for 3.5 miles. Then you can cross a parking lot and run along the Pacific Beach boardwalk and enjoy ocean views for a couple more miles. I honestly think the only reason I ever made it 13 miles was because the further I ran, the more beauty I got to enjoy along the way. I don't have any upcoming race goals, but once again, I'm enjoying the views and we'll see how far I go! 

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.