A very merry Christmas!

Our first Christmas with the little guy was great!  We were lucky enough to have a full house too!  My mom, Kara, Ally, Gabe and Nala spent over a week with us and it was awesome!  In true fashion we packed it full of good times but also a little relaxation too!  I think my favorite part of their visit was our mornings together, it was so nice to come downstairs and get a cup of coffee and chat with my sisters and Mom every day.


Merry Christmas!

 I cannot believe how grown up Gabe is, he turned 15 while he was here!  What an awesome young man he is, and Griffin absolutely loved him!  I think it was a mix between his deep voice and smiles, but man he really loved to just sit and watch Gabe!  It was really hard to have them leave, I just wish we could all live closer to each other!



Gabe and Griffin

During the trip we did a snow hike to lava tubes on Mt. St. Helens.  It was a crazy hike and we were all pretty tired afterward, but we really had a great time.  I have never hiked through snow before like that, it was absolutely beautiful!  We also did a train ride on the Mt. Hood Railway, it was a "Polar Express" themed trip so Santa and his elves came on board and we got to drink hot coco and eat cookies.  It was really fun and it brought out the kid in all of us!



All Aboard!

My mom watched Griffin one night so my sisters and Sean and I went out to our favorite drinking spot in Portland.  It was fun to have a night of champagne cocktails and appetizers and I didn't even have to take turns with Sean to eat :)  Kara watched Griffin on New Year's Eve so my Mom, Sean and I could go see the new Twilight movie.  None of us had seen it yet, it was really good and a fun way to end our year.  We came home, ate our pork and sauerkraut, wore our party hats and very softly blew our horns (don't wake the baby!!).  Every New Year's Eve reminds me of the one that just past, in 2011 I was sitting in a restaurant in Tucson with my friends, trying not to throw up because I had such yucky morning sickness! It's crazy what can change in just one year :)  I hope that 2013 is a great year!   I am excited to watch my son grow and explore the world around him.  I have a feeling that I really have no idea what is in store for the Schoonmaker family in 2013, but I can't wait to see it all unfold!

Happy New Year!