Happy New Year!

I hope this isn't indicative of how the new year is going to go... We had our friends, the Bass' over. We had lots of good food and played fun games - I meant to take photos of it all, and of Aaron playing with Eli, but I forgot.

But I did get one of the most important photos!

Happy New Year!

Rachel's Wedding

Rachel got married today and it was a very special event. We love Tighe and are so excited to have him in our family.

I love these 2 pictures - there is so much personality in each face!

Eric and I outside the Portland temple

The Hornibrook clan at the reception

Zoo Lights!

The Oregon Zoo, every year does something called Zoo Lights. They put up an amazing display of Christmas lights throughout the zoo - and it is spectacular!  We took Aaron and he simply loved it!

Our camera needs to be fixed so the photos were taken with our phones and eventually we had to switch to video because the phones were dying and flash no longer worked... but you get the general idea of how awesome it is... Aaron had such a great time!

Aaron enjoyed looking at the lights upside down too!

We had so much fun! We'll definitely be going again next year!

Merry Christmas!

To set the mood - here is a video of Aaron singing Christmas songs with me. We sing in the rocking chair before he goes to bed. He's tired and obviously nervous because I have a camera (phone) in his face and he can see himself, but it's still super cute. (**note, please do not focus on my singing, I had a cold)

Did you notice him drop a beat in the middle? That's something Eric does when I sing, lol

What a great Christmas!!! With this being Rachel's last Christmas living at home (she's getting married!) it is the last opportunity for her and Eric (and significant others) to get up early and watch a movie, so we decided to spend the night at Mark & Ane's Christmas Eve.

So we did our own Christmas on Christmas Eve morning!

While I was helping Santa with the stocking stuffers, Aaron found a a santa hat - he put it on and left it on the whole time we were in the store, so we of course had to buy it :)

We did stockings first, which may have been a mistake. Aaron got a set of 3 balls in his stocking and he decided he would much rather play with the balls than open his other gifts...

  

Aaron got a new tie and wanted to wear it immediately.

Eventually, Aaron got the hang of opening the gifts and realized how fun it was ... so he helped Daddy open his gifts, lol

Christmas Eve was fun at Mark & Ane's. We had a great dinner and Eric and I slept in the family room, prepped and ready for the morning movie.

Aaron has a lovely habit (It was cute at first but he's been doing it for too long...) of waking up early and only going back to sleep if he is in our bed... So, I brought him in bed with us. Eric was lying on his back with me in the crook of his arm; his shoulder my pillow. Aaron also used his shoulder a pillow and laid horizontally as you can see in the picture. He was so out that we got up and started the movie and he didn't wake at all.

Christmas morning, the Hornibrooks have the children run down the hall to the room with the tree.

This year, Aaron got to run!

We hope you had a Very Merry Christmas!

My Cute Gamer Boys

What Better Way to Celebrate the Apocalypse?

Seeing the Hobbit in the Movie Parlor at Cinetopia

:)

Work Christmas Party!

Though Eric has worked at Precoa before, it has never been during the winter, so this was the first work party for both of us! 

It was pretty spectacular to see all the hard work of this company come together - we got to see how they reached their goals and how wonderful the leadership is.

We are so lucky to be a part of something so amazing.

Chuck-E-Cheese!

There were 2 niece birthdays this month! To celebrate, we went to Chuck-E-Cheese! (yes, I made more dresses, but in my rush, I forgot to take photos of said dresses... oops)

Aaron had to, of course, drive!

Aaron enjoyed looking at the kids playing in the structure... lol

Aaron liked riding in the "cars" - he rode the tractor, then Thomas squeezed in with him.

Aaron then rode Clifford...

And then Thomas squeezed in with him...

haha - Aaron doesn't mind sharing.

Aaron enjoyed the Merry-go-round. He would sit on it all by himself and smile. Super cute.

This was Aaron's favorite game - you just throw balls at the screen!

We plopped him right on the game so he could reach the balls and didn't have to throw as far.

Silly Aaron

I catch Aaron doing the strangest things sometimes...

Here is one example.

Aaron came to me not knowing he had a Styrofoam ball stuck in his hair, haha!

Here he is waiting for me to come upstairs!

Here's Aaron with his celery. He LOVES celery ... who'd have thought?

Don't you love that wild curly hair?!? I know I do!

I am so lucky with Aaron ... strange as he is.

Other mom's have that frightening moment where their kid has been quiet for too long and suddenly there is a mess. I have moments where he has been quiet for long stretches of time and I find him rocking himself in the rocking chair or reading a story (yesterday I was making pizza for dinner and he sat and read The Very Hungry Caterpillar for a good 7 minutes). He is a very focused and determined child. He loves to pull up a chair beside me while I cook or clean and just chat my ear off. In fact, we have a chair in the bathroom just for that - so he can talk to me while I do my hair.

So yes, my child is strange, but it's the good kind of strange (notwithstanding the toe chewing photo above... that is simply strange)

Happy 12-12-12 to Us!

Christmas Tree

In Oregon, getting a tree is a much different experience than in Utah. In Utah, you go on state Street where trees have been cut down and "imported" for you. You walk down the limited selection of trees all lined up perfectly, the floor kept relatively clear of stumbles, and select your tree. You then pay way more than it is worth and they attach it to the top of your car.

In Oregon, oh boy was it fun! We went to a tree farm and wandered the vast number of trees of all different sizes! We had cider and candy canes (actually, only Aaron had candy canes, but boy does he love them!) and chopped the tree down ourselves (and by we, I mean Eric...)

Here's Aaron, All excited to go pick out a tree!

Aaron was very intrigued at the chopping of the tree...

After getting our tree, we helped Mark and Ane get their's and then get it set up in their home.

I took all of their cut off branches to use to make a wreath for our front door. It was an interesting ride home for poor Aaron in the back, lol.

Yes, his face is covered in chocolate. It was my bribe to get him in the car (he hates to leave Gramma's house)

Here is the wreath

I was going to add berries or ornaments or, well, anything but I never got around to it...

Then we went home and decorated our tree! 

I made our tree skirt and I'm rather proud of it :)

Aaron tried to pull the ornaments off for a few hours. He had 2 or 3 that he particularly liked to play with. But he has yet to mess with them since! **update - he still hasn't pulled any off and it's been several days. He likes his penguin stuffed animal ornament that Gramma Ane gave him and I feel he is allowed to pull that one off. I was worried that I would have to move the ornaments all to 3 feet and up but he has been so good! He hasn't pulled the stockings down either! I love that he listens to me!**

Eric and I both love to sit and gaze on the Christmas decorations. They make our home seem so peaceful.