Merry Christmas!

December is such a fun, busy month! I've been a very neglectful blogger and can really only manage a quick recap now. Still, wanted to make sure I had some documentation of the past few weeks. :)

At MOPS, Kyle and his classmates surprised the mommys with a little Christmas show. Kyle came out and exclaimed loudly for everyone to hear, "Mom, I'm on the stage!!" It was so cute. And I was so proud. The kind of proud where your kid isn't doing anything particularly grand, but you're just beaming cause you know he's yours! :)

We found 4 or so neighborhoods with crazy, amazing lights and enjoyed walking around, drinking hot cocoa.

 Mimi invited us to Miss Annette's Studio for some "Winter Wonderland" Kindermusik fun.We had fun dancing, singing and making music to lots of Christmas songs. Here, we were playing with "snow."

Last weekend, we celebrated an early Christmas with my family. We traditionally read the Christmas story before opening presents. Grandpa read to us from a children's book. I love watching my son learn about our Savior. 

 Kyle was proud to give all the family members a hand-made item from one of the community craft nights we attended earlier this month. He threaded hearts and beads to make Mimi a necklace.

 Oh, the joy of watching your child enjoy his presents! Such fun!

 Grandparent love.

My 3 handsome men. xo

Merry Christmas, everyone! 

Gavin - 3 months

Lots of brotherly love.

Gavin is 3 months old, today. To celebrate, he started laughing! ;) And once going, he just giggles and giggles. It is such a beautiful sound. And speaking of beautiful, the smile he constantly flashes just melts us. You simply have to look at him and he lights up! We love our happy, beautiful boy.

At 3 months, Gavin:

• is quite verbal
• enjoys being rocked in a rocking chair
• smiles constantly (as if to say "thank you" for every little thing)
• loves chewing on his fists
• is a spitter-upper
• likes the "happy face" hanging from his play mat (very fitting!)
• loves going fast in a car!

Still pinching ourselves, people! 

Kyle's First Catch!!!

Kyle caught his first fish, ALL BY HIMSELF!!!! :) 

While the boys were out fishing this afternoon Kyle said, "Papa, I want a real hook and some bait." Rudy consented and Kyle began to cast his line. He imitated Rudy by putting his pole against his chair and waiting saying, "It takes so long to wait." After reeling and casting over and over, Kyle shouted, "A fish!!! A fish!!! Oh, he's strong! But I'm going to get him!" Though the little fish put up a good fight, Kyle was able to reel it in all by himself. Once he saw the Spotted Bay Bass, he joyfully exclaimed, "I knew it! I knew there was a fishy. It was shaking. Thank you, fishy! I love you fishy! Thank you for letting me catch you." Then after Rudy snapped a few pictures, Kyle said, "We need to put more bait on it, so we can do it again!!"

The boys were so excited, they called to tell me the news. Kyle was so happy and proud! And we are proud of him, not yet three and a half years old and catching his first fish! :) 

Love our Ocean

Though the cost of living is ridiculously high, we have a hard time imagining our lives elsewhere. 

Snapped a few pictures before heading home to change for church. I don't know where we'll end up. For now, we're enjoying the proximity and are trying to take full advantage of it! :)

Family Games

Rudy and I enjoy playing games. So how fun is it that our Kyle is old enough to join in the fun?! Our new family favorites are many of our old childhood loves: Go Fish, SlapJack, Memory, and Old Maid! Kyle has also learned how to play Jenga, Uno, and Guess Who?

Playing SlapJack. He loves to slap! :)

Lovin' this!

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

A week late, but what the heck! We had a great weekend with family. We spent the day before Thanksgiving with my parents and sister. We met up for lunch and then Grandpa and Auntie took Kyle for a couple of train rides.

Grandpa and Gavin

Then, Grandpa and Grammie came to watch Kyle in his sports class.

Here the kids were learning how to, "Set, Hut, Hike" the football.

The next day was Thanksgiving with my Oregon family. We had a great time!!! Even got the news that there will be a new, little cousin come June! Here, Auntie Jan meets Gavin.

Friday, we decorated for Christmas and picked out our tree (freshly cut from Oregon)! Man, does our home smell wonderful!!

Sunday afternoon we took the kids to the beach. 

Daddy and Gavin.

Kyle was sad to see the Thankful Tree being taken apart, so we left up the bare branches and decorated it with a painted egg from my cousin Karianne. 

Kyle still asks that we share what we're thankful for and frankly, I can't argue... we could celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving all year long! Here's Kyle's list of things he's thankful for:

• grapes
• "for loving you"
• "God. He protects us."
• trees
• "the pictures" (of Kyle and Gavin)
• "for Mommy" Why? "You get the food ready."
• Brother
• cheese
• Moppets (MOPS childcare program)

It is so fun to hear him share his thoughts and learn what's important to him. Happy Thanksgiving... and hellooo CHRISTMAS!!!! :) 

Kyle's 1st Sleepover!!

Kyle was invited to his very first sleepover by his Auntie Michelle! :) He could hardly contain his excitement and kept exclaiming, "I just can't wait!!" all day long. Their plans were to set up a tent and sleep in the living room of my sister's new apartment. Kyle was excited to eat, play, bathe... you name it, if it was at his Auntie Michelle's house. Check out his excitement when we "finally" arrived at her door...

Immediately upon entering, he began to unroll his sleeping bag and get to unpacking his Thomas suitcase.

Then came the tent.

And then, "Okay Mommy, good-bye!!" Kyle waved me off with a huge smile.

I got a great report from Michelle later that night. He was adorable in all the ways I'd have expected him to be (lots of "Kyle-isms"), and slept really well. They were back at our place the next morning bright and early and we were off to spend Thanksgiving with family.

Thanks, Michelle, for making this fun memory happen. You're welcome to repeat this anytime you please!!! :)

Weekends with the Martins

We love our weekends. A typical one involves:

Pretending that we get to sleep in ... 

Special breakfasts either at home or at the beach! 

Swimming for Mommy, surfing for Daddy, and fishing trips for the family.

Working on projects like this weekend's soap carving creation.

And finally, arriving late to church.

 Why does Monday morning come so soon?!