It's Icy Out There...

the exact words my father-in-law used to describe the 60 something weather outside.  If I see another person wearing gloves or a snow hat, I think I might just run them over in my weather beaten, Utah car.  We are absolutely loving the sunny California weather.  Today, Liz and I walked to the beach and let the boys play for a little bit.  Then we walked back to the park across the street from her house and let them play some more (where every kid was in long sleeves,pants, even some with jackets, and don't even get me started on the moms in their Uggs). Anyways, It was exactly what I have been wanting to do since got here.  I'll gladly enjoy the chance to NOT wear boots and jackets and gloves anytime!

Christmas and Stuff...

Sorry Brother, I know it's not the most flattering but a pregnant lady has got to post a good pic when she finds one. 

This is the post game show sponsored by "Horton Hears a Who"

Despite his typical present opening expression, he really was into it

What I love about this picture? I'm wearing a shirt Jimmy used to wear when we first got married.  Awww...what marriage and babies do to ya.

All the kiddos and Santa on Christmas Eve

So Christmas was great.  We had Christmas morning at our house with Liz and Trevor and Bennett. It was calm and sweet -just how I wanted it for Duncan.  He and Bennett enjoyed their presents for a little bit, we took showers and then headed to my brother's to join the rest of the Riley clan for the rest of the day.  It wasn't quite as calm at Mike's because of Rock Band, but at least it was entertaining.  Duncan and Bennett had some good bonding time.  They learned how to wrestle.   I almost forgot to mention Jimmy's big debut as you know who. 

You Know Your Husband Loves You When...

he makes you a ham & cheese omelet with slices of a homegrown California avocado layered on top. It was heavenly. Seriously, the best thing Jimmy has ever cooked up. The best part, I had just come from the bedroom, where I sadly had just gotten out all my maternity clothes -clothes I didn't expect to see for another month. The yummy breakfast was just the thing to make me forget about the frumpy maternity shirt I was wearing. Thank you honey!


And below is one of the few reasons why it is nice to have a 30 yr. old couch that comes apart into a gazillion pieces.

Duncan's favorite word yesterday

Not Camel, but "dromedary"(apparently that's what a camel with one hump is called). In his favorite book, Curious George, there is a part where they draw animals out of all the letters. For "D" they draw a dromedary. Now we have a little almost 2 year old running around the house saying, "dromedary, dromedary, dromedaaaaaaaary!"

Holly Jolly Christmas

So this is the first year I actually have a kid to get psyched up about Christmas. It is so fun! It's the first time, in a long time, I've been this excited for Christmas. I have always loved Christmas, but as a kid, being the youngest of a big family, I was kind of forced to grow up to soon when it came to Christmas. I don't ever remember believing in Santa, and by the time I was 11, I think I was the only one still really excited about going to get the Christmas tree, and then I would most of the decorating by myself (ok, Liz, so maybe you were still into it a little bit, but you have to admit, I did do most of it). Anyway, my point is, it so fun to see Duncan putting bells on the tree and shaking them, and singing "Jingle Bells". It was so fun to see his face when I plugged in the lights. He doesn't even know about the presents yet! I'm mainly looking forward to the quiet Christmas morning at our house before we head up to be with the rest of the gang. Especially if Bennett is here with us. How cute? The two little boys enjoying their first real Christmas experience together. Ok, I'll stop rambling on about this and go watch a Gilmore Girls episode or two or three or four.

Here are some family pictures you may or may not receive as a Christmas Card (I've definitely caught the "Christmas Spirit" this year but I'm not sure if it's strong enough to carry me all the way through Christmas baking and cards. It's one or the other, I'm afraid). Also, a picture of our tree. It's the only real Christmas decorating we've done. We don't have a whole lot of surfaces to decorate. Anyway, enjoy.

(it's much cuter in real life...but the carpet isn't)

So I was thinking that maybe I should have someone hold the rest of season 3 Gilmore Girls DVDs at there house just until I finish moving (to a 3 bedroom apt. downstairs). It's getting to be a bit distracting. At least they stopped showing re-runs of season 7 on T.V. so I'm no longer watching 2 seasons at a time (and no more dreaming of being married to Logan). On second thought, I don't think I have the self-discipline to actually hand them over, so if someone could sneak into my house and TAKE them, just for a while, that would be great =)

Pictureless...

We remembered the camera and forgot the memory card so sorry...no pics at the moment. We had a great Thanksgiving break in Carlsbad. We spent a lot of time relaxing on the couch, letting Duncan work his magic with Grandma and Grandpa. Almost every time one of them would walk in the room Duncan would say in a very excited voice, "Hi Grandpa!" or "Hi Grandma!" Then, he would ask them what they were doing and just "talk" to them. He is a pretty good conversationalist for an almost two year old.

I also got to spend some time with my sister. How great is it to get to see so much family in one trip?! We did the whole "Black Friday" thing. I think it was a first for both of us. I originally only planned to go to the outlet stores that opened at 12:01 am but after a few hours there, Liz convinced me to go to Denny's. Once we finished there, it was almost time for Wal-mart to open so of course we had to drive by and scope it out. Oh and how convenient that Kohls is right across the street. So...after hours of waiting in line for really unimportant things, I got home and into bed at 7:30am. It sounds kind of miserable but we actually had a lot of fun! We didn't get mad or irritated, because we knew what to expect. We just talked and laughed and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in all our giddiness.

Another highlight of the trip...the ZOO! Duncan loved it. We all loved it. Our feet hurt but we didn't overdo it. The hippo was our favorite.

Without pictures, I'm really pushing the length of this post so let me just say, thank you to everyone who entertained Duncan this past week so we could have bit of a break. Thank you also to Sabrina for squeezing us in. We'll get the pictures up as soon as they're ready. Maybe we'll actually get Christmas cards out this year. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Christmas is just around the corner...yipee!