Friday, November 23, 2007

Holiday Kickoff!

And so it begins...the holiday season is upon us already. I have to admit- Kevin and I are both giddy with excitement. It's our favorite time of year and we are definitely that annoying couple who put their tree up too early, are in a great mood for a solid 8 weeks and look the other way when department stores bring out Christmas gear in October.

This year, Thanksgiving took on a whole new meaning for Kevin and me. Preston has come into our lives and filled our hearts with more love than we could have ever dreamed of. Last year at this time, we were grieving the loss of our twins, and yet balancing that grief with faith that we would be fortunate enough to conceive again. We had no idea it would happen so quickly, nor how lucky we would be to- just a year later- be celebrating the life of our beautiful three month old. Thursday was a wonderful day at my Aunt Laura's house. With tons of food and drink and lots of hands eagerly awaiting their turn with Preston. My cousins, Austin and Cameron loved taking turns holding him and Cam even compiled a huge stash of his favorite books and stuffed animals that he had "outgrown." (Not to mention we snagged a very cool set of wooden block toys...thanks, Aunt Laura!!!) My Uncle Larry who lives in Dallas was also in town and hasn't seen Preston since he was a newborn in the hospital so it was great that they got some time together, too. Preston was a little disappointed that he was unable to partake in stuffing himself with the Thanksgiving meal, but we reminded him many times that next year, he'd have a full plate with the rest of us. (And hopefully the tryptophan will make him nice and tired.)
With Cameron and Austin: (Better known to my family as Cameroonie and Schmosser because we have to come up with nicknames for everyone.)

And with Uncle Larry: (Uncle Orley- but there's a story behind that nickname.)


Friday morning, we made the drive back to Fort Wayne and P was a little fussy before leaving, (see below) so we were thrilled when he slept the entire way home.


We had big plans on Wednesday to get our Christmas decorations out and put them up in the evening, but let me tell ya- we were SHOCKED at how difficult that was to do with a non-mobile baby! I can't imagine how women with more than one or with a walker/crawler do it! Good Lord, what used to take us all of 2 hours to complete inside and out, took the course of an evening and we still weren't finished, so thankfully, Grandma Judy came to the rescue. (Yet again!) And watched Preston during the day so that we could get it done. Here are some shots of Preston checking out the lights as we passed him back and forth while decorating the tree:



Friday evening, we attended the annual “Festival of Trees” celebration at Fort Wayne's Embassy Theater. We've gone a few times before and it's a beautiful wonderland of decorated tress and lights. I was so excited to take Preston this year and even though he slept through most of it, when he woke up, he was amazed at all there was to be seen!





We are so excited for Preston's first holiday season! Stay tuned for more pictures of him exploring this time of year throughout the next few weeks. Off to do some Christmas shopping- Hope everyone enjoyed their Turkey day! :)

2 comments:

Betsy King said...

Yes! We want to take Miles in The Bjorn too! (Though at 20+ lbs. it makes for a different kind of hike!)

You look great! I don't believe for a second that you were sick last week!

Happy Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for new friends. ; )

Betsy King said...

BTW, you got a better photo of the trees than I did. (You mentioned mine would be great, so had to say that.)