Hi Ho, Hi Ho....

It's back to work I go! Today was my first day back since the beginning of September. It is amazing how fast time goes by. John did a great job with the kids while I was gone. My day was fine, I was warmly welcomed back to a nice clean desk and my awesome co-workers. I kept saying all day how quiet it was at work! No crying, no screaming, no electronic toys, no one asking for cheese....yup, even though I was busy all day...it was quiet!

I know it won't be long until we fall into a nice routine! Julie was a little confused this morning, she kept asking "Mommy work?" but she got over it and gave me a big hug and kiss goodbye. She was a little clingy tonight when I got home, but after helping me cook dinner, a bubble bath and a few books, she was a happy camper. Andy has a little cold, so he has been a little crabby, but he was also good for his daddy all day.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

And it was! I was not expecting a lot out of Christmas this year, kinda thinking that Julie was still a little too young. But I was wrong, dead wrong! Julie loved every part of Christmas and presents and family. She didn't have any major meltdowns, no hitting, no pushing. She even gave Santa a hug.

So Christmas really started with a little gathering at my dad's house, where Santa was the guest of honor. Julie and Andy had already seen Santa once before but Santa felt like being more photogenic this time, so here are some adorable pictures!

Christmas Eve morning, Julie, Andy and I went to see Heather and Lina to give Lina her present. They gave Julie the cutes play dough "kit" with presses, rollers, cutters, and a big glob of homemade play dough! It was so sweet! And they gave Andy some snugly jammies, they must know what a cuddle bun he is! I made Lina an apron so that she could help her mom in the kitchen, or do crafts, or whatever. I also made them for Dawson and Anabelle. Of course I have no pictures of them wearing them, but here is one I took when I was done making them.

Then it was off to Grandma and Pop-pop Sommerville's house for Christmas eve. It was the greatest thing! My mom and Justin and Audrey came out, Sean and Bess were there. Basically, I could not have asked for more! Anne made an AMAZING dinner and we had a great time. After dinner, we played some cribbage, which we had not played in a really long time, and that was fun because Justin loves cribbage and I know that he was happy to find someone else who loved it to (Dave and Sean). Here are a few pictures. The bags that Anne and Bess are holding up are some of the presents that I made this year. I also made them for my mom, Colleen, Kayla and Audrey, but I was not as good about getting pictures.


And then, Santa came to the Hunter house!

When Julie woke up the next morning, she could not wait! She barely said hello to John or I and off she went! Santa brought her a cabbage patch doll (Loretta) that he has been saving since I was a little girl, along with a cradle he put aside that my grandfather made, and her favorite, a stroller to push Loretta in. In her stocking there were a bunch of hair clips and bows that she wanted to wear all at once. What a happy girl! He brought Andy a stacking toy that has lights. He really seems to like it. His big sister helped him open it.



After a bit, my mom, Justin and Audrey came over with a scrumptious breakfast! We opened some more great presents. My mom got Julie a cash register and Jus and Audrey got her a hat, a book (which we had to read TWICE last night before bed) and a my little pony! All big hits! Andy received a few pairs of jammies, some cute outfits and some fun rattles. Hard to say how excited he was, but we love them! Then we brought out Julie's present from us...an Elmo bike! She was so happy that she climbed right on, even while wearing her Tinkerbell nightgown.

After Justin, Audrey and my mom left, and a quick visit with Chris and Kayla, we all went down for naps! Julie and Andy slept about 3 1/2 hours and we slept about 2 1/2...heaven. Then we were off to Grandma Hazels to see Mel, Colleen, Chris, Bess, Ted and Sharron. We had a great dinner and Julie got to show off her riding skills. Her feet don't actually touch the pedals all the way, but she is close.

We had a great Christmas, we are so blessed by such amazing friends and family. And I haven't even told you the best present of all! John's mom and my mom went in on this:


Every time I look at it I can not help but smile because I know the years of fun memories that will come from it. I always thought I had the best grandparents in the world....but perhaps its a tie. :)

Thank you everyone who made this Christmas so wonderful. You make me feel so loved every day!

Big Move

Today John and I helping Justin and Audrey move into their new beautiful house! We are so excited and so proud of them. We are exhausted, but with 3 trucks and the suburban, it only took 2 trips to get the bulk out of the rental house. Then, I unpacked boxes of kitchen stuff as Audrey put them away. We were a great team! Justin, John and my dad did most of the heavy stuff. Overall, it was a great day and we got so much done. Their house is starting to feel so cozy, and will be even more so once the really get settled. I didn't really get any pictures, just one or two after dinner that night...the first family dinner in their new house!! And it was also the first time John and I had Latkes...they were delicious!!

Can't wait to see what they do to make the place their own and look forward to lots of happy memories their!

Surprise!

For the last month or so, John, Dave, Bess and I (with a little help from my mom, Heli and Steve) have been planning a surprise 60th Hoedown for Anne. Well, on Saturday night, we asked Anne if she wanted to go to a Community Dinner (not uncommon in little Santa Margarita) to benefit the Lions club. She accepted and when she arrived, about 35 of her closest friends and family were there to say Happy Birthday! Probably an even bigger surprise was Bess walking out of the back room. Anne had no idea she was coming home for the party or Christmas, so she was beyond excited, as was the rest of the family who also didn't know she was coming.

Since it was her birthday party, no one was allowed to wear Christmas attire, western only. I was so happy when people actually did! We played a game entitled "How Well Do You Know Anne?" The winner was Lora Wheat, who has been a friend of Anne's since they were freshman in high school! Lora won a 6 foot inflatable cactus (yes, you read that correctly) as her prize!



We had a really fun time eating yummy BBq, awesome cake, and celebrating with friends. Happy Birthday Anne, don't worry, we won't do it again next year. :)

3 Months

My baby boy is 3 months old today! He is becoming such a little man. He is so expressive and contemplative. He smiles a lot, but not for just anyone still. When he wakes up in the morning and you pick him up to change him, that is when he is the most smiley. I chose this picture because I thought it most explains him. Yes, his shirt says "mommy's new man" Aunt Audrey bought it for him before he was born without knowing what a Mommy's boy he would be.

He loves to watch his sister run around from the safety of his swing. Andy is a cuddle boy too. When he is upset, all you have to do is press him fully against your body and he will calm right down! New info on Andy:

• When we took him to the Dr at 10 weeks, he weighed 14 lbs 1 ozs
• He watches toys in front of his face
• He reaches for toys that you shake for him
• He eats....a lot still
• He will turn his face to my voice
• He grabs onto toys, not really hold them, but grab at them

Julie's Room

I have been wanting to put up pictures of Julie's room because she loves her room right now and goes in there to play a lot all by herself. Sometimes when she is being grouchy, she will go in there and shut the door, without being told!

So, here we go. :)

This is her big girl bed that she brings every stuffed animal she owns into.

These paintings were done by Christina. I love them so much and so does Julie. Sometimes she says hi to them. It goes something like "Hi raffe. Hi Sheep. Hi roars!"

Julie loves to read, we all have almost all these books memorized. The bear on the left was give to her by Uncle Justin and Aunt Audrey for her first Christmas. Her name is Agnus. She used to talk in Justin and Audrey's voice. But Julie has worn it out. Thats ok though, because they are back now and she gets to hear their voices for real.

Julie's piggy bank. Every holiday her Gran-Memere (my memere) sends her a dollar, it goes in this bank. It was given to her by Mimi. She likes looking at it when we are changing her.

The dove painting. Probably my favorite thing in the room.

Julie's very own Christmas tree!

A Louisville Slugger given to Julie by Justin and Audrey. She drags it around the house sometimes. It cracks me up!! If you look close you can see that it has her name and birthday on it.

One of these was given to Julie by Uncle Chris and Auntie Kay, and one from Grandma and Pop-pop Sommerville. She calls them pretty.

We put pictures of all Julie's friends up here. She says goodnight to them. I need to update them, but she still likes to look at them.

And last but not least, Julie's artwork. Our fridge has some too, but it can't all fit on the fridge.

I will being doing the same for Andy's room, but I don't have all the pictures taken yet. So stay tuned for that! :)

Bed Update #2

Julie is doing great in her "big girl bed." She only gets up when it is morning, and only once in a while she will get up a little early and play in her room. When she is ready to come out and join the world, she knocks on the door. It is so cute. She will play and talk for 10 minutes or so then you hear "knock knock" (yes, she says it while she knocks) and it is time to get up.

She doesn't ever fall out of bed either. The other night, though, when we went in to check on her, we found her like this:

Our little drunkard. :)

The festivities are about to begin....

December is always very busy, but it seems this year that it is more mellow in some ways but more hectic in others. I am making a lot of gifts this year and they are mostly done. I can't wait to post the pictures on here, but I can not spoil the surprises! I also am working on Andy's stocking. Obviously it has to be done in time for Santa to fill it.

But, since I am home this year, I am able to do a lot of the running around during daylight hours, leaving more time to spend with the family. Doing fun things like setting up the Christmas lights and letting Julie help me cook dinner as opposed to our normal busy go out to eat chaos.

Today we are going to get our Christmas tree. John's mom took both of the kids today, the house is so quiet. I have been able to do some exciting Christmas preparations, but again, I can not spoil any surprises.

Tomorrow night, Justin, Audrey, my mom and I are taking the kids to the Walk Around the Lake Holiday thing. I always have a great time with that. I will put up pictures, I promise.

Ok, now this is off the subject, but this was one of the first mornings I had to get both kids at least mostly ready to go, and myself because I was meeting my mom at Curves. I put Julie up on the counter while I was running a brush through my hair and teeth. This is what she started doing:

Now most of you probably know that I don't wear make-up...ever. Only for very special occasions. So it is not like she sees me do this as part of my morning routine. The only thing I can think of is maybe she picked it up at Beths? Either way, I was dying, I was laughing so hard she was getting annoyed with me. I have a couple pictures of that too, but for her sake, I won't post them.

And here is my baby boy, or I should say my little boy. He seems to already be moving out of the "baby" stage and into the "so cute I can't stand it" phase. :) He was all dressed and ready to go to Grandma and Pappa's house. I dress him first because he is the least likely to spill or strip. He loved his new hat. I put it on him and he smiled real big. Then stuck his tongue out. I take that as approval.

I will post pictures of our tree excursion and our house lights soon. I would have done it all ready but we had a slight issue with the circuits, as in we kept blowing them! John has worked doubles the last 2 days, so when he gets home today he will square them all out so our house will shine like the day!!