Miles hates the camera...

How adorable, my son in his back pack from Grandpa Checchio and his cool big boy watch (that I have no idea where it came from) so I had to snag a picture....

He sees the camera and I get his great face! What a stinker.

The O So Glamorous Belly Picture...

For those of you wondering this is what I look like right about now....

Only 6+ weeks to go!

"Gingerbread" Houses

We were so lucky to have our friends Chris and Clar drive all the way down from Philadelphia to celebrate New Year's with us in Georgia. It's a long twelve hour drive and they showed up chipper and ready to go with their two adorable boys in tow. Miles had so much fun having Tommy here to play with, and was very interested in Cameron. He LOVES Clar, and I swear would trade me in for her if he could. I am so grateful they came down, it meant so much to us and we had so much fun.
Here we are making gingerbread houses. Its one of my favorite Christmas traditions, and I was so glad that we had friends to do it with. Thanks to my sister Jen always hosting one while we lived in Santa Barbara, James and I have done it every year since we have known each other.

I think Miles and Tommy ate more candy than they did put it on the houses.

My candy cupboard remains fully stocked thanks to overbuying for the event. But I think it was a success.

Christmas

Miles got a train table from Grandma and Grandpa Checchio for Christmas. It took us three hours to set up on Christmas eve and we were so excited to see his reaction when he came down the stairs in the morning.

This was pretty much what we got.....a blank stare! I think he was a little tired still. He played with it for like an hour before we had to move onto opening our stockings, so its apparent that he loves it.....just not the jumping up and down we had expected.

We had a quiet Christmas this year with just us three. I made way too much food in hopes of recreating the feeling of a holiday, but it was a little lonely in a new place without our family surrounding us. It meant a lot getting Christmas cards from friends and gifts from family that made us feel love from across the country. So thank you to our families for making our holiday special.

Christmas Eve...

This was our first Christmas with our little family, so I wanted to start some traditions. On Christmas Eve I surprised my boys with some coordinating jammies. Miles got to open all three of the packages, but was a little disappointed that there were no trains or trucks inside.


Don't we look fantastic in our one pieces!

As happy as they look, Miles' were too small, and James wasn't keen on wearing an XL pair of women's pj's to bed, so we just wore them for a few photos and they got returned after the holiday. Maybe next year I will pick some that are keepers. ;-)

Trip to Texas...

Don't be fooled! This may look like Christmas, but its really about a week and a half before. We headed to Texas a little early this year, but didn't miss out on any celebrating.

The Ugly 80's Christmas theme really made the night feel like the actual holiday. As you can see, some people really took things seriously.

James and his nephew Stevie. I was so impressed how all the kids were such good sports about dressing up and looking ridiculous.

O goodness...what can I say?!

Thanksgiving

After San Fransisco, it was back to Utah to celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday with my family! It was so great to relax and be around people that I love. It is so hard to separate myself from them when I go home because I don't get to see them often enough....so sorry for not making time for friends this time around.

Here is Miles getting in touch with his Italian roots. Making some homemade pasta. Joey had a big list of foods for Jessica to get her hands on (his fiance, she's the blond if that wasn't already obvious)

Miles and his Auntie Jen. You can see that he is genuinely thrilled since his "camera smile" is usually horrendous.

In heaven with Grandma Checchio. He just adores her. I wish we lived closer so we could spend more time there.

Miles and my brothers have so much fun together. They are so great with him, playing and wrestling, and don't seem to mind being followed around the house constantly by a two year old.

Here he is sporting Papa's shoes and hat, but not forgetting Grandma's lime green purse. Such a little trendsetter.

A HUGE thank you to my parents for having us, and for watching Miles while I was away. It is so wonderful to come home, and we love every minute of it. We can't wait to see you again!

Trip to San Fransisco....

As you can obviously see, I am in dire need of playing catch up. Since my last post was Halloween! I know, I know, its sad, but I am going to catch up since I really want this blog to remind us of all the moments we have enjoyed.
I was lucky enough to take a trip out to San Fransisco in November. I flew out to Utah and left Miles with my parents, then jetted off to San Fransisco to see John, Amanda and little Andrew. It was so fun to be on a plane without a child jumping on and off my lap, and constantly needing something. Andrew is an absolute doll! He is already sleeping through the night, and my sister is Super Mom with her new puppy, and cooking gourmet food, while having a newborn. She makes it look way too easy!

Aren't they just the cutest family! I feel so blessed that I was able to visit and can't wait to get a chance to see them again.

Halloween for real this time....

We woke up early and carved our pumpkins. Miles had so much fun stabbing them while James and I tried to figure out what he wanted us to make.

James did a silly face, and I made a truck pulling a trailer. Miles did not like getting messy at all (surprise surprise) but overall it was a lot of fun.

That night my boys headed out dressed as soft ball players. We didn't want Miles running around in that lion costume that was too small, and he was beyond thrilled to dress up just like his Dad. Miles came home with plenty of treats and James came home pretty tired from pulling him in the wagon from house to house.

Happy Halloween!