Christmas in North Carolina

We arrived in North Carolina late Monday night, so we were able to spend all day Christmas Eve visiting with our family before church that evening. My mom made stuffed shells with homemade sauce with meatballs and sausage! Apparently the stuffed shells were a major hit and the men were all fighting over how many each person was going to get! 

We quickly changed for church; and Brock was able to wear his Christmas outfit again. We were planning on leaving Brock in the nursery during church, but since he was a little sniffly, he stayed with us for the service. During the "Children's Time", Brent brought Brock up to the front so he could be with the other children to listen to the story. It was so sweet to see. 

Then it was back to my mother's house to wait for Santa! (Sidenote, Brock did not sleep that well in a playpen next to our bed, so a lot of the sleeping this trip was all together - in one bed - we were happy to get home and put him back in his OWN bed! (He was also battling the last of his cold))

Finally Christmas Day!! Brock's FIRST Christmas!! He was so proud of himself every time a piece of wrapping paper would rip. I think he was more interested/excited in ripping the wrapping paper than realizing whatever was inside!

Thank you Brian and Nancy!!

Sometimes he needed a little help opening his presents.

The remainder of Christmas Day was lazy. We watched the Disney Christmas parade that my mother had recorded while Brent got to do something he almost never gets to do at home - NAP. Then my mother agreed to watch Brock while Brent and I went on a quick date to the movies to see American Hustle. Highly recommend, but I am slightly partial to both Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams.

On Boxing Day, the "kids" drove over to my Dad's house to do the gift exchange there.

Yay! Uncle David is here!

Brock loved this toy from my Dad. It's a train puzzle where the pieces can attach together and form a moving train! He especially loved taking the wooden dowels out of the top!

I don't have a picture of our present to my dad, but let's just say that ancient relic light box sitting behind my father is no longer there... replaced with a nice 40" version. :)

The rest of the visit in North Carolina was spent visiting friends. First we stopped in to see Adam and Heather and their two girls Kylie and Tori.

Kylie was saying Brock has chubby cheeks! :)

Brock's future girlfriend, Tori

We were able to visit with Caroline and Brett and their three girls - Natalia, Caterina, and Anastasia. I think they all played really nicely together.... except when Brock tried using little Anastasia as a prop to pull himself up on!

Friday night we had reservations at Sullivan's Steakhouse in Raleigh. We had not been able to take photos before on Christmas Eve, so this night was our big photo op.

We also received a gorgeous arrangement sent by Brent's parents and sister. The fruit was so delicious and the reindeer was adorable. Of course, however, Brock's favorite part of the ensemble was the balloon!!

We had planned a playdate on Saturday morning before our flight home. We were able to see Darcy and Jay and their little girl Nora; Helen and Joe and their son Ryan, and Jill and her daughter Alexandra! Ryan just had his second birthday party a few weeks earlier and his parents had purchased a bouncy house for the big event. Oh my was it a hit!

 Then it was time to leave - so long North Carolina, at least for 2013!!

Pre-Christmas Zulily Shoot

Zulily asked us to come in a week and a half before Christmas to shoot a few outfits to premiere Christmas week. They were not the best outfits nor was Brock the best model. They only had the 11am time slot available and since Brock was not able to fully take advantage of his morning nap, he was just not feeling the camera. Apparently Zulily agreed with me because he did not make "the cut" for the daily deal emails, but was buried on the website the two posted days.

Nevertheless, these are the two outfits. And NO, his hair is NOT red!

Sweet Potatoes and Moshi Moshi

Little Rebels

Snow and Santa!!

Brock's First Snow!! Yay! It snowed last night! Two glorious inches! Just enough for us to get all bundled up and run outside with the sled! I'm not sure if Brock was as excited about it as Brent and I... or even Diesel for that matter! 

                               

We also tried hooking Diesel up to pull the sled - which was a little too fast for Brock.... and a little too slow with me on it too.... so Brent gave Diesel a little help. 

Poor Oscar didn't want to play with all the neighborhood kids like Diesel did, so he opted to stay in the house where it's warm. See his little head peeking out from the window by the front door? 

So since it snowed, Brent worked from home today and was able to wrap up by noon. We had plans to see Santa this weekend, but since Brent finished so early, we were able to get to the mall early and beat the long lines! Brock was interested in looking at all the lights and toys inside Santa's Workshop at the Bellevue Square Mall. For 15 seconds before realizing where he was; he was okay with sitting on Santa's lap. And then this happened. Poor baby Brock. :) 

Goose Hunting.... and a little Brock

I wanted to start this post with a little happier topic than the killing of innocent geese.... so some pictures of Brock! Brock and I went to Bellevue Square last week to pick up our holiday portraits and do some final shopping. The mall has a children's play area on the third floor that we have never ventured up to before... until now! Pretty soon Brock will be out there running or climbing on all of the things like the other kids, but he was very content with watching them and crawling around. Two little girls came over and asked "Is he a baby?" and "What's his name?"... so he's getting the older women hitting on him now. :)

But he was very content to play with the things that spun on the wall instead of climbing through the tunnels. 

When Brent did return from his goose hunting, Brock cozied up on his lap for his last bottle of the night. :) 

"I'll just put my feet up here and use you as a leg rest, Dad!"

And now on to the killing of numerous Branta canadensis.... Canadian geese to you and me. So again, if killing animals makes you squirmish.... stop reading now. 

Brent woke up at 2am Saturday morning to drive out to the same area he hunted ducks. This time he went with his boss Bill! So yay, he was able to have some male-bonding over shooting things. They had to be out there way early to set up over 100 decoys in the field and then hunker down in the pit - a hole in the ground with wooden doors that they open to ambush the geese. The guide explained to them they have to start shooting them when they're on the ground and not in the air, otherwise the geese will remember where they were and not return. Interesting that their memory is better in the air. (So they're really shooting at them when they start to fly away)

Brent and Bill waiting in the pit

 And here you have their haul - three ducks and fifteen geese between them.

Brent loved it. He wants to go back after the new year. Oh, and we're having goose for dinner tonight.... I'll let you know how that goes.

K9 Candy Cane 5K Fun Run

 On Sunday, December 8th, Brent and Diesel completed the K9 Candy Cane 5K Fun Run! I am so very proud! Both Brent and Diesel's very first race!!

It was amazingly cold that morning - noted at 24 degrees when the race started. Brock and I were bundled up to see Brent start and as soon as he was on his way, we ran back in to the heated gym to stay warm!

Compare pictures in the beginning of the race when Diesel was pulling Brent...

And then to the very end when Brent was pulling Diesel!

Brent finished better than he thought - official time was 0:27:16.8 - and one third of that was pulling a dog! Brent finished sixth in his age division and thirtieth overall (out of 300 people)! Not bad at all for your first race and no practice outside!

The thought was that Brent and Diesel would run and I would walk with Oscar and Brock, but it was just too cold to have him out there that long. Perhaps next year we'll try. The best part was they had a photo session with Santa at the end and we received a printed picture for free!! Look at these runners! So proud!

(Scanned picture, so the quality isn't the best)

Happy December!

Happy December!!! 

December is here and it is chilly!! The temperature has not ventured above 32 degrees for the last three days! Of course there isn't a cloud in the sky, so no snow here.... poor husky.

My mom stayed here until this past Thursday. It was so nice to have her here to do some holiday things! She helped me with Brock's Christmas portraits and then came home to watch Seattle wallop the New Orleans Saints during Monday Night Football! On Tuesday, we went to go see Santa at the Macy's downtown (after much online research about which Santa's land was better - Nordstrom or Macy's.... sorry Seattle does not compare to the Macy's on 34th Street). We refused to pay the $29.99 package price to receive a picture....and anyway, Brock needs to warm up a little to the idea of Santa to take a better picture. We'll go see Santa at the Bellevue Mall later this month.

Yeah, poor Brock was not feeling Santa. He was a little wary of the animatronic reindeer too.

So we left Macy's and walked over to the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. They set up one hotel room as a "Teddy Bear Suite." According to their website, "The suite is ideal for family photos and a perfect respite from the holiday hustle and bustle." Brock enjoyed it because he was able to get out of his stroller and crawl around!

Brock enjoyed the bed filled with huge teddy bears!

On two nights, Brent and I were able to get out for a date night. Even though we missed the little guy, we definitely appreciated the time away. We were even able to go see a movie!! (Our first movie in a theater since Brock was born! (Hunger Games)) 

I'm sure Grandma appreciated the time spent with her only Grandchild too. 

Brock loves Daddy!

The Zulily pictures are back and they are so adorable of Brock and Brent!

GREAT picture of Brent.... and serious Brock!

Awww, I love this one! So sweet!

And then here's one from the other outfit he wore.