Just thought I would post a few pictures of Christmas, and Naomi's first celebration outside of the womb. We spent almost three days straight at the in laws, playing games, eating, watching movies, eating, ice skating, and eating. Aaaahhh, Christmas.

One thing I love about my in laws, is how competitive Christians family is...in a fun playful way. Every year we have a "best wrapped gift" competition. We spent one evening devising ways to get all our gifts into one big delivery, and with the help of a box of plaster of Paris, a Santa suite, a trash can and some paint, Santa clause himself came to grace us with his presence and presents on Christmas day...oh yea, we won.

Thanksgiving

Novembers big news.

Naomi and I flew to Washington State to visit my family for a week and one day. What a fantastic trip! The flight went perfect, and I couldn't have asked for a sweeter, more relaxed and pleasant baby.

My grandma from Alaska flew down to meet Naomi for the first time, and we had such wonderful times visiting coffee shops (See my child lunging for the coffee cup...yep, that's my girl!) out to lunch, holiday shopping, and even treating my mama to a nice salon for a fancy hair cut :). For the first time in my life, I felt like an adult. Really, a true grown up, like I arrived somewhere that I have been travling toward for the past 27 years, and it is nice to be here... Interesting to me, as I stare at these photos reflecting, that feeling "grown up" is the first thought that comes to mind...and it is not just because I get to sit at the grown up table for dinner, although that is part of it.
The trip was a time of 'catching up' on life outside my immediate own. The second my Grandma arrived with handmade knit gifts, hand carved jewelry and warm joyful eyes, I found myself craving to know details about my mom's family and her mothers heart. Hearing stories, thirsty for the wisdom from the woman who raised my own mother, just drinking it in, gaining new perspective of women I have known my entire life, but on a level I have never yet realized. The stories of when I was the age of the very person I held in my arms nursing under a blanket in the corner of Starbucks, gave me such a sense of self, in a non-newagie sort of way. This is the best way I can describe this feeling of 'grown-up'.
As for my siblings, I was blown away by their maturity, as in my mind they will always be 8, 10 and 13, calling each other names in the back seat of a mini-van... are now practically adults themselves! My sister is almost engaged, fresh from the air forces survival training, with experiences and skills beyond my comprehension. Overhearing a conversation between my two brothers involving instruction on what to do about college and saving money, left me asking myself "when did my rebel brother start dishing advice on education and savings accounts?" It is like feeling very proud, and very left out at the same time, as if I woke up from being asleep for 10 years, and sad, because I wasn't asleep, just absorbed in my day-to day, on an opposite coast.
And like all trips, the time flew by. Thanks giving meal was delicious (see photo) and my flight home was long (again, baby was perfect, sleeping sweetly in my lap most the way home).
Thank you Lord for all your blessings, for safe travels, and precious memories. For making me a mommy, and giving me mine, and my Mommy's Mommy...

Halloween at Chipotle

Free burritos if we dress up like a burrito? Well that is better than artificially flavored cherry Tootsie rolls, and pixy-stix in a plastic pumpkin for sure! Happy Halloween to us!

Naomi was the best "bite sized" burrito ever! (She was wearing a tin foil hat, but she would take it off and put it in her mouth, and now, I never read this in any parenting book, but my hunch is that you shouldn't give aluminum foil to babies.)

Good times and extra guac was had by all!

Swim diapers and grandmas swimsuit

Does anyone else understand the idea of a "Swim diaper"? How it really keeps the 'wet" in, and the "wet" out, so the two types of wet arn't mingeling...? Eitherway, Naomi didn't get to try it out on her first debut at a water park. I have a hard time washing her hands with tap water, much less subjecting her to the one part water, three parts bleach in a kiddy-pool (I know, I must get over it, for the sake of my kids childhood...) We big kids all had a blast in the wave pool, shooting down the slides, while Naomi did her share of napping in the shade, gettting the occational dose of Vitamen D in between naps...aahhh savoring the moments of summertime.

Oh, and I found out that my last years bikini wasn't going to cut it on this post-baby body...not with family around, not in the daylight, and not while walking or moving or breathing. My mother in law came through with her 'figure-forming-high-necked-low-legged-butt-boosting-tummy tucking" turquoise-gold flower suite...which, besides looking like I was 50, felt pretty great! (one can use a bit of butt-boosting tummy tucking action every once and a while...It was like wearing a rubber garden hose around my midsection) I happened to be the only one in water park history able to ride down the power slide with out having to dig upon dismount.

Baby girl!

Some more new photos from Uncle Mud!

At play

What did parents do before they had a play mat?
And the genius that made the bottom pad machine washable deserves a huge thumbs up...now don't we wish everything was machine washable!

Grow up!

People are asking me how old Naomi is, and I keep saying "Oh she is 5 months"...what is wrong with me! She is not five months yet! She has at least a week and a half to go! It is like I am trying to make her grow up faster than she already is. Truth is, the older she gets, the more fun I have with her... she gets more interactive, more playful and more responsive every day! She makes all these adorable noises, as if she is just thrilled at the sound of her own voice (perhaps she gets that from Mommy :) she is starting to make that spitting tongue-out thing babies do (definitely got that from Dad), and my favorite thing ever, is when I walk into a room after being gone, she spots me from across the room, lights up and smiles so big...big girl stuff like that.

Honestly, I can't wait for her to grow up. I look forward to so many things about being her Mom and watching her grow...Making up rhymes and songs together, hearing all about her views of the world, answering tons of 'why' questions, letting her pick out her own clothes and drink sips of my coffee... I can't wait to see what her personality will be like, how she will express herself artistically and spiritually. Or maybe I can. Because right now, this little spit thing is pretty dang adorable, and that smile I was talking about says a million things that I love to hear.