New Year's Eve at Snow Mountain!

You know you're a parent when New Year's Eve plans start at 11am, instead of 11pm!  But I've honestly never loved the holiday so it's perfectly fine with me to enjoy the daylight and be in bed at 12:01...ON THE DOT.  The awesome thing is that we have great friends who are in the same boat with a toddler.  So we made plans with the Pearch's to enjoy a family-friendly celebration. 

Considering it was going to be in the low 60s (quite balmy for Atlanta in December), we knew we wanted to be outside.  So we decided to go to Stone Mountain...renamed Snow Mountain for the winter.  It's basically a man-made snow slope about 30 minutes north of downtown.  We thought Jack & Grant could just enjoy being in the snow for the day.

Unfortunately, we didn't get tickets ahead of time and it was sold out.  And the train that runs around the Mountain was broken, so Kate and I thought the day would be a bust.  But Matt was determined to save the day! So he asked the gate attendant to just let us in so the kids could just play in the snow for a while.  And he did!  They had a special area for kids so Jack & Grant got to run around and enjoy themselves.  Then we walked around he the little village, had some lunch and caught a 3-D mini version of Polar Express.  The boys are such little buddies now so it was adorable to see them play together. It turned out to be a super fun day!

Jack is 18 Months Old!

Jack turned 18 months old on Sunday!  And can I tell you I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this age!  I am constantly amazed at how his little brain has developed in the past few months.  He's like a little sponge.  I say all the time that Jack is the funniest person I know - I mean the kid is a nut, but I can't get enough of him.  I'm think I'm borderline obsessed with him.  I'll take the occasional meltdown if it means I get to enjoy all of the other adorable things he does.  I love living in his world because it makes mine so much better.

I could go on for days about how smart he is and all of the things that he does, but that would be obnoxious, right!?  But I will say that he's talking up a storm - in fact his teachers say he is the most verbal kid in the class.  He also sings songs, knows his colors and counts to 5.  He is definitely ALL BOY - he loves sports, wrestling with dad AND mom, and thinks that burping and farting are funny. He also loves to dance, play hide and seek and color, sometimes on the floor! His favorite people in the world (I'm pretty sure in this order) are Daddy, Mommy, Elmo, iCarly, Dora, Mickey, Buzz and Woody.

We had his 18 month check-up today and he's doing great!  Aside from being diagnosed with eczema (like his father), he's just perfect.  He's still hanging in the 97th percentile at 32.10 lbs and 35 3/4 inches.  After he was measured and weighed, Dr. Fuller (our new ped who we adore) chuckled and said he was the size of an average 3 year old.  It's also worth mentioning that he wears an 8 1/2 wide shoe!  That's our Little Tank!  Here are few pics of Jack just being Jack.

Christmas part Deux!

For the second and third acts of our Christmas Production, we travelled to San Diego to be with my family.  Since my sister Jen just had little Amelie, everyone decided to go to them in La Jolla this year.  Christmas Eve was spent, as always, with all the Sandoval's...Grammy Delora, Adam, Marina and Kasey, plus we had the addition of Mimi and Papa this year.  So with my family of 3 and Jen's family of 4, it was a full house, but we wouldn't have it any other way.  I love that we have a beautifully blended, happy family! 

Then on Christmas morning Jess and Donna drove up from LA to see the kiddos open their gifts.  I just have to say that Donna is crazy - she's 5 months pregnant and got up at 5:00 am so they could be in San Diego when the kids woke up.  We really lucked out in the sister-in-law department because Donna is awesome and adores our kids!  She's going to be a great mama to baby Charlie who's due in May!!

Besides opening gifts, which seemed to last for days, the kids had an absolute blast together.  Jack and Marseille are best buds and they just adore each other (although you can't really tell from the pictures below).  It's so cool to see them chase each other around the house, holding hands ands hugging.  Each morning they would wake up and say each other's names....too cute!  I know that Jack really misses her.  And Amelie is just the sweetest baby ever - I loved cuddling with her all weekend!  We had such a great time at Jen's with all of us together - I miss them so much!

After a big Mexican breakfast Christmas morning, we headed to Oceanside to visit the rest of my extended family...the Barber Clan!  My Uncle Russ and Aunt Debbie live just 20 minutes from Jen so it worked out great for us.  And all of my other aunts, uncles and cousins drove in from all over SoCal so we had about 40 people there.  Pretty standard for a Barber Holiday...and that's not even all of us!  I grew up with this big ole crazy family so I love it! I remember we always had lots of babies and kids running around during the holidays and I couldn't wait for the day that my kid would be one of them.  So this year, having Jack there with all the other kids was really special for me.  Jack has dozens of cousins so he was in heaven. 

I have to say this was one of the most special and memorable Christmas's that I can remember.  Just having Christian and Jack with me is blessing enough, but to also have such an amazing and loving family makes it that much better.  I guess that fact that I am posting 22 pictures is a testament to what a wonderful holiday I had.  You've been warned...there are a LOT! 

My boys in there matching, and might I add sharp, holiday duds!

As always, we try in vain to get an absolutely adorable picture of the 3 cousins.  But it never works and this trip was no exception.  What you don't see in these pics are the 6 adults acting like fools trying to capture a good shot.  Here are Marseille and Amelie in their beautiful dresses...we're off to a good start!

...but Jack was having no part of it!

Ok, attempt two - we'll start with the older kids and just add the baby - easy breezy right?

Umm, not so much.  As you can see Jack is pushing Marseille just as Amelie begins to roll off the couch...

Me and my younger sibs...Marina, Kasey and Adam.  After many years of coaching they know how to take a great pic!  I adore these kids!

The girls holding their baby niece...

Mimi and Papa with the kiddos.  Of course Jack is stuffing his face with food!

Mimi and Grammy making Gingerbread cookies with Jack and M...

Of course there are more candies in Jack's mouth than there are on the cookie!

The Martinez, Sandoval, Varela, David Clan...AKA, my family!  We can't wait for the arrival of our newest addition, Charles Russell, this Spring!

Jack with the just a few of his second and third cousins...

The Barber Family!  My mom is one of 6 kids so we have a very large family that just seems to keep multiplying!

 

Marseille in her pretty Cinderella dress from us....

Jack snuck the Snow White shoes when he thought we weren't watching!

Adorable baby Amelie in her pink bumbo....

Not to be outdone by a girl...

Proud Papa Joey and his babes...

Kissing goodbye...

Christmas "Morning"

We're snowed in today, Jack is napping and my work is done for now.  So I have no reason not to finally post my holiday pics (even though a nap in front of the fire sounds nice).  This year, Jack was lucky enough to have several present opening frenzies. The first was the Thursday before Christmas here in Atlanta.  We made this our own little Christmas Morning since we were going to be in San Diego for the actual holiday.  And his gifts are just too big to ship now. 

Jack got up early that day and was so excited to come downstairs.  He doesn't really get that Santa brings the gifts but he knows that they are fun to open.  So he was thrilled to see so many under the tree.  He was so cute opening his presents so patiently and was excited about everything he opened....especially anything Elmo or Buzz Lightyear!  He even watched us open our gifts with as much excitement.  What a doll he was - I was savoring the relative peace of the morning because I know in a few years it won't be that way!   His big gifts were a Pottery Barn chair with his name on it (not pictured), a basketball hoop, a mini-keyboard and a janitor set from dad...what can I say, the kid loves to clean!  He also got lots of clothes, books and toys from all of his aunts and uncles.  Everyone was so generous!

After opening presents we made a big breakfast while Jack played with all of his toys.  Then we packed up and headed for the airport and sunny San Diego!  Those pictures to come in a later post.