Christmas 2009

This Christmas was so much fun! Mathew is old enough to really interact with family and figure out toys and play, play, play! Christmas eve was spent with James' dad's side of the family so we all headed to Port Orchard to Great Grandma and Grandpa Woods house. This year the weather was much better, there was no snow on the ground and it was actually sunny all day! I have to admit I do love snow on Christmas, but with the mess it caused last year it was really nice to be able to drive places worry free!

Once we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's all the family was there and after a few minutes Mathew was off playing and saying hello to everyone! He LOVES LOVES LOVES babies so little Keagan was his buddy all night! Any time he cried Mathew was all over it seeing if he could lend a helping hand! When it came time for opening presents I was hoping this year Mathew would be more into actually ripping off the paper and seeing his gifts...nope. He still wants nothing to do with opening the presents but he doesn't hesitate to play with whatever toy is inside! Mathew got his first Craftsman Chainsaw, books, clothes, a remote control car and much more! Mommy got some much needed drawer organizers-THANKS DAN AND AMY! They work really well!!!! We all got many wonderful things and are so so so grateful for everything! We are really lucky to be apart of such a wonderful loving family! Here are some pictures of our wonderful evening!


We then headed to James' mom's house so we could spend Christmas with Grandma Linda, Daddy, Uncle Daryl, Aunt Lacee and baby Keagan. Linda has a nice hot tub so of course I had to take advantage of that while I was there, ahhhhh it felt so nice! Christmas morning Linda made her yummy breakfast! It's become a tradition, three years in a row and it just keeps getting better! I was really excited for Christmas morning, James and I stayed up to put together a tricycle my dad got for Mathew! It was sitting by the tree all shiny Christmas morning and of course Mathew saw it right away and had to hop on! His legs are too short to reach the pedals but James pushed him around the living room and he was happy as could be! About half way through the morning Keagan got pooped and fell asleep on the couch , he's such a handsome baby boy!

This year any large bag lying around or box was much more amusing than any toy! It's funny what will entertain a two year old, if we would have known this we could have saved a lot of money on gifts lol! Mathew got lots and lots of toys from Grandma Linda! He got a really cool roller coaster, a little pretend (almost real) cat, a little doggie, a cell phone, and more! The roller coaster is so awesome! I've never even seen one of these, it's really sturdy and safe! After a few times going down with help he was doing it on his own! Towards the end he was even going down with no hands!

This Christmas we were so incredibly blessed! I couldn't ask for a a better family! I'm so grateful for everyone in our lives! I wish my family in Utah were closer so we could have seen them too. We've been lucky enough to see everyone throughout this entire holiday season and for that I am one happy girl! We hope you all had a wonderful Merry Christmas too!

Almost Two and On The Move

I am absolutely amazed at how much Mathew has grown and blossomed into a little boy! I knew all along that he would grow fast but it seams like literally overnight he went from a baby to a boy! He can pretty much repeat anything you ask him to, so PLEASE watch the language around him :) I've been working on that myself lol! He tries to sing the alphabet, walk up and down stairs alone, and be your helper any which way he can. He also absolutely LOVES animals, which is great! James told me even when the cats would hiss or scratch at him about five minutes later he wanted to love them. He also loves babies. It's amazing how in the middle of a meltdown mentioning a baby or an animal gets him to cheer right up! His new favorite thing to do is grab a blanket and a book and climb on the couch and "read". He wants to do it himself so if you try to help he says "no"!

It's pretty crazy seeing how much he's grown and developed in the last couple years! He has the funniest personality and I can't wait to see what the future holds!

Our First Home

Yay I finally did it, I bought my first house! It took FOREVER to get the approval etc. so just as I expected everything would be finalized right around my vacation to Utah. Well as always, everything always works out and as we arrived from Salt Lake it was time to start packing! James was really sweet and took Mathew the whole weekend so I could get packed and moved without any interruptions. Mathew had such a great time with his daddy and grandma Linda! He got to visit grandpa Dad too and they all have cats so needless to say Mathew was in heaven! Here are some pictures his dad snapped while they were together! Mathew had an obsession with hanging out on the bathroom counter turning the faucet on and off.

It was really nice having Mathew with his dad during the move but after one day without him I couldn't wait to see him! The move went great! I was out of the apartment and back at home unpacking Saturday afternoon and had about two days to get unpacked! After hours and hours of unpacking I was finally done after work Monday evening and I couldn't be happier!


I finally have a backyard! I can't wait until spring when Mathew can run outside and play! He's just loving all the room here can't get enough of all the cupboards and closets he can get into!

Utah Adventure!

Mathew and I got to go to Salt Lake again for Thanksgiving and we really had a blast! As soon as we got there we had to help my dad get ready for a Christensen family get together. We all managed to find each other on Facebook and decided there was no better time to try to make this happen! My mom's side of the family is HUGE so there was a lot of family to prepare for! Many of cousins and aunts and uncles made it and DOH me forgot to take pictures :( Hopefully we can do it again and I will remember to snap some photos! It was so wonderful to catch up with everyone and see all the new kids and babies.
We also got to spend a lot of time with my brothers and sister in law and my nephew Kale! I can't believe how much Kale has grown! He is still such a cuddler and I took advantage of that!!!

Mathew had so much fun with his Uncles. Everyone that see's Mathew mentions he looks just like my younger brother Mike. I can totally see this, it's really crazy!

We had a great time visiting friends! My friend Michelle has an adorable little girl Isabelle and we've already decided Mathew and her are going to get married.

Unfortunatly I didn't get to see all my friends and family BUT I really tried and I hope none of you hate me :) Here are a couple other pics of our trip! We can't wait to come back! Thanks Dad and Chris for everything, we miss and love you all a ton!!!

Trick or Treat Nemo Style

This year Mathew dressed up as Nemo! This was also the first year he got to actually go out and trick or treat! He was so adorable walking up to all the houses with Hunter, Natalie's son, and Savannah Molly's little girl. He tried to walk into houses and once we left half way between the next house he would yell "thanks!". It was really cute. We only made it one street and that was just fine with me!

Good Ol' Friends

My good friend Mythia came to visit a few months back and we had such a great time! Mythia and I met back in high school at one of my first jobs the Amber Restaurant. We've had our ups and downs but through all the drama I can say I found such a wonderful friend, a best friend! I love this girl so much! She never forgets a birthday, holiday, or special event. Unfortunately I cannot say I've been that on top of things...She moved to Arizona a number of years ago and we still have managed to see each other once or twice a year! I'm so happy she came up to Seattle to visit us!!! We got to do a couple tours I've been wanting to do since I moved here. The first is the Seattle Underground Tour, to see their website click here. This tour was really informative, I never knew just how Seattle had an "Underground City"! Here is an interesting picture I got of an original sign:

It's not every day you see a sign with your initials in Seattle! We also went on the Ride The Ducks Tour, click here to see their website. We got to go around in an old truck/boat on a tour of Seattle where at the end you dip into Lake Union for a water tour. It was such a blast, freezing but really fun! I managed to get a few really great pics while we were driving around!

We had such a great time and I really can't wait until the next time we get to hang out! Hopefully next time I will be chillin in the warm Arizona desert! I love ya Mythia xoxo

Labor Day Surprise

Mathew and I were planning a chill ultra low key Labor Day weekend and I was DANG surprised when I got a call from my dad Saturday before labor day saying he and Chris were getting ready to come up here! He made sure he wasn't imposing first and my answer to that was "get up here!!!" So Sunday afternoon my dad and Chris got here! It was so nice to see them, it's been way too long! We enjoyed a nice dinner at The Keg, ate breakfast at a nice little spot by my house and just hung out! Dad and Chris watched Mathew one night so me and Molly could go on a girl date and they also spent the day with Mathew Tuesday when I went back to work!

They taught Mathew thumbs up, which sometimes turns into a gun so we still need to practice a bit!Mathew enjoyed saying "hi" to them every time one of them got into his eyesight at any time of day, he loved blowing bubbles, and calling my dad "Bampa". I know it's hard on my family not to see Mathew a lot but Mathew is incredibly friendly and has an awesome memory. He always remembers everyone! He crawled up and looked at a picture of my dad and said "Bampa" after not seeing him for a few months! I wish they all were closer! We will see everyone this Thanksgiving when Mathew and I fly to Salt Lake! Wish me luck, this flight is going to be interesting! Thanks for coming out Dad and Chris we miss you guys and love you tons xoxo!

Buddies

A couple weeks ago Mathew and I got to hang out with Keagan. Mathew loves babies. He tries to be so helpful! Keagan and Mathew played on the floor for a bit while watching the Backyardagans. I don't know if you have seen this show yet, but it's AWESOME! Mathew has been hooked to this show since he was about 6 months old! I might be a bad mom in some peoples eyes for letting my baby watch TV but honestly this show has saved me from many a break down! Here are some pics I snapped during our fun day.

The Andrus'

My wonderful friend Wendee and her cute little family came to visit us a few weeks ago and it was SO great to see all of them. I can't believe her daughter Jhordan is already 10 years old. I remember her as a little tiny baby like it was yesterday! Wendee and I have been friends since 9Th grade, we've pretty much been inseparable since. Too bad I'm a jerk and moved to Seattle. One day, one day, maybe one day I will move back home OR even better they will come up here!
The one thing I love the most about Wendee is no matter what kind of crazy shenanigans we have going on in our lives we both know no matter what we're there for each other and always will be. I love this girl. I know I've said this before but I really truly have the best friends a girl could ask for! I love that we could go months and months without seeing each other and we pretty much pick up right where we left off! We're both nerds and get hooked on the same TV shows and she's trying to push the Twilight books on me and I'm giving them another shot OKAY Wendee!

Any who, we had a great time while they were here. We ate dinner at the top of the Space Needle. We got there right at sun down and it was absolutely beautiful! I have never been there at night and neither had James so it was amazing!

Mathew just LOVED having Jhordan and Tyler over at our house, every morning we would play on my bed and Mathew just couldn't get enough!
Tyler was Mathew's age when I lived at Wendee's house (which feels like yesterday) and I can't believe he's already five! He started Kindergarten this year, which reminds me I need to see how everything went! Alright, back to their visit....We also went to the Museum of Flight which was ten times cooler than I thought it would be! Click here to check their website. Mathew was super grumpy so James and I had to take turns going through the planes. At some point we totally lost Wendee and her family so for about an hour, maybe more we tried to walk around and find them. They thought we were in the same building we started out in and were wandering around there the whole time OOPS! He he, meanwhile James, Mathew and I had toured the whole rest of the museum and were taking double takes wondering where the heck they were. Ha ha, I can't stop laughing about that!

After the Museum of Flight we went to the Ballard Locks in Ballard. The Ballard Locks is an area where the Puget Sound links to Lake Union and Lake Washington. Boats go through here to go from Lake Union to the Puget Sound and visa versa. Since the water levels are different the boats have to go through the locks to be transported. Click here to learn more. It was a beautiful day and we saw some amazing boats going through, man I wish I could afford a yacht....Some day some day. We also walked down to the fish ladders where we saw HUGE salmon just swimming along, it made me pretty hungry. Here's a pic a nice guy took for us.

We had a great time with the Andrus family and I can't wait to see them all again!!! Jhordan and Tyler were a hoot and we had a blast taking funny pics the whole way home! I miss you guys and love you! Come back ASAP!

Daryl & Lacee Wood

It took me what seems like forever to post this because I was waiting and waiting for pictures! Once the wedding started I forgot to take my own pictures oops! It was such a beautiful wedding. Dan and Amy, James' dad and step mom had it at their home. It was Hawaiian themed and it was noted on the invitation to dress as such. I went to a party store and found Mathew and I a couple Leigh's, it didn't take much and we fit right in!

James was one of the Daryls best, (men) would you call it?!? Anyways, so he was a part of the wedding. It was very sweet and romantic. The weather turned out perfect as well. There was dancing, drinking, swimming, and my god it was fun! It will be a memorable night for us and we can't be happier for Daryl, Lacee and Keagan. We love you guys!