Holiday Celebrations

Oma found a great gingerbread train for Ethan to decorate this year! He did a wonderful job of sticking the candies onto the frosting... until he realized 1) He had candy in his hand - CANDY!!! and 2) The frosting was also ridiculously delicious.

The play food from Mima and Poppa was a huge hit.
So was the fire truck from Pa-Pa!
Ethan soon figured out he could combine his two loves, and spent the better part of Christmas morning placing play food onto the ladder of the truck and pushing it around the house.
We celebrated New Year's Eve with the fabulous Hoke family. One of us had the brilliant idea to turn our babies into New Year's Babies. We made a little paper sash, broke out the cameras, and prepared for a productive photo shoot. The kiddos had a different idea. They both hated the sash and refused to wear it. Should have seen that coming. After about ten minutes and a lot of M&M bribes later, we managed to get this shot:

Not exactly what we were going for, but I like it all the same. Happy New Year!

Laughing and Sledding

Ryan took some cute videos while we were at the cabin over New Year's. This one is of Ethan's first sledding experience. Before you get worried, Sarah tested the "hill" (more of a speed bump, really) sans baby prior to going with Ethan. She did not, however, practice getting up from the sled with a baby in her arms, as you'll see in the video. Another thing you'll notice is that for all of our preparations (buying a saucer, building a little snow hill, and conducting several test runs), Ethan is not really into sledding. Oh well, it was lots of fun for Mommy, Daddy, and Max!



The next video is of Ethan cracking up during a game of peek-a-boo. He was having a great time with his daddy for a few minutes before we grabbed the camera. Max moonlights as the "dog-that-is-sooooo-not-amused-by-this-whole-baby-thing" (as you'll see by his icy stare at the end of the video).



Despite his apparent contempt for the uninvited house guest who refuses to leave, Max and Ethan are really becoming great friends. They play together a lot now and Ethan thinks Max is super funny. Max will hop into Ethan's playpen, Ethan will pull on Max's ears and try to shove them in his mouth... Max is a baby's best friend!

Eastern Excursion & Western Winter

We had a great time visiting our East Coast family for Christmas! It was quite a whirlwind vacation - we had less than a week to make stops in Pittsburgh, Washington D.C., and Charlottesville. We did a lot of driving, but it was absolutely worth all of the time on the road. We were happy to be able to spend time with so many people we love, and introduce Ethan to more family members he hadn't yet met.

Here are some photo highlights from our trip:

Ethan had a lot of fun playing with his Grandma!

Not fun, however, was Ethan's first experience with Baby Orajel. Teething is yucky on so many levels.

An Emerson family tradition, Pa-Pa showed Ethan all of the bells and whistles on this year's Hess truck.

Our goofball with his Great Great Aunts Anne, Wanda, and Nancy.

We arrived home on the evening of the 29th, and turned right around the next morning and drove to a small town in the Sierras for New Year's. We've rented a cabin and spent some time in the wilderness for the past several years as a post-holiday travel decompression. It's so beautiful and secluded, nestled high in the mountains in a forest of Redwoods and Pine. Ethan got to see snow for the first time, and even tried sledding on Mommy's lap (down a very small hill).

When we arrived we discovered that our cabin was buried in a good amount of snow!

We bundled Ethan up and took him outside to explore the Winter Wonderland.







Ethan absolutely adores being up on Ryan's shoulders.




















Daddy is so much fun!
























It was so cozy on the couch in front of the fire, and we spent a lot of time cuddled up with Max. Ethan is learning how to pet the dog, though he still tugs on Max's ears and legs a lot. Max is so patient with him, and the two of them are fast becoming buddies.

We hope everyone had a holiday as nice and relaxing as ours was. Happy New Year!

Vegas, Baby!

Only one week left in our first trimester, an occasion which has been marked by a significant decrease in morning sickness! We're ready for all of the excitement of the second trimester - finding out the gender, feeling the baby move, and getting a REALLY big belly! After a quiet Christmas at home, Ryan surprised Sarah with a New Year's Eve getaway to Las Vegas. It was so much fun, especially considering that it is definitely a trip we won't be taking again for a long time after the baby arrives! Call us crazy (and many of the parents we observed there would), but we feel strongly that little kids and Vegas don't mix!

Mommy Update:
- Favorite new thing: Bella Bands - avoiding those scary maternity jeans for as long as possible!
- Least favorite new thing: The "is she pregnant, or just gaining weight?" phase (For the record: pregnant).
- Still all about the Mexican food, also loving anything with peanut butter or avocado (but not combined)!
- Shocked by how much the little one zaps her energy - walking around Vegas was tiring!



The hottest new show in Vegas? Cheesy 3D movie at M&M's World! :)