Holiday's

I hope everyone had a merry CHRISTmas! Our little tribes holiday has been quite lovely &, although not as busy as most, all the activity has kept me away from the computer. Here is a little family update since my last post...

Mike & I were able to attend a holiday party at Kyle Ray & Lindsay's thanks to my Mom coming into town & staying with Miles. It was so nice to go out just the two of us & mingle with some old Cal Poly friends. I wish I would have taken more pics (I always say that!), but it was great catching up with Vic Greco (his lady Sara is quite a catch!), Spencer Hamm & Ron & Annie Thorn. We were able to meet more great people that live close by to us & hopefully we will be able to get together in the future. Lindsay did a wonderful job as hostess & the food was delicious & plentiful! Thanks so much for a great night!

Family photo by the tree. Me with make-up on - oooh!

Kyle & his fiance Lindsay

Kyle & Lindsay's adorable dog Belle - what a face!

Christmas eve was a wonderful rainy day spent at home with Miles. My Mom was here in the morning, which always makes for good company. I spent the entire day baking or cooking in my kitchen. Bonding time for me & the new house ;) I have to say, my cookies turned out awesome (that is not always the case for me! Just ask my Mom!) & the roasted chicken with red/gold potatoes, carrots, & onions will definately be a Chavis family staple from now on. It was so good I couldn't stop patting myself on the back ;) I am just really learning how to cook, so this was a proud moment for me. Miles had fun playing while I cooked & he is getting so good about hanging by himself without mommy sitting right next to him. Thank goodness! That evening I went to a service at One Life Church in Lincoln. They had special songs by the kids & a candle lighting ceremony which was very nice. Everyone was extremely welcoming & Pastor Troy is a recent "Lincoln-ite" himself from the OC.

Mike made Christmas day extra special by surprising us with more presents under the tree than we had expected. He was so thoughtful & got me a bunch of cold weather gear for our new NorCal climate. Mike & I surprised eachother with the gifts we got for Miles, which was really fun. The kid made out like a bandit & got tons of great toys. Now, I just have to figure out where to put them all! My house is starting to look like Toy R Us exploded! We tried to let Miles join in the fun of unwrapping gifts, but after he tried to eat the paper & almost choked (scaring me half to death), we decided that he could watch us unwrap his gifts from the safety of his exer-saucer (which is a baby carnival on crack - but he loves it! Great gift for mommy & babe) We had a wonderful morning together as a family & I just felt happy all over. Ah, Christmas.

Our lovely little tree

Miles eating paper

A beanie that demanded I throw a peace sign up the minute I put it on my head. Hmm...

My parents joined us at our house early in the afternoon. It was another day of cooking for me & I had a lot of fun reciprocating as a hostess after years of being a guest. I must have been on a cooking roll or something because everything turned out so yummy. STuffed mushrooms, hot onion dip, honey ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, salad, bread, pie - all so yummy. It was an absolute wonderful day celebrating the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ.

The spread & some crazy guy ;)

The fam at our ghetto little table (Did the job, though!). New one should be arriving any day! Thanks Mom & Dad!

Miles kicking it with Uncle Billy & Grandpa

The next morning Mike was back to work & my Mom, Miles & I were off to the Bay Area to be with family. I LOVE my family & always cherish the moments we get to see eachother. My cousins & I (9 in total) are all around the same age & are now all having babies! There are 4 new cousins 2 and under and 2 more on the way come March. It was amazing to see how much the older girls (Darian 12 & Lu 10) had changed since I last saw them in August. I swear Darian grew a foot & Lu is looking more & more like her Mama. Little Bentley (9 mo.) is crawling every where & already taking several steps on his own! Get ready Stacy! Lily was as darling as ever, sporting upside down sunglasses & purse. She is so much like her mama, Christina. Who, BTW, looks great at 6 months preggers with little Luke. Erinn was there with her daughter Kaia. Kaia was a little tired from all the travelling that day - they were catching up with Erinn's hubby's relatives (he is overseas - please say a prayer for all our troops & Mike Blaz who spent the holidays away from family & loved ones). Kaia was still full of personality, though! We spent the evening chasing after babies, chatting away & playing pictionary (so fun because my family is CRAZY - in a great way!). It was a wonderful day/night! Only a few pics because I ended up taking more video than still shots.

Andrea & Miles

Lily-kins

Nonni (Auntie Carol), Miles & Lily

Before heading home we vistited with my Mom's best friend Lynelle & her daughter Lacey. Lacey & I grew up together & she had her son Brayden just 2 weeks before Miles was born. It was our first time meeting Brayden & I am so glad that we got the opportunity on this visit. Brayden is super adorable (looks just like Lace as a baby!) & is crawling everywhere! Can't take your eyes off him! Miles started army crawling a few days before Christmas, but he is still pretty slow. I am happy he is finding out how to move, but in no hurry for him to get the hang of full on creeping. I see how much work that is for mommy & daddy! I am savoring my last moments of being able to put him in one place & walk away for a minute knowing I will return & he will be in the same place I put him. I know my days are numbered though. Time to get out the baby gates!

Brayden & Grandma Vanilla (Lynelle)

Miles & Brayden - so cute!

It was a great holiday & I loved being busyfor the sake of family time! It is nice to be chill'n back at home, introducing Miles to his new toys & playing. I hope you all have a happy new year! 2009, oh my!