Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! We hope you all enjoyed your Christmas with your friends and family. Christmas this year had a very different meaning to it with Andrew. Children make it so much more special and fun! He had a wonderful two days of celebration. He thoroughly enjoyed opening presents and playing with bows, boxes and paper. The toys were okay, but there is something about the packaging that is so exciting.

Just waking up and looking at all the presents Santa left.

"I can't believe all these presents are for me! I must have been good this year."

"Whoopee! Opening presents is the most fun I've ever had!"

Opening more presents at Grandma and Grandpa's. "Thanks Grandma for the box. I love it!"

Uncle Kenny teaching me how to put the shapes in the right hole.

We are so happy he was able to come home from Japan to celebrate Christmas with us.

"Look at me Garanddi and Grandma...I'm driving!"

Merry Christmas!! May God bless you in 2008!

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve at Granddi's house. We enjoyed a very nice dinner and then opened some presents. Santa was very good to us this year!

Grandpa reading The Night Before Christmas to Andrew. This is a tradition his grandma did for him every Christmas Eve.

Opening one of the many gifts.

Getting up close and personal with Elmo.

Our first Christmas Eve with our son.

Thanks Granddi for a special Christmas Eve!

Time for bed and ready for Santa Claus to visit.

Let Christmas Begin...

Christmas started a few days early for Andrew. He received a gift from Grandma Patty that he absolutely loves. Rob and I go to bed singing the words to the song but Andrew loves it and I guess that's all that counts.

"Thanks Grandma for my present. Ripping it open was so fun!"

"I love bows!"

Irvine Park Railroad

We took a trip to the Irvine Park Railroad Christmas Train with some friends of ours. After waiting in line for almost two hours, we finally got on the train adorned with lights and took a ride up to Santa's Village. We decided not to wait in line to meet Santa because it would probably be a big screaming fit anyway. Andrew is not real good with strangers and I don't think a big guy with a white beard dressed in red is too inviting. We enjoyed some hot chocolate and all the lights. On the way back to the station we went through a tunnel of lights...lots of fun for little eyes. It was a fun night to remember.

Daddy and Andrew enjoying all the lights.

Mommy and Andrew on the train.

Our family in the sled.

Penguin Andrew at the North Pole.

Gianna and Andrew with the big lights...too cute!

Cold Weather

We finally got some cold weather and we're enjoying it! Andrew loves being outside and our winter weather won't stop him. We still take our walks in the morning and go to the park to watch the trees. Now, he just gets bundled up and off we go. Gosh, us Californians sure have it rough :-)

Christmas Tree

The tradition in our house is to decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. This year we were not able to put up everything because the little guy that lives in our house gets into EVERYTHING! Lucky enough, the tree is in a room he does not have access to. We had fun decorating the tree. Andrew even put up a few ornaments of his own. We're looking forward to our first Christmas as a family of 3!

Mommy and Andrew decorating the tree.

The finished product. Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving. We spent ours at my parent's house with my two brothers, Kenny is still in Japan. Rob's brother, Diane, and her brother and wife were also there. It was a nice day. We are very thankful for all our family! Let the holiday season begin!

Kisses

I've had kisses from many different people in my life, husband, parents, family and friends but nothing compares to the kisses I get from Andrew. He has learned to kiss and it is such a special feeling. I say, "kisses" and he plants a big, open mouthed, wet kiss right on my cheek. I love the slobber that he leaves behind. What an affectionate boy!

Time for the Gate

We had to start using the gate today. If you've been in our house you know we have quite a few stairs. Andrew just started "crawling" (more like army crawl) so we must block him from the mass amount of stairs we have. Today was the first day I didn't feel comfortable leaving him alone without the gate and thank goodness I closed it. As you can see he scooted himself right over in a matter of seconds. It's amazing that he couldn't do this two days ago and now he's on a roll! I always say that there is a new adventure everyday when raising kids and I have a feeling this is going to be a big one.

Here I come!

What's this?? I can't get by!

Hmmm, this stinks!

Colorado Visitor

My friend Amanda came to meet Andrew and visit for the weekend. We all went to Disneyland. Amanda's family and my family would always go to Disneyland when they were in California to visit. It was very different being the "adult" on this trip. We went on all the rides in Fantasy Land and weren't able to go on the "big kid" rides. But thanks to Grandma babysitting we were able to go on Space Mountain once. Andrew had a great time meeting Auntie Amanda! Welcome to Disneyland!

Auntie Amanda and Andrew...too cute.

First time on Buzz Light Year. We actually had to get off the ride because the fire alarm went off.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! We hope you enjoyed your spooky day. Andrew was a cow for Halloween, or a bull if you ask Rob. We went around to a few friends of Grandma and Grandpa's and collected some candy. It's amazing how Andrew picked out the candy that Mom and Dad like best! At this age it's obviously for the adults to get some smiles, but I know Andrew had a good time too.

Getting ready for the big night.

"Mooooo"

Mommy and her cow.

Trick-or-Treating with Daddy.

The Pumkin Patch

We went to the pumkin patch over the weekend and had a great time!

Andrew amongst all the pumpkins.

Fun with Mom and Dad

Grandma, Grandpa, Grandi, and Andrew

BOO!

Look at all the pumpkins!

"Do you like my pumpkin?"

Baby Ramirez

Welcome to the world Jack Michael Ramirez! Our friends Chris and Brandee Ramirez had their baby boy on Friday, October 19. He is healthy and very cute. He has a full head of hair just like his sister Olivia did when she was born. We are very excited to meet the little guy and we look forward to him and Andrew growing up together and doing all the things that boys do. CONGRATULATIONS!

California Firestorm

What a crazy few days we've had here in Southern California. Half of our state is on fire and it's scary. Fortunately everybody we know is safe and out of the danger zone but we had a few close calls. The fire came about 1/2 mile from our house on Sunday night so Andrew and I spent the night at my parent's house while Rob stayed at home just in case we had a mandatory evacuation. The smoke in our house was really bad and it still smells like a smoking hotel room. Even the poor cat's fur smells. But just when we found out our area was safe we heard that the fire was moving toward Foothill Ranch where a few friends of ours and Diane, Rob's step mom, lives. Diane was back east so Rob had to go to her house and pack up a few things just in case there was an evacuation, which there was. The fire came right up to the backyards across the street from her...too close. Then it moved on to the Portola Hills area and we have more friends there that had to evacuate. Now, the fire is back in the canyons and burning some homes. It's devastating. The saddest part of all of this is that somebody started it intentionally, arson.

We would like to say thank you very much to all the phone calls we received the past few days. You really learn how many people are thinking of you during times like these. We truly appreciate all the love and thoughts! Thanks!!

Please pray for all the firefighters working 24 hours nonstop. We see them taking naps on the side of the road in the grass getting ready to continue fighting the fire. Also pray for all the people in San Diego, Arrowhead and other places that are losing their homes. Thankfully the winds are dying down and hopefully this won't continue for much longer.

Happy 6 Months!

Happy 6 month birthday Andrew! I can't believe it has already been 6 months since he has blessed us. I don't even remember what life was like without him. Last night Rob and I were up with him quite a few times (he had his shots :-( and I ended up sleeping on his floor, but even these moments I wouldn't change for the world! He has changed our lives drastically. The love you have for your kids is indescribable and I am so happy we are able to experience it. May the next 6 months be as amazing as the last!

Carrots? No Way!

Andrew was introduced to carrots and he showed he is a true Goodman. Not his thing!

It was not so bad at first.

Then the faces came.

Then the spitting out.

We kept trying.

And then there was screaming and gagging. He was not having it!

That was a rough one but we'll try again tomorrow!

Disneyland

We took another trip to Disneyland. Annual passes are wonderful! Here are some of the fun moments during our day.

Andrew's first ride on Small World.

There was so much to see! His head didn't stop moving from left and right, up and down.

Watching the parade with Daddy.

Nap time...zzzz.

First ride on a carousel.

Trying to pull the sword from the stone. Not this time, maybe when he gets a little stronger.
The train ride around the park was fun, but playing with the red painted walls was the highlight on this ride.

Falling asleep in Mommy's arms. What a long and fun day!