My Very First Christmas

This was such a special Christmas for our family. The holidays are so much better with little ones around! Last year at this time is when I found out I was pregnant and now here we are with our little 4 month old baby! Time sure does fly by.

It was a very relaxing day of eating, drinking, opening presents, chatting, and a lot of laughter. We were even able to "see" Scott's family in Texas via Skype. Kekoa is the big hit of course, no one really wants to talk to us! :) Technology is a very cool thing. It is pretty amazing we can all see each other and talk!

Scott's turkey turned out so juicy and delicious. He also made his mom's amazing gravy, for the first time. The gravy also turned out so good. My new stuffing recipe with swiss chard, parmesan cheese, and Italian sausage was a big hit too. I think it will replace my sourdough stuffing that I usually make. My dad's secret recipe, never the same mashed potatoes were especially yummy!

Not only did I love having everyone over, but Kekoa loved having all the company here too. He is getting quite the little personality and enjoys hanging out with all the family around. He was so pooped out by the end of his night, but still didn't want to sleep in the evening. He took a super long nap today to recover from all the action of Christmas day.

The holidays really make me appreciate family and friends. Thank you everyone for making our first Christmas with Kekoa such a memorable one!

Our beautifully decorated tree. It fits perfectly in our apartment!
Family photos...


I can't stop staring at Uncle Mango's shirt! Fascinating!


Staring at my mommy while she plays and sings ukulele to me! She is just so awesome! :)
Too much turkey. Gorilla is a comfy pillow! In my family, this is called going for a "jog". Scott and my dad are jogging pretty strenuously. :)
Christmas presents opened and everywhere!My new friend Gorilla!
Lots of stripes!My chin is so cute!



Kaiwei is such a ham! He always makes Scott and I crack up. He is such a special little guy. Hard to believe just last year at Christmas he was the baby.

Kaiwei loved these block that Kekoa gave him for Christmas. He had fun knocking them down whenever Jenny stacked them back up!
Hmmm, my fingers fit in Gorilla's nose!

Say cheese...

Kekoa loves chillin' in Papa Beezy's arms...this time it is even better because he has his Sophie!

Kekoa opens his first wrapped present, with a little help from Daddy!

Toy or wrapping paper? Which do I like better? Paper wins!!

Kekoa's First Christmas Morning

Yeah! It's Christmas!!
Kekoa was so excited for his first Christmas morning and to see what Santa brought for him! He was up bright and early at 6:15 a.m.! He just loved his stocking stuffers...his favorite is Sophie the Giraffe, a special teething toy that all the babies have! By the time my dad and Jenny had arrived, Kekoa had mastered putting Sophie in his mouth! Kekoa doesn't put everything in his mouth yet...he is selective! :)

Scott made me a delicious Christmas breakfast...his famous scrambled eggs with mushrooms and chicken sausage, and we had fresh biscuits for a treat. Scott's turkey was cooking in the oven and our whole place smelled so delicious. We all enjoyed the morning and went for a Christmas walk. It was a beautiful Christmas morning...clear blue skies and cool, crisp air.

Kekoa's new trick is "airplane". When he wakes up in the morning, we play airplane in bed. It gives mommy a great arm workout! :)
I love airplane!

Ready for my first nap of the day!Mmmmm, breakfast is delicious.

Up from my nap, ready for my presents now!Airplane with daddy...
Hmmmm, what is all of this?
Thanks Santa, my new rattle is awesome!

What a really wonderful Christmas morning...

Kekoa was all smiles while we looked in his stocking to see what Santa had left for him!

Kekoa showing off how talented he is with getting Sophie in his mouth. Gorilla is a stuffed toy from when I was little. My brother, Mingwei, and I loved our stuffed animals growing up and Gorilla was one of our favorites. Kekoa wasn't sure what to make of him yet.

First Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve morning was a cool and chilly one. All the roof tops had ice on them. I had tried going to the grocery store yesterday, did one loop around the parking lot, couldn't find any parking, and left. I told myself I would go in the morning, as soon as Kekoa got up...and we did. It was a special treat because daddy came with us too. We bundled Kekoa up and we were at Lunardi's by 7:30 a.m.! Our second stop was Trader Joe's. Kekoa was all bundled up in my new sling, facing out. Everyone stopped and admired our cutie pie baby...he got so many compliments. At Trader Joe's, they were giving away these beautiful Christmas wreathes. Scott immediately strung it up on our screen door. I love it...it makes our place even more Christmasy (is that a word?)

Our beautiful baby and beautiful wreath!

Rosy cheeks after a long nap!
Hi there everybody! I love grabbing soft, cuddly blankets!
For the rest of our Christmas Eve, Kekoa took a long nap, thank goodness. He has only been taking 30 minute power naps lately. Scott went to work :( When Kekoa woke up, I bundled him all up and we went out for a long walk. He was so excited to be outside.

All bundled and ready to go on my walk mom!






For his 3rd nap of the day, he wouldn't fall asleep in the stroller, so I put him in the Ergo carrier. I love his face when he wakes up...he looks up at me with his sleepy eyes and rosy cheeks and gives me a big smile!
Doesn't he just melt your heart? He just woke up in the Ergo and couldn't stop staring at his mama!
Oh wait...now I see some trees to look at!

The family is coming over tomorrow for Christmas dinner. I am so proud of Scott, he is making the turkey. It is in the fridge, all ready to go. I am making cranberry sauce and a trying out a new stuffing recipe, Italian Chard stuffing...it looks so good and is all assembled and ready to bake tomorrow. (Thank you to our next door neighbors for letting us use their fridge and oven! I don't know where we would have put the turkey and stuffing!) Jenny and my dad are bringing dessert, berry pie and vanilla ice cream, and my dad is making his famous mashed potatoes.

I am so excited to be having Kekoa's first Christmas here...even though are apartment is small, it is cozy and is so nicely decorated. There are so many presents under our tree for our little baby. The Christmas spirit is definitely in the air here!