Here Comes Another New Year!

Well, our vacation to see family over the holidays was a whirlwind, but totally worth it! Monkey got to meet his other Great-Grandfather for the first time, which was wonderful! We drove up to Carson City, NV to see "Mimi" (aka Ben's mom), Ben's Great-Aunt and Grandfather. Spent 2 nights and then had to be on the road. But, Monkey got to play in snow for the first time!

 Little guy wouldn't keep his hat on!

And got to go sledding, which was hilarious.

Then off to Portland! We went to see Santa, which Finn (Monkey) still isn't too sure about. He REALLY didn't like the Easter Bunny last year, and this year Santa got the same reaction as he did the first time around...confusion. I don't have pictures uploaded of the Santa visit yet, but trust me, it wasn't super happy smiles. 

The thing about Portland that Ben and I *conveniently* forget is that it rains. A LOT. Especially in December. So a lot of our plans went bust. We really need to make a trip in the summer, when we have a better chance of staying dry. We got COMPLETELY soaked at Zoo Lights in the Oregon Zoo, and no one was very happy. 

Monkey cried the entire time we were on the train. You try to do something nice, and that's the reaction :)

After a few days there, up to Washington to see my family...Nana, Papa, and Honey (my grandmother) were all excited to see us. Finn wasn't too upset either. He's spent more time there than at Ben's parents' house, so it's a little more comfortable for him. AND he slept in Auntie Rawr's (my sister) queen sized bed...which had me nervous but he did great!

This was the first year he's kind of gotten the idea of unwrapping presents, so it was more fun than last year. The big hits were his train, his Rody, and my dad's new tripod.

This thing is great...a truly classic "Santa toy"

He still can't really bounce on Rody without falling over, but he's getting close!

And he had no idea what to make of the tripod

All in all, it was a successful trip, even if my big pregnant butt, back and hips were KILLING me every time we got out of the car! Finn did great on our 8 and 10 hour days (and that was just the driving part), so what more can you ask for? Now to get baby preparations seriously under way so that when boy #2 decides to make his appearance, we'll be ready!