Happy New Year!

We welcomed 2012 in a quiet fashion...well, as quiet as Ryan, Zoe, Hayden and two dogs can be at midnight! We opted for a small celebration after BBQ at Shane's Rib Shack, as we were all partied out from Christmas. And, let's face it...we're getting old. And I was 7+ months pregnant. So I made brownies, we watched tv, watched the ball drop and were home in bed by 1am, with an overnight guest in tow. Bella (Eric's dog) spent two nights with us while they were out of town. And, you guessed it...no photos!

Christmas: Part III

After late lunch at my brother's house, we packed up and headed to Gloria's for Christmas dinner. Good for Jay, who can eat all day, not so good for pregnant me, who can only eat a little at a time. Luckily, there was a tiny steak that was just perfect and some DELICIOUS spiced cider that made my belly extra happy.

Hayden was SO excited to get a really cool Cars 2 race track from Grandma, and probably equally excited to open the batteries to go with it. That kid LOVES a battery. He got the basic track, the Big Ben and Eiffel Tower additions and a bunch of cars to go with it. Awesome! By the time we got home, we were all just too tired to put anything together. That meant the next day we had our work cut out for us with a basketball goal, work bench and race track. But he sure was one happy little boy.

And in a fail of epic proportions, I managed to not get one single picture of us as a family, us as a couple, us by ourselves, us with Hayden or really anything but Hayden opening presents and playing. But I suppose that's the most important pictures, right?

Christmas: Part II

This year we had a full plate on Christmas day, but we were excited to see so much family for the holidays! After our relaxing Christmas morning, I whipped up a few side items to take to my brothers' house and we headed over, including Oscar. The kids are always so excited to see each other, and they love to give each other presents. And of course, Bella and Oscar never get tired of a puppy playdate!

Even more exciting for Ryan and Zoe, they BOTH lost a tooth on Christmas day. Lucky kids, they got a visit from Santa AND the tooth fairy in the same 24 hours. They were both really excited about their lost teeth, and about the presents Hayden brought for them. It's so much fun to be back here where they can enjoy each other.

Ryan got a Kinect for Christmas and was super excited for new games to play. I'm sure it won't be too long before Hayden is ready to play along with him, but for now he's content to watch and to play with Zoe's toys, and of course, to pull out a few swords for a duel here and there.

Since the kids were accidentally dressed alike, we were excited to get a picture of them. Of course, Hayden was more interested in perfecting his roar and Ryan was watching basketball, so this is the best I got. How exciting to look back every year to see how much they've grown and changed, and how much they've stayed exactly the same.

Christmas Morning

There are few things in life that are all they are cracked up to be, and totally worth the wait. For me as a parent, I'd say two of those things are childbirth and Christmas morning for your toddler. Hayden knew Christmas was coming and he needed to get some good sleep for Santa to come. So he actually slept in until 7:30 Christmas morning, which we couldn't believe! He came running in our room and said "Is Christmas mommy!! Wake up daddy, IS CHRISTMAS!!!". We headed downstairs to see what Santa had in store for us!

Hayden asked Santa for a baby truck, a monster truck and a football, so he was excited to see his requests were granted. We started with his stocking, which is fun at first but frustrating for little arms who can't reach all the way to the toes!

Once he was all done with the stocking, he set out to open presents, which is no quick task for a three-year-old. Everything he opened he wanted out of the box, out of the impossible packaging, batteries put in, and tested before he would move on to another. After all was said and done, it took him about two hours to open everything!

He is definitely a pro though, and had a blast opening everything and even cleaning up afterwards (see, he is my child!). After that we were starving so I whipped up a quick breakfast treat for us (layer of crescent rolls in an 8x8, 1/2 lb sausage browned, crumbled and drained mixed with a block of cream cheese, topped with shredded cheddar and another layer of crescent rolls, 20 minutes at 400 degrees) and we enjoyed a relaxing morning playing with toys, putting things together and watching new movies.

Christmas gets more and more fun with this little guy every year! Every holiday I'm a little more thankful that it's one more we get to spend as a whole family, and not missing Jay a half a world away.

A quick recipe...

Last night we needed something easy and fast, so I mixed a can of cream of chicken soup with a packet of ranch and poured it over my pork chops. 35 minutes at 375 and dinner was done! I really wanted to make mashed potatoes to go with it but I didn't have quite enough potatoes so we went all green-veggie.

Tonight we need something quick and easy that Jay can cook before class, so I took chicken breasts and topped them with the leftover bruschetta from my baby shower this weekend. Garlic, oregano and peppper, a splash of red wine vinegar (I could have SWORN we had balsamic but we didn't) and some parmesan and it's in the fridge ready for 30 minutes at 375. I tossed some potatoes with olive oil, garlic, onion powder and pepper and they'll roast for an hour to go with it. We are doing comfort food the rest of this week, with spaghetti sauce going in the crock pot tonight and chicken pot pie on deck for Thursday. We'll round out the week with dinner out on Friday with my co-workers for a baby shower, but that's what the Rogers are eating this week!

Christmas Eve

We actually had a quiet Christmas Eve in preparation for our very busy Christmas Day. We went out to eat with Gloria and came home to rest up for the festivities that Christmas would bring. Hayden had long since decided what sort of cookies we were making for Santa (pre-made, pre-cut dough, the horror!) and I obliged by letting him put them on the cookie sheet to bake. It's hard for a control freak mom to not put those perfect little circles in perfect little rows, but he gets SO excited to help I just couldn't correct it.

We even picked up a special plate for Santa's cookies, which Hayden was really excited about.

While the cookies were cooling, Hayden took a quick bath and got into his Christmas pajamas. Once they were cool, he took great care in selecting the cookies for the plate and arranging them in particular fashion. Every once in awhile, he is totally my child.

He went to bed shortly after, but only because we promised that Santa would not come if he were awake. He actually slept in a little bit, waking up on Christmas morning around 730 instead of his usual 6 o'clock hour. I think all the anticipation wore him out. And I think Santa really liked the cookies!

My favorite drop-in of the season

Katie hosted her annual drop-in Christmas party this year and luckily for us it came on the heels of her engagement, so we all got to see the ring and wish them well! I attended solo, as Hayden was in the midst of a GREAT nap and Jay didn't mind staying home to watch him (and watch football). I even got to make my santa hat brownies (brownies made in a mini-muffin pan, topped with cool whip, a strawberry that has been de-greened and placed upside down on the cool whip, a dollop of cool whip atop the strawberry and voila, santa hat brownies!) to share with the crowd!

Always a fun Salem mini-reunion, this year we celebrated two engagements, two pregnancies and basically our general fabulousness.

Mary Eileen and her tiny bump, Tomlin and her always fabulous hair, me and baby Lila-bump, and newly engaged Mary Clayton!

  Salem love! And of course, some of the best C'04 has to offer.