Christmas #3 - Bergen Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with Justin's family the day after Christmas.

Annual Bergen Family Picture
(It was so cold!!)

Warming up by the fire

"Presents? AGAIN?! YAY!!"

Puzzles!

Playing with Uncle Ryan while Mommy and Daddy make coffee

It just isn't Christmas without amazing coffee!

John and Braxton playing with their matching balls.

"The little trash man" John made sure the living room floor stayed nice and tidy.

"We have no idea who finished all the peppernuts!" ;-)

Congratulations!!!

Last week my best friend in the whole world became the future Mrs. Jonathan Folger! :-)

I am so happy for you, SheriLynne!! You've walked beside me during some of the hardest times of my life. It's hard to tell in this picture, but in the background, behind the gorgeous ocean and beach, are houses in the depressed areas of Mazatlan, Mexico. In some ways this picture reminds me of our friendship. We go through the hard times, we go through the happy times. There have been times I've wanted to kill you. There have been times you've wanted to kill me (probably many ;-)). Through thick and thin, you're my best friend and somehow, no matter what we walk through...we always come out smiling! :-)

You were such a blessing in my wedding!! I am honored and thrilled to be included in your special day!

Congratulations, SheriLynne and Jonathan! I can't wait for August 6, 2010!

Special Day for Braxton

Last Saturday, Braxton had a very special opportunity to meet his great great Grandpa (Sexton). We know this is something not many people get to do, so we were sure to take lots of pictures.

Grandpa Sexton loved meeting his first great-great grandson. I've never seen him so excited! We were all surprised at how alert Grandpa was and how well he interacted and communicated with everyone. What a blessing!

5 generations

We decided to get another shot of Braxton with 3 of his grandpas from the Bergen side.

After our visit, Braxton went to play at Justin's family's while Justin and I enjoyed dinner out. John wanted Braxton to try on his silly glasses. I think they make Braxton look like Simon from the Chipmunks.

In case there was ever any doubt...

...Braxton has my eyes. :-) Gotta love those "bright baby blue eyes" genes from the Paine side!

Raspberry kisses! Poor Braxton. lol!
These were taken the day after Thanksgiving as we relished one of the last warm days of the year.

Braxton's 6 month pictures!

Here are the promised pictures from Braxton's 6-month photo shoot! I have been so impressed with Stephanie at JCPenneys Portrait (out west). She gets the job done fast (i think we were in and out in less than 30 minutes) and does an incredible job! Of course...she has an adorable, very cooperative little model to work with. :-)

This is quite possibly my favorite pose of all time!

We got one 8x10 of this pose

This is the pose we got the package

Big boy! He did so good sitting up!

Bathtime pictures!

So much fun! I can't wait for the 9-month pictures!

Busy week!

My goodness this has been a crazy busy week!

Here's just a little bit of what we've done in the last week:
-Relax (ha! that doesn't really count...but I like to think it does :-))
-Decorate the house for Christmas
-Host a shower for a mommy-to-be
-Take my Premier jewelry to a craft fair (epic fail)
-Host a Premier jewelry party for my good friend, Kayla (epic win!)
-Justin has been working and working and working on a project for LSI
-We went on a fantastic date to Warren Old Town and saw the Blind Side. It was incredible!!
-Working on our Christmas family letter which may turn out to be either an Easter or possibly even Independence Day family letter. Don't hold your breath waiting for it!
-Help my family decorate the house for Christmas (its my job to do the banister. Every year it about makes me lose it....but once again, it looks beautiful!)
-Right hip went out. Yay for messed up sciatic nerves!
-Went to chiropractor for above mentioned sciatic nerve.
-Took Braxton to get his 6-month pictures done. Adorable!!

Pictures forthcoming! :-) Now its off to do laundry and clean my messy house!

Nursing Mama + Caffeine = Hyper baby!

I can't watch this video without laughing. Two weeks ago I went to coffee with some of my favorite CYT ladies, Erin and Kate. I was going to just settle contently with my gingerbread latte, but then they brought around their tray of holiday coffee samples. I couldn't resist, so I savored the Carmel Brulee Mocha followed closely by my personal favorite the Peppermint Mocha. Yummy yum yum! Yes. That totals to 1 latte and 2 mochas. I was wired for a good hour. And this video is evidence of what Braxton was like 8 hours later. :-)