Happy New Year...Post

We spent our New Year's week in Austin at my sister Erin's house. My parents came in from College Station and my sister Julie flew in from Colorado. I hadn't seen her since Connor was 2 weeks old, so it was a real treat. We got to celebrate Christmas...again, and we also got to celebrate New Year's together.

Whenever we are all together we have such a good time and this visit was no exception. It was a little hard to stay up until 2am nearly every night, but it was worth it. We just never wanted the night to end. Connor is lucky to have such great aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents.

As I did with the Christmas post, I'll let the pictures tell the story. Happy New Year everyone.

We arrived in Austin Tuesday evening. It was so nice for the entire "original" Roach family to be together again. Of course our family is ever-expanding and that just makes it even more fun.

Festive Grandma and Connor on what we called "Tivo Christmas Eve"

Connor loved playing with his 8 month old cousin Libby's toys. He particularly liked this cute little bell. My sister even let us take it home with us, since Connor liked it so much.

Julie mailed most of her gifts to Austin, so she wouldn't have to have them on the airplane and Connor snuck into one of the boxes she shipped. Now that's one very special delivery. Ok, so maybe I set him in the box, because I love posing my little boy. Yes, it's true, he's my very own baby doll and I love posing him and dressing him up. Let me enjoy it. :)

It was fun having two babies nearly the same age. Here Connor and Libby are eating their purees of fruits and veggies together. Libby is much more experienced with finger foods now and Connor even got to try some of her poofs for the first time. We have continued to experiment with the poofs at home. He's getting it, but it's amazing how difficult it is to pick up a little cheerio sized piece of food and put it in your mouth when you've never done it before. It's so cute to see him struggle to do it. You just forget that learning to put bite size pieces of food in your mouth is a learned skill.

Grandpa, Libby, Mommy and Connor

It was pretty cold in Austin, so Connor had to bundle up again.

Libby needed to bundle up some more too. Isn't her fur-lined coat adorable?!

A happy Tivo Christmas boy.

I had given my nephews a Michigan football a while back and of course Connor found it...and loved it. Well, of course. :)

Checking out the tree on Tivo Christmas Eve.

Libby was already in bed, but the rest of the cousins got a nice rendition of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas from Grandpa.

Now the big kids join in too.

We decided to exchange our gifts while the kids were in bed so that we could take our time. It was so much fun and I really liked the combination of wine and opening Christmas gifts, versus coffee and baggy eyelids.

Grandpa Claus, Grandma Claus, and Mini Claus on "Christmas" for the kiddos.

Connor got some great gifts including this fun walker toy. I can't imagine him walking, but I guess it will happen before I know it.

Libby wants in on some of that walker toy action too.

Santa/Grandpa showed up and Martin (almost 5) wasn't fooled, but his brother Winston (2 1/2) was in awe.

Libby was a little reserved in her reaction.

Clearly Connor was terrified.

Without the costume though, Connor loved Grandpa all over again.

The kiddos went to bed and now it was time to celebrate New Year's Eve in style. We had good food and did a fun white elephant exchange.

Later, we went outside in the cold and set off some fireworks. We were pretty loud, but amazingly, Connor slept through all of it. Good boy!

We were all a little tired on New Year's Day, but clearly Libby and Daddy Arthur were looking good.

What a happy little duo on New Year's Day.

I thought this was funny. Libby is crawling now, so you have to be so careful what is on the ground. With all the present opening, lots of little bits, including those little foam pellets are everywhere. Here, Aunt Julie is cleaning up while Libby is crawling right towards trouble. Like Connor, everything goes in her mouth. Man, I don't know if I'm ready for that. Just keep sitting buddy.

Erin with a rare moment in a snuggle with all three of her kids.

Since we all like to cook, instead of making the host be responsible for dinner each night, we each take an evening and prepare a special meal. Jeff and I made flautas for an appetizer during the day. Then for dinner we had pasta with meatballs and veggies. We made the tomato sauce and meatballs from scratch. For dessert, we made creme brulle. Mmm mmm good.

Erin also made her famous Bouche de Noel. It's so good. This year, it was complete with two cardinals.

Libby continued to be gracious with her toys and let Connor try her jolly jumper. He really liked it. She gave him tips from her nearby exersaucer.

Connor also liked Libby's new walker wagon. Jeff would push him around the house in it.

"I like this thing. I fit just perfectly inside and it's fun when Daddy pushes me around the house. What a fun ride."

Jeff's view of Connor in the wagon.

We celebrated Grandma's birthday Saturday night. This is the whole gang thanks to a timer.

Sunday morning, before we left, Libby and Connor got a chance to snuggle in bed.

Not to be outdone, cousins Winnie and Martin joined in too.

Connor loved being with his cousins. Martin and Win are typical little boys with lots of energy, so there was always lots of action in the house for Connor to watch. Of course Libby is fun too, because she is really curious about him and likes to grab him and look at him. I can't wait to see them all grow up together.

It was so sweet. Right before we were leaving, Connor was playing with this little toy and Winnie comes up and says, "Can I play with you Baby Connor?" I hope that's the first of many times these two play together. They are almost exactly 2 years apart (off by just one day) and I think they'll have a lot in common.

We had such a great time in Austin and I know we started our New Year off with a bang. My New Year's resolution is to read more, but in reality I think my New Year's resolution every year from now on, will be to be the best Mom I can be for my son. My life has such a different purpose now and I love it. It really is a very happy New Year now that Connor is in our life.

Finally, a Christmas post

Ok, so I've been a bit busy since I've been back from our Holiday adventures. My to-do list continues to be long, but I'm getting through it one item at a time. These frigid temperatures don't help much though, as I feel guilty taking Connor outside for too long. I figure though, that he needs some fresh air at least once a day and I remind myself, if we lived up North, he'd have to get used to it quick, so one week of cold won't hurt him.

Going to Gigi and Pagger Don's in Amarillo was great. Connor loved seeing everyone and he did awesome on the plane ride out again. His stubborn teething was a bit of a problem, but he powered through and now I can really see that tooth on the top, so it was worth all his trials and tribulations. I won't go into too much detail. Instead, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Connor did great on the flight, but when we arrived in Amarillo, his car seat that we checked was icy cold, so we put our jackets around him.

A few hours after we arrived, Jeff's Uncle Mike, Aunt Shelley, and cousins Kory (21) and Kelsey (18) drove in from Kansas to spend time with us. As you can see, Connor really liked Uncle Mike's beard.

Since it was Christmas Eve, we had Pagger Don read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. It was cute, because every now and then he'd look up at him as if to say, "Hmm, you sound like my Dad, but you're not my Dad. Oh well, back to the story."

It never snowed when we were there, but as you can see, there was snow on the ground. Oh and I am wearing Jeff's high school letter jacket. It's kind of an Amarillo tradition if it's cold out.

Baby's First Christmas, complete with his Santa suit.

Connor got lots of fun toys, but of course the biggest hit was the wrapping paper.

I think this picture is funny. I guess Pagger Don said something awe inspiring.

Now it's time to open presents with Gigi.

Connor admiring his new stuffed elephant sent all the way from a cruise ship in the Caribbean from his Aunt Stacey.

One of the cutest gifts was this rocking horse that we lovingly named "Smokey." That's the name of Grandma Margie's horse. He can't really hang on yet, but he'll get the hang of it soon and love it I'm sure. It's darn cute no matter what.

Opening presents is tiring.

It was about 20 degrees every day, so Connor had to really bundle up.

Aren't these two fellows just so Christmasy. We had some awesome food and wine while we were in town. Sinfully delicious of course.

We were about to change Connor so we let him hang out in the buff for a bit. He always loves that. Look at those rolls.

Connor may never crawl. He still does not like being on his tummy for more than about 2 minutes.

Story time with second cousin Kelsey. On a side note, it was fun, because one night the "adults" put Connor to bed and they let the cousins go see Avatar in 3D. It was really cool and sadly the first movie Jeff and I had seen in a theater in 6 months.

Jeff and I both got cowboy boots for Christmas, but we needed to try some on, so we could get them ordered. While in the store, Connor got to try out a saddle for the first time. Just wait until you visit Grandma Margie's house and you get to ride the real thing.

Connor trying on his first pair of cowboy boots. I think he likes it. Those are a little big buddy. Maybe next year, when you're walking.

One day, we all went to this yummy Mexican restaurant for lunch. I thought this was funny seeing Jeff multi-tasking: checking his blackberry and feeding Connor. Ha!

The entire gang at lunch. Unfortunately, Connor's head is blocked by the carafe of margaritas. Oops. Don't call CPS.

After we were done with our meal, Connor got to get out of his high chair and spend some quality lap time with Gigi. He loves bouncing. Oh and this is a nice shot of his Christmas bear coat. Isn't it cute with the little ears and it is sooo soft.

Bouncing with Daddy is so much fun.

Connor sitting in a rocking chair that Jeff's Grandpa made for him. So precious. We flew home on Monday evening and Connor did awesome on the flight home as well. It was sad to leave, but we made some great memories.

Back in Sugar Land that following Tuesday, we had our family's Christmas. Since Connor didn't seem too interested in opening presents in Amarillo, we just wrapped 3 and let him dig in.

Merry Christmas buddy. Maybe next year, you'll really get into it. For now, just sit and chew like you do best.

Happy New Year

Ok, so I still haven't found the time to post about Christmas or New Year, but I did want to wish all my blogger followers a Happy New Year and let you know that we made it back from Austin yesterday in one piece.

I miss everyone, and I'm sure Connor does too. It's quiet for the first time in 10 days, and it's kind of weird. I miss the commotion and the constant distractions and attention for Connor. We'll get back to our routine soon enough, but so far we're still adjusting to days just the two of us.