California Christmas

Early family Christmas at home

GG Marian got Lucy a Barbie Dream Car!

Lucy and Evan made a gingerbread house together. They both enjoyed sampling the goods. :)

Christmas Eve! Lucy is already a runner.

So happy to be in the sun and sand!

Karr family clockwise: Mom, Dad, Diana, Katie, Marc, Nick, Lucy (and Hank), Koree

Good times with my family

Oh Lucy!

Yea, we are back at the beach!

Happy little family, soaking up the sun in the hours before we had to fly  back  to Portland, and winter.

Momma and little buddy!

Marc is such a good Dad

Happy New Years! At Tiffany's party.

New Years Day, both Daddy and Lucy are sleepy!

 Lucy was soooo excited about Christmas this year. She was very aware from the start of the season what was happening. We decorated our "Charlie Brown"  tree together, which she had anticipated all day. All of Lucy's decorations were hung in one spot, and she loved looking at all of the decorations this year. A couple of days after putting up the tree she said to me, "Santa is going to bring a lot of toys for under that tree." It was pretty cute, but also surprising that she had somehow figured that out.  We taught her the song "Better Watch Out" and she still sings it often, at the top of her lungs. She loved, loved, loved Christmas lights. "Mommy, Christmas lights!" She would exclaim this all over town as we drove places. It was fun having her so much more aware of the holiday.

This year we were able to travel to Southern California to celebrate with both my family and Marc's. Before we left, we had our own Christmas in Portland, and it was fun watching Lucy open her gifts, playing with each one as she opened them. When we arrived in California on Christmas Eve, it was very nice and sunny out, so we first hit the beach before the big Simonson family gathering.  It felt so good to feel the warm sun, and stretch out in the sand. That evening we had a very nice gathering with my Mom's side of the family, and on Christmas Day Lucy was spoiled with presents by my parents, sister, brother and sister-in-law. Lucky girl! That afternoon we spent time with my Dad's side of the family. It was so nice to see everybody, and catch up. I tried to keep the pregnancy a surprise from my greater family, and while I was able to see a few genuine reactions of surprise, I found that both my Mom and Dad had had trouble keeping the secret! Oh well, I know it was a hard one to keep.

We then were able to go and spend some time with Marc's family, which was nice as well. We got lots of good visiting time on this trip, as Aunt Ronda hosted an after Christmas dinner. We love all of our extended family and are so lucky to be able to maintain connections, even though we live so far away. The day we left we headed to the beach for a little more fantasy time before traveling back home to the cold NW. Lucy loves the beach!