Our Christmas Story

Christmas this year was amazing, and it flew by way to quickly. I believe that we did a good job spending time with everyone we love. We were able to see everyone, at least once, but in most cases multiple times. We have been so many places this last couple of weeks. I am going to attempt and summarize, so please bare with me. Saturday, December 13th, we went to a Christmas party at The Hogan household. I briefly mentioned this party in a previous blog. The party was a lot of fun. Minus when Laura's Mother, Eileen, fell in front of the house and had to be taken to the hospital. That part was horrible, but the party as a whole was very nice. Our next Christmas party was the following Saturday (December 20) . This one was held in Darien at Deb's Uncle Stanley's house. I remember it being bitterly cold that day. It was a nice cozy party with a few family members. The meal was excellent thanks to Uncle Mark and Aunt Carol. Oden really enjoyed the stairs in the house (how unusual). Next comes Christmas Eve. Jess started the day by taking Oden out of the house for a couple of hours. They had come father and son time, while I had some time to myself. Then they returned with gifts for me! YAY! It was sooooo sweet! After lunch we headed to my Mom's house. It was very low-key, and a little bit of calm before the storm :) From my Mom's, we went straight to The Bush household in Morris. With the crazy weather the couple of days prior, all of the roads and driveways were sheets of ice. It is not so much fun carrying a 30 pound kid on ice, just FYI. When we arrived Oden was very crabby. It took him a while to warm up to everyone, and just have fun. It was a very pleasant evening. The only thing that would've made it better would've been Grandma Mary and Grandpa Frank being there. They were there in our hearts though. And we were very happy to see the McFarland's. We were able to meet Kristin's husband, Jacob. We were also able to see baby Chaela. She is just the cutest thing!! It was wonderful seeing EVERYONE :) After that party we came home to wait for Santa. Oden slept til about 7am Christmas morning, which was a treat. We opened our stockings and presents, then got ready and started making the rounds. We started and Grandpa Scott and Grammy Mary's house. Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa DeeDee's, then Grandma Laura and PaPa Joe's, and finally Grandma KiKi's. It was quite a full morning! Oden was is a good mood and was being very cute. I think he knew it was a special day. And of course he got spoiled rotten. We have more toys than we know what to do with, and we still have his birthday tomorrow, and party on Saturday!! We are going to be swimming in toys. Thank you everyone for being so generous to our baby dude. We love that you love him so much. We are so lucky to have you in our lives. I'm sorry if I left out any important stories in out Christmas activities. I just really wanted to make a general log of our events. I'm also sorry that I left out so many pictures. There are too many good ones to choose. These are just a few of my favorites. Thanks again everyone, for making Oden's First Christmas so memorable. I can't wait to tell him all about it.

Getting tired on Christmas Eve

Chaela thinks Oden's binky looks delicious!

Cousins....plus babies....plus significant others <3

Our baby Elf on Christmas morning

Breakfast at Grammy's

Here PaPa you take this bow!

I love my Daddy

Oden and Aunt Linda, checking out the mesmerizing Christmas village

Our house on Christmas morning......

Oh, the weather outside is frightful....

Last week, before these blizzard like conditions, Oden had lots of fun!! Now we are stuck in the house to avoid bringing our baby dude out into the Arctic tundra (With -30 degree wind chills, that's how it feels!!). Oden sat in his first sled at the beginning of the week. It was just in front of Grandma KiKi's house, but he loved it. Then, after story time at the library on Thursday, we went to Chuck E. Cheese's!! We have been there one other time before but Oden was too young to enjoy it. This time, he had a blast!! I think he most enjoyed the Barney ride, he was sitting next to Barney, looking up at him like they were old friends. It was the cutest thing! We went there with our friends Kelly and Rylan, we all had lots of fun. Then Friday, Grandma and Grandpa DeeDee came over to try to play with Oden in the snow for the first time. Let's just say at that point, it wasn't snow anymore, it was ice. That was fun for about 5 minutes, then we went inside for Christmas music and hot chocolate. Yay for Christmas time!! Next week at this time I will be posting about a billion Christmas pictures so be ready!! As for now, I am going to get ready for the Bear's game. That's right, Jess and I are going to venture out in this freezing weather to support our boys! Wish us luck!!!

So cute....if only that sled was blue!! LOL!

Playing in a monster truck with Ry!Trying to climb up the baby slide, slippery sucker!
Hey! BUDDY!

Carousels are so much fun!

Ok guys.....I'm about done here!

Scary Santa

This past Saturday, we attempted to introduce Oden to 'The Man in the Red Suit', twice. We went to the mall for the first attempt. He was completely unfazed while he was in our arms. But as soon as we sat him on Santa's lap he squealed. I wouldn't even describe it as a scream. It was one of those high pitched, can't breathe kind of sounds. It was terrible. After the first shot the photographer asked, "Would you like another try?" To which Jess quickly replied, "No, it's perfect!" And I agree it is. This picture has Oden written all over it. We find it quite humorous, and hope you do too. Oden's second Santa encounter was later on that evening, at Grandma and Grandpa Hogan's Christmas party. We were near the front door when Santa arrived, and Oden was instantly terrified. He let out that now trademark scary Santa squeal, and hugged me tighter than he had ever hugged me before. When Santa called his name to come up for his gift, Jess tried to walk towards Santa while holding Oden and let's just say it wasn't going to happen. To Jess and I, these memories were priceless. Hopefully, Oden will forgive us and not be forever scarred.

Spreading some Holiday Cheer!

Here is a little something to get you in the Holiday mood! The first three are from his Christmas card photo shoot. I probably took 100 pictures that day, and I only had a few that I loved. So here are some that didn't make it on the card. The bottom two pictures are of him in my favorite hat. He looks like a baby elf :)

We are still trying everyday to get him walking. He continues to improve his balance, but sometimes refuses to walk. I know he'll walk fully when he's ready, but I'm ready now!!

Only 15 Days til Oden's First Christmas!!

Classic Oden drooling shot

Santa is Oden's homeboy!

Can you see the cat under that bench in the background? CREEPY!

Power A Smile

Hi everyone! Yesterday Papa Joe and Grandma Laura put Oden's picture on a really neat website. It's called Duracell Power a Smile, and here's the 'low-down":

There’s nothing better than seeing a smile on a child’s face as they power up a gift for the first time. Except, perhaps, giving that child the chance to share their joy with kids where they need it most: children’s hospitals. And that’s just what the Duracell® Power A Smile campaign was all about.
Last holiday season, Duracell invited parents and kids to power smiles around the country. When parents uploaded a photo of their child, Duracell donated a dollar to the Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA and other children's hospitals across the country to power another child's smile. Every photo donation went toward the children's critical needs as well as batteries for their toys.

The season was one of the brightest thanks to those who care so much about kids. And after all, that’s what the holidays are all about. Of all the things a battery can power, nothing is better than powering a smile.
To share this site with family and friends, copy and paste this link!

http://www.powerasmile.com/

So go to the website and try to find him! They uploaded the picture today, so use todays date (12-5) when searching (P.S. He's wearing a Santa hat) And while your at it, upload one of your favorite pictures and help raise some money for the kids!!

Thanksgiving AND 11 month pics

Thanksgiving came and went in a flash! It was a wonderful day, and it was great to see so many people that we love. Oden loved all the food. His favorite was mashed potatoes, just like mom. It was a very long day (we left the house at 9:30am and didn't get home until 8pm) with all things considered, Oden was an angel.

It's only one more month until Oden's 1st Birthday! I am sooooo excited. I have started planning the party, and hopefully I can get the invitations in the mail by the end of the week. Can you believe that it has already been a year since he was born? THAT'S CRAZY!!

Christmas cards are in the mail, so look for yours!!!

Our newest family pic.....you will see it again very soon....

Oden's 1st Thanksgiving, so handsome :)

Just had to include a picture of the turkey bib!

Our 11 month baby boy, just playing.

I swear, I can fit the whole thing in my mouth!!!

Did I ever mention .....

We heart Jen Hogan!!!

:)

11*25*08

I thought I would post a few cute, new pictures before Thanksgiving. I will probably have a gazillion to put up after the Holiday, and I didn't want these to go un-posted.

Lately Oden has been getting very close to walking. He took 5, pretty sturdy, steps yesterday. He is standing like a pro, when he feels like it. Of course, whenever there is an audience he gets stage fright. I hope that he will be walking by Christmas. I will probably regret saying that, seeing how everyone says everything is going to be crazy once he starts walking. I will tell you one thing, this kid is too big to be carrying around all the time!!

Happy Thanksgiving, from our Family to Yours.

**

A taste of things to come (the planned post-Christmas mohawk)Having a blast in the tub!

Oh, was that my Cheerio? You are too kind....

Doesn't he look so much like Jess in this one?Attempting a cute picture with crabby pants.

Oden's new trick

Here are some new pictures for all of you Oden lovers! The last two pictures are of him standing. He can stand by himself for about 30 seconds at a time, or until he gets bored. We are practicing everyday. Hopefully he will be walking soon. He has taken a few steps here and there, but nothing consistent. We will let you know when he starts wrecking everything!

MOM! GET ME OUT OF HERE! PEEK-A-BOO KITTY!

Hey! That's my Bumbo!

Chub-a-chubs standing tall.He gets so excited, he starts clapping while he's standing.
P.S. A monster ate his socks :)

P.S.S. WE LOVE JEN HOGAN!!!!

Oden cuteness

Hello everyone! Here are some new pictures from the last week or so. I have an adorable video I want to post but I don't know how to rotate it. I would give everyone sore necks if I posted it as is. Does anyone know how to rotate videos?! If you do please let me know. For now, enjoy the pics =)

Oden helping change the time on the giant clock. Luckily we had Ian to help us too!He loves to shut himself in the laundry room. We're not sure why, but it keeps him entertained for at least 10 minutes everyday.Oden playing with his new favorite toy from Stacy and Brian. Thanks guys!
Poe likes the new toy too! Our own baby bartender!

Oden's 1st Halloween 2008

Halloween this year was awesome. It was a day filled with visits, smiles, and candy of course. We started our day visiting Grammy Mary at work, then we went to Grandma Kitty's house, then straight to Grandma and Grandpa Dee Dee's, and we ended at Papa Joe and Grandma Laura's. We had to make sure that everyone saw his cuteness! So here are some of the pictures.