Catching Up

This blog post is going to be an assortment of pictures from November and December. 

Ethan's Mom's Birthday

For Ethan's Mom's Birthday, we took her to Black Angus.  At the end of our meal, the servers came over and sand "Happy Birthday" and gave her a free dessert.  It was a fun time.

Fun Times at Ethan's Mom's House 

Julia and her cousin Ava

Ava, Julia, and Auntie Lisa

Uncle Jared and Julia

Teta and Julia

Ethan and his brother, Jared

Pictures of Julia

Julia is usually a very "careful" eater, picking up one item at a time and hardly making a mess.  But this time for some reason, the berries ended up all over her face.  She had fun.  :)

Julia playing with her toys

This adorable outfit was given by Ethan's Aunt and Grandma in New York!  Julia loves dogs, so it is such a perfect outfit and so cute.

A Visit From College Friends

My friends from college, Taylor and Travis, came over to visit while they were here to see the Christmas Concert at TMC.  It was fun to catch up with them and see their adorable little boy.

Santa Barbara for my Birthday

For my birthday, Ethan took two days off of work so that the three of us could go to Santa Barbara for a little get-away. We were there from Thursday night-Saturday afternoon. We used Priceline and got a really good deal on a hotel that was right next to the ocean. Of course, Ethan did some research on Chowhound.com before going so that we knew what restaurants to try out. Our first food experience was a place called "Jeannines." AWESOME! We went there for breakfast and decided that we could probably have to go one more time before going back home. :)  

Our delicious breakfast at Jeannines: Breakfast Quesadilla, fresh fruit, and French Toast with sauted bananas.  Yum!

Julia, enjoying a swing at the beach

 

Julia and Daddy, watching all the seagulls near the water

McConnell's Ice Cream & Yogurt. 

We got their "Brazilian Coffee Chip" Ice cream.  It was so delicious that on the day we drove home, we decided to stop their again for an on-the-road treat. 

Daddy and Julia, hanging out in our hotel room, watching t.v.

Julia, playing with her toys in our hotel room

Friday night, Ethan made reservations at the restaurant called "Cold Spring Tavern."  It was a 20 minute drive from Santa Barbara.  It's a beautiful location; very rustic.  It was an 1860's Stage Coach stop.  So, it's a very cool building and they have it decorated just like it would have been in the 1860's.  It was a fun experience.  The food wasn't all that great, but the setting was sure cool! 

Julia and me outside the restaurant

Inside the restaurant

Julia "looking" through the menu

Our second day at the beach

Christmas

There's a neighborhood near us where the whole street is decked out with holiday lights.  Each house has so many lights and there are lights going across from house to house, so the whole block is lit up so brightly.  It's a well-known place around here, so many other cars were driving through at the same time.  Since we were driving so slow, Julia got to sit on my lap and she enjoyed looking at all the lights.

The cul de sac across from our house has a bunch of lights streaming across the lamp posts and many of the houses have lots of light, also.  So, we took Julia to see the lights and she enjoyed it.

Julia enjoys the lights on our Banister and Christmas Tree.  Often she'll let out a squeal of delight when she sees the lights on.  :)

Julia on Christmas day, wearing her Christmas dress (also from Ethan's Aunt and Grandma.  Thanks!)

The 3 of us on Christmas Day after we got home from church

Daddy and Julia

Julia just wasn't in the mood for any more pictures, as you can see!  :)

Julia, curious about the presents under the tree

Julia's favorite present, a drums set and other musical instruments.  Hopefully we won't regret this present.  :)

Our East Coast Trip for Thanksgiving

Ethan was able to get a good amount of time off so that we could go to the East Coast for Thanksgiving. We spent 4 days with my brother, Mike, and his family. Then, we flew to New York City and spent 2 days with Ethan's Great Aunt and cousin. After that, we took the train to upstate New York and spent 4 days with Ethan's Aunt & Uncle and Grandma. The last time we were in New York was 4 years ago. So, it was fun for Ethan's relatives to meet Julia and to see them all again.

We took a red eye flight from LAX to Washington DC.  The flight was scheduled to leave at 10:50 p.m.  We thought Julia would sleep on the way to the airport, but of course she didn't.  :)  At the airport, she was getting a very tired but didn't want to sleep because she was just so curious about everything that was going on around her.  at 10:50, our plane started rolling out.  However, a few minutes later it was announced that a passenger was feeling ill and needed to get off the plane.  Not only that, the passenger needed to wait for his luggage!  So, a full hour went by and we still didn't take off!  Of course, with all the lights on, Julia was refusing to sleep and was getting quite cranky at this point.  Thankfully, around midnight we finally took off and Julia fell fast asleep.  She slept most of the flight to Washington D.C. across our laps.  On our flight to Harrisburg, the plane had quite a few empty seats, so we were allowed to take Julia in her carseat.  That was a huge blessing because she slept a little more (she needed it!)

Uncle Mike drove 2 hours to pick us up!  Thanks, Mikee!

While we were visiting Mike & Jen, a trip to "Dunkin Donuts" was a must do.  :)  Here's Joshua enjoying a donut he split with his sister.

Becca, enjoying the other half of the donut she split with her brother.

Becca took this picture of Julia and me.  :)  Future photographer?

Uncle Mike enjoying his niece, Julia.  Julia was bundled up so much, she looked like a big marshmallow!  Ethan and I were cracking up.  She often held her hands to the side (if you look closely, you can see that in this picture) because her jacket was so puffy.  She didn't fuss, though.  I think she enjoyed being outside despite all the clothing she had to wear...

Hannah

Our sweet girl

 

Uncle Mike, pushing Julia on the swing

Joshua

Ethan, pushing Becca on the swings

Me with 3 (of 4) of Mike's kids and my sweet marshmallow

Julia and me wearing our boots

Throwing rocks in the river

Julia is a big time thumb sucker.  We laugh at how she sucks her thumb... if you look closely, she's sucking her thumb on her right hand, but she's holding her left hand inside her right hand...  That's her favorite way to suck her thumb.

Walking back to Mike & Jen's house (Their farmhouse is in the background.  So beautiful!)

Sunset Ice Cream was also a must do!

Yum!

Uncle Ethan holding tiny little Elijah.  He was born about 5 weeks before our visit.

Aunt Jen and Uncle Mike with Julia.  I miss them!

Mike took us to the airport.  This time he didn't have to drive 2 hours!  We were able to fly out of his small local airport.

 

Ethan reading to Julia on the airplane ride to New York City.

Time's Square

This is in front of the New York Library.  We took this picture in memory of the day we got engaged and took a picture on these very steps (see below)

(The New York Library on the day we got engaged)

Waiting for the bus to take us back to Brooklyn where we stayed with Ethan's Great Aunt.

Julia fell asleep ont he bus ride back to Brooklyn.

I cherish the rare times when I get to hold Julia while she's sleeping!  So sweet!

Julia's cousin had 2 dogs.  Julia loved them so much!!!

This is Ethan's Grandma (in upstate NY) holding Julia for the first time.

We took this picture because it is Julia's favorite sleeping position.  She loves to sleep on her knees with her bottom high in the air.  We think it's hilarious.

Poor Julia got a fever for a few days while we were in upstate New York.  She didn't act particularly sick, but was definately more cuddly (which we didn't mind, of course).  I called my pediatrician to see if we should try to go to a doctor there, but she said it sounded like a virus and that she would probably get better on her own.  Thankfully, the day before we flew back home, her fever broke!  We're so thankful it didn't end up being anything serious.

On Thanksgiving Day, Julia wore a onesie that said, "Mommy's Little Turkey."

Ethan's sweet cousin, Krissy and another relative, Meim.

Watching the football game.  :)

Ethan's brother, Armand, holding Julia for the first time.

Feasting Time

Aunt Patti (holding Julia) and Grandma Jill

Ethan and his cousin, Krissy.