Newton Christmas

The day after Christmas, we headed to Ken's mom's house in Los Banos.

We opened MORE presents!

No trip to Grandma Newton's would be complete without some outdoor exploration. It seems that every time we are there, because Ayden is older, there is something new to discover. Ayden followed Uncle Daniel (or maybe Uncle Daniel followed Ayden) all over the property. They even took a ride on the lawn mower.We drove about an hour down to Fresno because my mother-in-law wanted to see "Christmas Tree Lane" and it was the last night. It is about 2 miles of street that have very lavishly decorated houses. It was pretty cool, but was a lot of time for Ayden to spend in the car strapped in his carseat.

One of the highlights was a day trip up to Yosemite. Ken had never been and I haven't been there since High School.

It was absolutely beautiful to say the least.... After some sight-seeing, it was time to play in the snow!Ayden really wanted to build a snowman, but had to settle for hanging out with this one that was already finished. Every time we turned around, Ayden was chomping more snow!We found lots of fresh powder just waiting for snow angels....

small......and big!

And, of course, lots of sledding!

Even Grandma joined in!Our little daredevil...after a few runs, he would only go by himself and on his tummy was way more exciting! He also insisted on carrying his own sled up the hill

Uncle Daniel got creative!

Christmas Day

After our morning of opening gifts, we headed to my dad's house for an afternoon of fun, food, and more presents!

Aunt Dominique & Uncle Matthew helping him figure out the cash register that they gave him.

Ayden thought it was so funny when Grandpa told him he could take a bite out of the gingerbread house. Too bad the frosting was hard as a rock - he gave it his best effort, though.

Santa came!

Since we had threatened so many times that Santa would only come if Ayden was a good boy, I think he was a little skeptical as to if Santa would actually come. He didn't even remember when he woke up, but as soon as we reminded him, he ran downstairs!

Santa brought 2 new pairs of sunglasses - one for each car!

Checking out the red car that he specifically asked Santa for!

Don't Break the Ice! Daddy was in charge of opening boxes and taking the toys out of the packaging!

This is for Aunt Sarah!

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve went the way that it usually does....
-rushing around the get ready
-trying to get a good picture of Ayden next to the tree as quickly as we can...we were not successful this year -then, we headed to my grandparents for dinner with the family where we tried to get a family picture and were a little more successful than at home

I didn't expect Ayden to eat the potato dumplings that we always have on Christmas Eve, so I packed him a PB&J. He thought it was hilarious that his lunch box was at his seat.

After church, it was time for presents!!

It was the year of the musical instruments...

the best part about this guitar is that it is quiet!

he's actually got some harmonica skills!

Daddy trying out the "floop" (as Ayden calls it)

Ayden's Christmas Program

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Ayden's preschool had the cutest little Christmas program. Ken and I were laughing because the number of songs went way beyond Ayden's attention span. At least he sang, unlike the girls next to him.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday I turned 30 ...and the fact that I have almost no pictures to show for our busy day must be a sign that I'm getting old and losing my memory! We went out to a late lunch with my dad & step-mom, then bowling, and back to our house for pizza and brownies! It was pretty laid-back, but we had fun. The only pictures I have are from my phone because I forgot to bring my camera to the bowling alley. I don't really have an excuse for not having pictures at home, I just didn't think about it, I guess.

Ayden loved bowling - had this little routine that he would do every time it was his turn - set the ball down, spread out his legs, then roll the ball back and forth and count (sometimes to 3, sometimes to 10), then push the ball as far as he could. It's been a while since I'd been bowling - they were able to raise and lower the bumpers just for Ayden, which was pretty cool!

"Gingerbread" House

I brought home a bunch of stuff for making graham cracker "gingerbread" houses that we had left over at work, so I helped Ayden make one. He was very good and very patient about letting the frosting harden and not eating the candy. It was so fun to see him use his imagination and make different parts of the house. Daddy even helped out a little bit by making a car for his road. This was definitley the first of what will become an annual Christmas-time tradition!

Holiday Baking

Ayden helped me with a little baking. His favorite part was crushing the candy canes for the peppermint bark, and of course, licking the spatula!