Christmasy Timey-Time!

Christmas Vaca in Cali

Although we traveled to Washington State for Christmas, Jordan, Jackson and I were excited to have our own family Christmas.  Well, Jackson was happy, but I'm not sure how much of that had to do with celebrating Christmas early or the fact that we were playing on the floor with him, haha.  

Anyhow...

For the past two Black Fridays I have made a Christmas shopping list and hit the sales.  I love shopping sales!  I can spend the same amount of money, but get many more gifts :)  This year my major goal was to buy a Christmas tree.  Last year we tried to get one after Christmas vacation, but there were only pink and white Christmas trees or "California palm" Christmas trees (both a bit on the abnormal side for me).  I wanted a tree that looked real!  And I found one at MICHAELS!!!

It may only be 4 feet tall, but it's ours and we love it!  There's something about lit Christmas trees that always speak to me!  It's that special Christmas glow of having the lights out and the tree lit that just gets me tickled about this wonderful season. 

This is Jackson "opening" his first present.  

He was having a bit of trouble and asked mommy for help :P

And I know he's a boy...but don't all kids just love sticking the bows on their head?!  It's like a 3D sticker, right?  ...Or a huge band-aid :)

Jordan headed up the "scissor required" presents:

The day after "Christmas" we headed out on our first flying trip with Jackson.
Here we are, waiting in the airport after getting through security.

I was so happy he stayed groggy till take-off.  Jackson is a pro flier!  He ate for 5 minutes at take-off and landing and slept the rest of the way.

Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's

For the Christmas half of our vacation we visited my side of the family, the Allen's, aka Grandma and Grandpa's.

And I must say, Jackson LOVED the attention.  He was held almost every minute of every day!!!  Ok, that's an exaggeration, but you get the picture.  One of the most important visits we made was visiting my Grandma Willey!  She is soooo excited that Jackson is here!  As number one great grandson, he inherited her favorite baby outfit from when my dad was a baby! Here's great Grandma Willey holding Jackson:

My Grandma and Grandpa Martinson and Great Aunt Peggy stopped by a couple times and couldn't get enough of Jackson!




We also enjoyed spending time at my Aunt Patty's home.  We enjoyed games, dinners, and visiting.  Jackson fell in love with my cousin Jill too, haha.  Here they are:

And I can't forget cousin Tommie either!  He loved chilling with her, hehe :P

For Christmas Eve my family has a tradition of getting together at my Aunt Patty's home and having a huge Christmas dinner.  Afterwards we just hang out, sing Christmas carols, and then SANTA COMES!!! Jackson wasn't scared at all, he likes Santa.

Santa Clause also gives each child their first Christmas gift.  Jackson got a board book called "Goodnight Moon".  I love that book!  Jordan and I had so much fun showing off Jackson!!!  I call him my angel baby, hehe.

Christmas morning dawned on a Sunday.  And it was quite a busy morning.  We decided it would be best to postpone opening Santa Clause gifts and what not until after 11am church.  So, we set about getting dressed, eating, and making it to church on time!  Jackson was ready first...and I must say he is quite the looker in his Sunday outfit!

And he was quite content hanging out with Uncle "Rick"while the rest of us (my younger brother, older brother, sister-in-law, baby cousin Zoey, Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandpa and Grandma Allen, Jordan, and I) finished prepping ourselves for church.  

After church, Jordan thought it would be a good idea to re-dawn our Moose PJs (thanks Ryan, Karin, and Hochstrasser boys!) to better relax and enjoy the Christmas festivities.  I thought it a good idea too.  Here's our little Moose family!

(...Grandma gave Jackson a moose hat which just added to the whole effect of our outfits, hehe)

The rest of the week we enjoyed spending quality time together: 

Playing with cousin Zoey! (We are all very excited to have cousins soooo close in age)

Uncle Tanner acting as book holder so that Jackson could enjoy a bit of light reading!!! 

(Yes, we have a genius baby)

Playing games!

And, of course, enjoying Jackson and the time we have together as a family!!!
 Jackson looks surprised here from the flash, but he LOVES it when Daddy plays with him :)

Overall, we had a wonderful Christmas and loved spending so much time with family.  

Blog post to come: New Years Eve with the Hochstrasser Side :)