Positive Christmas Wishes

We had a fabulous Christmas together as a family.

 

 

Matthew enjoyed opening his gifts.  Santa brought him his trumpet and yellow car he asked for.  He got a guitar and some Bubble Puppies toys.  And some little fun things in his stocking.  I loved seeing his little face light up with each present he opened. 

 

How cute are these jammies?! 

He looked SO cute in them and everyone was smiling and complimenting him at COSTCO. He may have worn them the whole weekend.  :)

 

Leaving Santa cookies and carrots for the reindeer on Christmas Eve!

And of course, the moment everyone is waiting for.......

 

We made this shirt for Matthew to announce to his grandparents that he is going to be a

BIG BROTHER!

 

Our beta on the 24th was 357.

It was repeated on the 26th and was 801.

I go back tomorrow for one more beta test and sonogram will be done on Jan 6 or 7th (6 1/2 weeks).

 

With this positive news, we are SO incredibly happy and SO blessed.  We are not out of the woods by any means, so please keep us in your prayers.

 

***Please do not mention anything on FB or IG about our news.***

Thank you.

The Other Whitcombs

 

 

 

We spent last week hosting Steve's older brother and his family at our home.  It was certainly a full house, but it was SO much fun to have them here with us. We all had a great time hanging out and visiting with everyone (at his parents house in West VA).  I enjoyed taking pictures with my new lens! What better models than family?

I think Matthew was happy when everyone was gone so he could have his peace and quiet and get back to his normal schedule.  Steve and I would love to take a roadtrip to St. Louis and visit his brother, but I don't think Matthew's ready for a 15 hour car ride! 

Spending time with family was a fabulous way to end the year!

 

Slowly Walking into The New Year

  

 

Matthew got a walker for Christmas.  He is slowly getting the hang of it. 

Pretty soon he will be running! Where does the time go?!

I've enjoyed reading everyone's year end reviews and recaps.  It's fun to see all the blessings everyone's received the past year.  I hope there will be even more blessings in store this year for ya'll.

The biggest blessing for us this past year has been our sweet baby boy!  He is the best thing that has happened to us, yet.  He was THE highlight of our year.  I couldn't ask for anything else in life.

I'm not one for setting new year's resolutions (I always feel like a failure at the end of the year!).  I'm just going to strive to be a better wife, mother, friend, sister, daughter, aunt and most importantly, a better servant in the Lord's hands.

(And if I lose weight along the way, that will be an added bonus!)



Santa Baby

Is he not the cutest little santa baby??!!

I think we got our money's worth out of this outfit.  He's worn it many times this Christmas.

I wish I could keep it on him all year, but it's time to retire it.  No worries though, I've got a great idea for Valentine's pictures. 

Our first Christmas as a Family

Matthew's first Christmas was special because we got to spend it together as a family. We did not spoil him with tons of gifts. We just bought him a few small things.

He was NOT interested in opening gifts at all!

 In my head, I was going to go all out and make it super grand by stuffing his stocking, making lots of treats, doing tons of crafts (from pinterest of course) and starting all sorts of tradition.

But, it was ALL in my head because I did not have time to do ANY of it.

Any you know what?  It was still a perfect Christmas with our little family.

 

Christmas Eve

We went to Steve's parents for Christmas Eve (SO happy they have moved back to the area).

Matthew got an upgrade from his little cell phone. He got one that actually makes noise now (instead of the smaller one he had which didn't make any noise because the battery is dead).

We had a wonderful dinner of great grandma's Chicken noodle soup and home made gnocchi's (Steve's FAVORITE!). 

 

We came home and finished getting the house ready to host my family for Christmas and we made cookies for Santa.  My niece Abbey was with us (but I didn't get to take any picture of her) and she was so excited for Santa to come. 

 

(The plate says 'treats for Santa and carrots for the reindeer)

You Light Up My Life

I saw this idea on pinterest and knew I just had to try it.

No worries, Matthew was supervised the whole time so he wouldn't put the lights in his mouth.

(Daddy and Mrs. Melinda were standing very close by).

May the Light of Christ shine upon you this holiday!

I Knew It Was Just A Matter of Time...

before my little guy would get sick. 

He's made it 10 months without being sick and all he has right now is a  runny nose.

I'm hoping it doesn't get worst.

And I'm a little under the weather too (sore throat/cough).  Just in time to host Christmas at my house! Lovely.

I'm a bit stressed, but I'm trying not to let it ruin my Christmas spirit.

Christmas Tour of Homes

Welcome to our home.

As Nester says, It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.

Our decorations haven't changed much since our last Christmas tour of homes in 2009.

Only major addition is our sweet baby boy!



Yes, that is Matthew's exersaucer behind the french doors. That's where he's trapped he plays while I work sometimes.

Thank you for visiting our home. 

Hop on over to Nester's and Kelly's for more beautiful Christmas homes.

Merry Christmas!

An appointment with Santa

Why stand in a long line to see Santa at the mall when you can make an appt to see him at Wal.mart??!!

He was a good looking Santa too, real beard and all.

Matthew didn't even cry (which I'm sure next year may be a different story).

I was able to snap the second picture with my cell phone as Santa was still talking to him.  And when Santa gave him back to us, Matthew had a good grip on his beard.  I guess he wanted to make sure it was real too.

Weekend Round Up

1. Finished the second Christmas tree.

2. Put out the Nativity set .

3. Lunch with my sister, niece & nephew (yummy pho and spring rolls)

4. Spent time with Abbey.

And to end the weekend, we watched the First Presidency Chrismas Devotional (program starts at about 1:09).

Oh Christmas Tree



Matthew likes to crawl up to the tree and pull on it. The ornaments are a little big for him to grip with his little hands so he just swings at it. He's still getting use to it. We are still working on putting up the second tree in the family room and the rest of the decorations.

The lights are up outside and the wreaths are hung on the windows.

I am getting SO excited for Matthew's first Christmas!

Free Christmas Cards from Shutterfly (CLOSED)

Have you started to think about Christmas yet?  What about your family's Christmas card this year?

Last year, I used Shutterfly for our Christmas card (below) and I wanted it to be special since it was our 'coming out' card announcing our pregnancy. 

Shutterfly has SO many Christmas cards and Holiday cards to choose from.  I've already started browsing and I just can't decide which one to go with! I love the stationary cards, which tend to be a thicker cardstock.  The look of it is very crisp and professional.  Their website is very user friendly and their customer service is great at answering any questions. 

Aside from Christmas cards, Shutterfly also has birth announcements!  I ordered Matthew's birth announcements from them too!  It turned out great and I LOVED it!  I received lots of compliments on both cards. 

Now on to the best part!

Shutterfly is going to give three of my readers codes to order 25 FREE cards!  All you have to do is leave me a comment and I will randomly draw three names. 

That's it!  Seriously!

No following required, no tweeting or FB'ing.  Just leave a comment (make sure your email is listed on your profile or leave it in the comment so I can contact you).

Giveaway open until midnight, Thursday, November 3, 2011.

The hardest part is deciding which card is your favorite!!

UPDATED: 11/4/11

Three random winners were chosen. Congrats to Olive, Kimberly and Ashley.  I have sent you all an email.  Please respond so I can give you the codes.  If I do not hear from you by Thurs,  Nov. 10th, I will draw new winners.  Thanks!!